Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
  • Boiler advice
  • ononeorange
    Full Member

    Hello – any advice on gas boilers appreciated.

    Ours spectacularly burnt out its electrical controls a couple of years back and we had it rebuilt at significant cost (around £600 I recall, as many parts were obsolete). It’s never been right since and I know I shouldn’t turn it right off as it tends to blow the main circuit breaker on trying to restart.

    Anyhow, went away for a day and stupidly turned it off and now it’s back to blowing everything out again on turning it on. I am going to try to get hold of the chappie who looks after it, but anything obvious I may be missing (I suspect it’s one of those things you have to see really)? It seems to need the room it’s in warming up before it has any chance of getting going, so I suspect damp may be getting to it somehow.

    Am very loathe to replace it although I suspect one day it may never run again. (I also suspect it’s a bit underpowered for the house as it thrashes away for ages to start getting any heat through, but that’s another story). If it does come to having to replace it (and I hope not), are there any decent ( ie reliable) makes out there or are they all made of cheese now?

    Just asking really as I sit here in the cold yet again!

    Thanks in advance

    mattg73
    Free Member

    Our combi boiler of 20 years (Worcester) finally gave up in that really cold week at the start of December. I similarly asked around as wanted reliability and didn’t mind paying more for it – all the answers I was getting were either Worcester or Vaillant. We opted for the Worcester and I must say am very pleased with it. The plumber said it should reduce our gas bills by 20-30% too 🙂

    ononeorange
    Full Member

    Thanks Matt. Hopefully it won’t come to it but good to hear real world experience.

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    scaredypants
    Full Member

    I don’t see why you’re loath to dump it – costing you money, time and comfort

    Again, Worcs or Vaillant is what an installer (who knew he wasn’t getting the job) suggested to us a few years ago

    ononeorange
    Full Member

    I have a sense – which I accept I can’t back up with evidence – that modern boilers don’t last more than a few years. Would be delighted to be proven wrong TBH. That and really don’t want to find a couple of grand – just renewed my season ticket plus new roof on house in April…..

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Our Vaillant combi boiler in the last place wasn’t particularly reliable. It was 5 years old when we moved in and 8.5 when we moved out, in that time it failed twice, leaked a lot and cost almost £850 in parts. Though when it was working, It was efficient.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    fit and maintain worcesters all day long. they and vailant are the market leaders for a reason. for maintenance the vailants are easier /simpler to work on.

    easy get 6-8 years trouble free on new worcesters id expect a lifespan of 15 years or so

    anybody spending 850 on parts on any boiler is getting had from behind… british gas do fixed fee repairs at three price points 79 quid 199 and 399.. i ve only ever heard of one person paying 399 and that was for a job that took all day

    one of my own properties recently had a boiler fail ( viesmann 10 years old) the part alone was 220 trade never mind the labour.. BG supplied and fitted for 199 makes no sense to do it myself..

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    you make a good point on that totalshell , my parents WB highflow 400 needs a tank – its split on a seal on the lhs – the tanks like 350+ vat…..ill point him at BG – although the cynic in me suspects it will be a case of – sir you require a new boiler.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    if its the expansion tank they should get it done for 199 as they come out really simply .. the highflow 400 was last made in march 2006 and i d be very surprised if genuine worcester parts were not available same of next day. the heat bank would be a whole differnt animal as its not just the tank but all the tsuff that goes into it that would need removing and putting in the new one i’d take a deep breath before starting but i think theres probably three hours in replacing one.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    naw its the hot water tank – i said seal i meant seam.

    i found my self diagnosing on xmas eve.

    its in the utility room nothings being damaged – told them just to live with it till summer as it looks like a pig of a job for anyone to do ……the tanks on the bottom of the whole boiler … it might still turn out to be a new boiler job just out of being cost effective but its worth trying BG fixed price repairs i guess – no harm letting them look , they will have to get up pretty early in the AM to get one over on my da.

    Mikkel
    Free Member

    Regards to them not lasting more than a few years, you seem to get at least 5 years warranty on most.
    Vailant, if installed by someone certified by Vailant, gives you 7 years warranty…(at least the models i have been looking at)

    Daffy
    Full Member

    anybody spending 850 on parts on any boiler is getting had from behind… british gas do fixed fee repairs at three price points 79 quid 199 and 399.. i ve only ever heard of one person paying 399 and that was for a job that took all day

    Not when it’s running LPG.

    ononeorange
    Full Member

    Thanks again. Bizarrely this morning I had phone in hand to call CH chap and tried it one last time. It ran perfectly (oh joy!). Clearly a random fault!

    Cheers for the advice – this boiler has just had its 20th birthday so I can expect some issues from it, I suppose. Let’s see if it fires up tonight.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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