Baxi Duotec 40 HE - Tearing my hair out

[AGAS]

i would love to give you answers of what might be the problem is but i just don't want to

 

[Eric Walton]

Would lead to DIY gas works.
No it wouldn't in this case, and thats a fact - I know that, you can only guess ( and wrongly )

Possibly not in your case but the same can't be said for the many of thousands of posts that have been created with that in mind hence why there is a blanket ban on all gas works regardless. As an engineer I don't guess I use my diagnosis skills coupled with experience to come up with a result. If you don't like the forum rules then please feel free not to use it.

Chosen trusted, reliable etc etc - more by luck than judgement, clearly.
And had any of them asked for help on here, I am sure they wouldn't have called most of you lot.

More by a reputation that precedes us rather than luck.

None of my customers would be asking for DIY gas advice on here as they would have called me rather than putting their families through 6 days of being uncomfortable. My customers prefer an instant fix.

I would have loved an instant fix - sadly the RGI's that came here and took my money weren't able to facilitate that.
What does that say about the industry as a whole.

 

[Aquaheat]

I would have loved an instant fix - sadly the RGI's that came here and took my money weren't able to facilitate that.
What does that say about the industry as a whole.

Sadly it says more about both the RGI's that you used and yourself. If the fault wasn't diagnosed or a repair carried out then I wouldn't be paying for it same as if I failed to diagnose a fault then I wouldn't be charging the customer for it either.

Seems that you have been unlucky in your choices of RGI's but find a good one and keep them.

 

[Eric Walton]

So a final update from me.

This lady was not a plumber. She reliably informs me she is a Heating and Gas engineer, and a bloody good one from what i've just seen. She knew all the settings for the boiler off by heart ( and then confirmed them ) and informed me the gas valve wasn't the issue ( £73 quid + £40 fitting) she fitted the correct part as diagnosed earlier ( christ, I could have done that myself - not really... Oh, and she set up the gas valve correctly that wasn't done by plumber 2 so the mix was all over the place.

We have hot water and heating - and I have a very nice, professional and knowledgeable new Heating and Gas engineer that is coming back in 2 weeks to service the hob and gas fire, and fit a magnetic and sludge filter that has been sat in a box for a week.

Let's face it, if you want something doing right in a house - get a woman in, and not a hint of sarcasm.

 

[AGAS]

all banter aside , glad you got it sorted ,you see all rgi are not the same , treat her right and she will probably see you right . ranting hardly ever get you anywhere .

 

[Eric Walton]

all banter aside , glad you got it sorted ,you see all rgi are not the same , treat her right and she will probably see you right . ranting hardly ever get you anywhere .

I completely agree.
Sadly some folks only understand vulgarities, to realise how insignificant their comments actually are.
She's a clever little gem - plenty of work coming her way.

 

[Agile]

Its good for you.

But I would say that she is only what all heating engineers should be and that's just competent at doing their job.

Tony

 

[sooey]

all banter aside , glad you got it sorted ,you see all rgi are not the same , treat her right and she will probably see you right . ranting hardly ever get you anywhere .

I completely agree.
Sadly some folks only understand vulgarities, to realise how insignificant their comments actually are.
She's a clever little gem - plenty of work coming her way.

5 pages after being told the problem in the first reply. One of the most basic, easily sorted faults we come across, which would have been picked up if you'd put your hand in your pocket and got the boiler serviced before it packed in.
Now, after insulting all and sundry you tell us there's plenty of work coming for the girl who fixed it.
Yeah right, from a typical mingebag like you? Don't think so.

 

[bernardgreen]

One of the most basic, easily sorted faults we come across, which would have been picked up if you'd put your hand in your pocket and got the boiler serviced before it packed in.

So why didn't the first "repair" man find and fix this most basic, easily sorted fault on the first visit ?.

 

[sooey]

Probably because, being a mingebag who doesn't like spending money on maintenance the op has gone for the cheapest repair option he could find, and got what you'd expect.

 

[bernardgreen]

the op has gone for the cheapest repair option he could find,

I called the emergency cover number we have with house insurance and a boy came out and after 2 hours at the house

That suggests the insurance company selected the repair option.

 

[sooey]

Yes, house insurance companies are well known for paying out to supply good quality trades people aren't they?
Like I said.....

 

[bernardgreen]

Yes, house insurance companies are well known for paying out to supply good quality trades people aren't they?

Why would they use poor quality workers / tradesmen when any errors or omissions in the work could lead to them having to pay out on a claim for damage or loss resulting from poor workmanship by the person they selected.

Just accept that some people holding a qualification have lost the competence that they had to show to gain that qualification. That is assuming the qualification requires them be competent at time of issue and not just able to answer questions a multi-choice exam paper.

 

[sooey]

Why would they use poor quality workers / tradesmen when any errors or omissions in the work could lead to them having to pay out on a claim for damage or loss resulting from poor workmanship by the person they selected.

That's a question many of us have asked ourselves over the years, yet they still do it. Why??? fck knows.

Just accept that some people holding a qualification have lost the competence that they had to show to gain that qualification. That is assuming the qualification requires them be competent at time of issue and not just able to answer questions a multi-choice exam paper.

What, in any of my posts, ever, has led you to believe that I (as the person you addressed with the above statement) would think otherwise.

 

[Aragorn84]

The primary issue, and something the decent guys on here seem to fail to understand, is how is your average punter supposed to know what they're getting?

Theres clearly a theme on here where someone gets an "RGI" in who turns out to be incompetent, and its somehow the fault of the customer?

I dont know any RGI's, so if i require someone to do work i have limited means to find them. I can look on the gas safe register as a starting point, but doing that finds loads of locals with all the right bits of paper. We KNOW that some of those guys will be decent, and some will be ****. I can look on "rated people" or similar websites, but those are all flawed as its funded by the trades and as a result has various conflicts of interest. On a number of occasions i've had trades do work, including RGI's and found issues with the job. It usually comes out after the fact though, like with this case.

When plumber number 2 said it was the gas valve, replaced it and left, how was the OP supposed to know it WASNT fixed? The "professional" with the right bits of paper had told him what was wrong, rectified the problem, got paid and left. I'm sure the guys on here wouldnt be happy if the customer said "i'm not paying for 2 weeks incase you havent fixed it proper"

Similarly, if i have some insurance scheme in place, call it up and expect them to come out and fix my boiler, i expect that person will hold the appropriate qualifications and be competent to do the repairs. The qualification is supposed to ensure they are competent at working on the boiler, thats the whole point of it. If they hold the qualification and arent competent, the qualification isnt fit for purpose.

So whats a general member of the public supposed to do? My own approach is to find out as much as i can about an issue before hand, sometimes that info will enable a DIY fix, other times it gives me sufficient knowledge and background info to know that what the supposed professional is telling me is correct. Thats what forums like this are for.

If at the beginning of this post, the OP had been told "its probably the ignition electrode, but its a safety critical component and you require an RGI to fix it", then when plumber 2 arrived and started spouting about the gas valve, the OP would have known he was an idiot and sent him on his way. But instead, due to the DIY Gas nonsense, we got 5 pages of ****ing around dancing around the issue and namecalling going both ways achieving nothing.