blocked

[brakepipe]

hi everyone, hope somebody can help me, i have a heatline compact combi boiler and i have no water coming out of the hot taps, i phoned a plumber he said the boiler is blocked and wanted £550 to sort it,
does this sound right ? i have seen a simular boiler in B+Q for £399. the plumber says he can't fit those anymore, is he trying to rip me off

thanks for any reply's

 

[cumbriahandyman]

hi everyone, hope somebody can help me, i have a heatline compact combi boiler and i have no water coming out of the hot taps, i phoned a plumber he said the boiler is blocked and wanted £550 to sort it,
does this sound right ? i have seen a simular boiler in B+Q for £399. the plumber says he can't fit those anymore, is he trying to rip me off

thanks for any reply's

Certainly sounds like it to me. How could he diagnose the problem without seeing the boiler?

 

[John506]

Depends what band the boiler is, as legally you can only fit Band A boilers now which is governed by SEDBUK.

Although £550 is a bit steep for a guess at what the problem is. When you say there is no hot water, do you mean no water is coming out at all, or it's running cold?

 

[brakepipe]

hi guys thanks for your replies, when i turn on a hot tap (any hot tap) its runs for 5 seconds then slows down then trickles then stops, which all points to a blockage, i phoned another plumber he came round and did some tests and after the tests he agreed that the boiler heat exchanger is blocked and quoted £250 to fix it,

 

[brakepipe]

john 506,
how can it not be legal to fit band b boilers when B+Q sell them, i asked the plumber at B+Q and he said its ok to fit them and they're guarranteed for 1 year, though they should be fitted by a gassafe plumber

 

[Gasman77]

Right, and the guy stacking shelves at B & Q is the best you could do to get some proper advice is it?

 

[brakepipe]

well i did ask here first,

 

[londonboy]

Why the **** do they still sell boilers in B&Q?!

 

[jackpike]

brakepipe,
its extrmely unlikely that the heat ex is blocked on the dhw side, the force of the water pressure would push it through, its more likely to be the cold inlet valve gundged up. however to free it of muck you will have to take it out and this is quite awkward but with patiance and determination it can be done in a couple of hours, it does't involve gas so its a job you can do yourself if you are a diyer.
the B+Q boilers is a grey area, you need to be gassafe to fit them, and by law you have to tell gassafe you've fitted them, but as they are band b boilers we're not suppose to fit them because of regulations over effiency, so a gasasfe fitter can't fit them and a diyer's not supposed to,
so i don't know the answer to that question,

 

[xr4x4]

.....in the uk.

 

[expertgasman]

OP, the first lumber may or may not have been overquoting, but it depends on the conversation. he may not have fancied the job, or you may have rubbed him up wrongly, and he pulled anumber out of the air.

What is beyond didpute is the the B&Q shelf stacker is completely wrong

Take a look at this:

 

[brakepipe]

thanks jackpike, thats a usefull answer, i'll try that first before thinking about a new boiler,

xr4x4. what does your answer mean ?.....in the uk ?

 

[brakepipe]

expertgasman, i don't understand, if the B+Q man is wrong, then B+Q themselves must be wrong, and that can't be, can it ?

 

[expertgasman]

expertgasman, i don't understand, if the B+Q man is wrong, then B+Q themselves must be wrong, and that can't be, can it ?

Did you read the link?If so, it is clear that the B&Q guy IS wrong, but why should that surprise you? It is legal for a lot of products to be SOLD and POSSESSED, but illegal to USE. Bizzarely, in this instance B&Q as a company are not neccesarily wrong but the assistant IS, and he is guilty of assuming the answer to your query.

 

[xr4x4]

thanks jackpike, thats a usefull answer, i'll try that first before thinking about a new boiler,

xr4x4. what does your answer mean ?.....in the uk ?

As far as I was aware the SEDBUK rating only applies to the uk.