Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:42 pm  

Just had a new fan put in my Buderus Boiler.
Gimme some flannel about how difficult it was to get hold of them (only 6 years old).
Visit, ordered new fan, revisited and fitted new fan.

£400, probably got seen right off, but I couldn't be arsed and needed heating and hot water.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:10 pm  

Robbo wrote:

Just spoke to my mum and they requested cash payment, Thankfully she'd decided to fob them off and now I'm having to look for a fitter

If we need a new boiler so be it, but I just didn't want those 2 cowboys fitting it as I'm not happy to see my mum handing over nearly 2k in cash.

Thankfully your mum seems to have come to her senses

Had our combi boiler changed in November, fortunately I had a contact at a high level at a national company (who advertise on tv) and they did a good deal for me, we had an Ariston boiler and the engineer told me that ten years was about average for them to pack up, they've fitted a Worcester boiler which has a ten year warranty with it.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:24 pm  

If its combi for combi swap even if its a Worcester or Vailant (best ones on market) with all whistles and bells ( programmer, TRVs) should cost no more than £1500 all in, I would charge about £1200 to £1400.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:26 pm  

Also, does the pressure rise when the boiler is off?

Where does this steam come from?

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:35 pm  

post wrote:

Also, does the pressure rise when the boiler is off?

Where does this steam come from?

When the boiler is off the pressure is fine. when we have it on just for heating tap water the pressure is fine, it's only when the heating is switched on that problems seem to start happening. the problems wasn't the pressure raising though , it was still working we just noticed a a bi of water coming down the wall downstairs under where the boiler is and soacking through the wallpaper, the trickle only appeared when the heating was on. Turn the heating off and just have the boiler on for heating tap water and it was fine. I think it was just a corroded pipe or something as we did notice a small drip coming from under the boiler when the heating was on.

The steam came from underneath at the bottom of the boiler, that happened after they'd gone and had never happened before, I turned it on to see if anything had changed, the blue tap was loose so I tightened it to how it should be. started hearing a funny noise as the temperature started to go up and heat the water, then steam just blew out the bottom and I turned it off straight away.


We've got in touch with someone else who just fit boilers and they are coming tomorrow to have a look, over the phone they gave my mum a few options starting at around £1000 going upto £1600 which seems a bit fairer, that wasn't cash in hand either and comes with a 7 year warranty.


I'm convinced these guys have purposely opened the tap to keep the pressure rising to blow something.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:40 pm  

Is it a condensing boiler which is in? Does a 22mm/ 3/4inch white plastic pipe come from underneath the boiler either to outside or to a nearby drain?

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:46 pm  

I'm not 100% positive on what type it is exactly, but it's a glow-worm 24ci, (the guy who my mum spoke to earlier said these are crap and they use better boilers) , it has a large white plastic pipe at the top of the boiler going through the attic and out on the roof I think.

Don't think there is any other plastic tubes that I can see, but when they had the pressure really high earlier they showed us a bit of water coming out of a pipe at the front of the house somewhere. which apparently confirmed that it's knackered, again the water had never come out of that pipe I don't think until they showed up. This was when the pressure was up to around 3.8 bar which I gather is much higher than it should ever be.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:47 pm  

If a new boiler is needed, have a look on the various boiler manufacturers web sites...such as Ideal and Worcester Bosch. They'll recommend local fitters in your area, and you can then ring around them for the best deal.
Deffo don't pay cash up front, and only pay in full once you're satisfied with the work carried out.

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:34 pm  

I've found a decent looking company who do installations some family members have used before who are coming to look tomorrow.

They had a quick chat with my mum over the phone and it seemed that the dearest option was a Worcester boiler for around £1600 but there where some cheaper options aswell starting from £1000, I can't remember the boiler the chuckle brothers offered but not sure it was a top range one, and already there's a 300 quid shortfall..

Re: Any Boiler/heating experts on here? : Mon Mar 11, 2013 4:43 pm  

Vaillant or Worcester are the best, I prefer Vaillant as I could fit one with my eyes closed.

Next in line are the mid range boilers Baxi, Potterton or Main - All the same boiler and parts are cheap, usually around £600 plus, I used to fit these as a cheap option.

Glowworm are good also (made by Vaillant) and Ideal were crap but now apparantly are ok, anything else is bobbins especially Ferrolli, Vokera, Heatline and any others.