Gas Boilers

Yes, he has been helpful Shiney and I thank Charlie for that, but I just wanted to confirm that my boiler man does his job properly unlike many others that are in doubt these days.

 

Mmm I think you may have miss understood what I was trying to say..

In no way was I inferring your chap was in any way bad. I thought you had your boiler working again and fine without actually knowing what it was that had cured or cleared the fault.

That is why I said even a basic service could clear a minor fault like a slightly or partially blocked burner/jet. Those parts really are very sensitive as they protect the user. The later the equipment the more fail safes they have.

Its amazing how many times an engineer can fix a product without actually knowing which part or component he has touched. Even a slight and I do mean slight short circuit can stop a complex machine from working. It was after all a 2P washer that caused one of the Appolo missions to lift off and crash back onto the ground.

 

I'm sorry Charlie, I misread what you meant. Yes, the boiler is working fine at the moment. We suspect there was some sort of blockage somewhere. After our 'man' stripped it down, which cured the problem with the water one of our radiators stopped working which leads us to think it was pushed elsewhere. We've solved that problem and are waiting now for our boiler man to come back and flush the system for us, he's then going to check everything is working as it should be.

He said there was nothing wrong with the burner so it had to be elsewhere. What is annoying is the fact that we don't know where the problem was for future reference. Our boiler usually shuts itself down if there is anything untoward going on but on this occasion it didn't so it obviously hadn't sensed what was going on. It's all a mystery!

 

Sheal.. We had a similar problem in one of our houses some years back where we suspected a blockage. Normal flushing in that case proved fruitless so one by one I removed the radiators took them out side and coupled them to a wee device I made and applied the power washer. This forced water through at a rate of knots it would not be possible to do to the heating system in situ. The amount of muck that came out of those radiators was quite unbelievable !! The system was the re filled and Fernox corrosion inhibitor put in . It was bled and balanced and worked wonderfully for ten more years till we moved house. Bet it's still going strong now !!
Whole operation took half a day..

 

The radiators were actually not that old. I also blocked off one end and pressure tested each on e before putting it back in. You can only put a low pressure of water through the system when its all in place as even 15mm tube and its connectors will not stand very much pressure at all. Microbore even less !

Doing it the way did cleared the problem. Doing it in situ failed. It would of course be part of the re installation to check each connection and radiator once the system is re filled. This I think would be automatic so I didn't mention it above. The other tell tale of loosing water is to keep an eye on the systems pressure gauge. If it drops after the system is bled and balanced there is an escape of water. If it holds its pressure its fine.

I'm not advising folk to start doing what I did. It is however an option that could save a lot of money. Most would seek the help of a professional who would I'm sure check the radiators fitting and so on to ensure a watertight job.

 

not convinced by this...
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/17/hire-lease-buy-boiler

 

wow , I didn`t even know that you can even hire a boiler , the price are astronomical £6,400 for a boiler alone ????? A good boiler with all the service should last at least 10/15 years ....

Before I`ve learned myself i used to call the plumber in summer when he was not busy at all to do the boiler service and every 5 years the flush , as i installed my last central heating , considering the that copper has reached about £4 a meter average £1 per foot (talking of 15mm ) I`ve started using plastic pipe , It was incredible easy , they are guarantee 50 years and no risk of holes , at the same time the system will not need to be flushed every 4/5 year .

we still don`t know what Pete is gone do for his boiler ..... with an avarage £3000 in labour , you can get a course of how to install your boiler and a course of gas safety and you will still have enough money to buy a boiler and fit it.

 

With respect the hire a boiler scheme is for the daft .... It would be like going back to the days when we rented televisions. Tellys are so cheap now but so are boilers in the greater scheme of things .. Anyone remember Redifusion ?

Its a bit like those add on guarantee periods where we are asked to pay say 100 quid for an extended warranty and the item is only worth 150.....

Where there is a scheme there is a schemer .

 

I know mate .. Its the schemer that I dislike. I dislike the pay day loaners , The Brighthouse type shops. Cash converters and all those greedy awful institutions that prey on the vulnerable.

My apologies to anyone I may have offended above !

 

It was on the cards but my boiler started to play up again a week after it's strip down and became very unpredictable, so other half and I decided it wasn't worth the hassle and had a new one fitted today.

We chose to buy from Manx Gas and the boiler was fitted by one of their contracted installers. We were wary as some of there installers have not got a good name but the man chosen for us has a good record. We also decided against taking up the option of Manx Gas' 0% interest loan that would have been paid off alongside our gas bill. We didn't like the idea of it hanging around for years considering we are looking to move house.

The boiler is the Vaillant 'Eco-tec plus, 831' and is wall mounted. It's slightly smaller and more compact than my old Vaillant. Over all cost including a days labour was £1,910 and although most people including us resent paying out that much we didn't consider it to bad, also bearing in mind that everything is dearer here on the island. It has a five year guarantee which in England would be seven years if fitted by a Vaillant installer, unfortunately we haven't one here on the island.

Even though my old boiler was quiet I can barely hear this one running, even standing beside it. The boiler controls are a lot simpler and it's going to make a difference having the wireless thermostat which we're experimenting with this evening.

So far, so good!