Boiler service

[MFRacing]

I'm thinking of signing up for a boiler service plan, mainly to get the yearly service. Can anyone recommend a good one or are they all the same?

Boiler (Baxi) is only 15 months old in a new build house. Is it better just getting a gas engineer in to do the service? Do I even need a service considering how new the boiler is?

I'm in Huddersfiled if anyone can recommend a good engineer.

Thanks

 

[DP]

Getting boiler serviced is the way to go, BUT, service should be according to what the manual says, NOT just a boiler operation check which often is wrongly deemed to be a service.

Regular service is better known as preventative maintainance.

 

[MFRacing]

Ok thanks. Anyone know the going rate for a boiler service in Yorkshire?

 

[Agile]

You have not shown the model.

In London I charge £55 during the summer when services should be done and £65 during the heating season!

But most important, your boiler should be under a warranty and that needs a service every 12 months.

If yours has not been done you might find an independent who ( horrors ) might agree to backdate the service record.

You should also have a completed Benchmark Certificate. Makers respond differently to that not being filled in. It seems to me that it can depend on which side of the bed the maker's engineer got out of! Some allow a little leeway on the servicing dates, others may not!

Tony Glazier

 

[ianmcd]

I think in Yorkshire it is about 6 shillings and 6 pennies, contact your boiler producer and ask for their approved list expect about £65 for a good one , Owe Much , but will keep your warranty running

 

[mcmoby69]

I'm in Bury Lancs, a service is £75 minimum depending on the model. Most of your big companies will do an annual contract for £20 ish. they'll stick an analyser in, tell you its ok and off they pop. those lads usually have 15 to do in a day.
these 'poke and go's' wont tell you if there are any internal leaks that could cause a problem, especially condense leaks, slightly acidic,will rot through boiler casings and gas valves fairly quickly.

12x £20 = £240 (a £240 gamble your boiler will break down)

put £20 into a savings account monthly.

1 service = £75, keep the other £165 in there in case it does breakdown. keep adding £20 per month you will soon have enough money to pay for repairs. should they be needed.

find a boiler man you trust!

just because its a big company doesnt mean you will be treated better, the other year when it was minus 15°c for six weeks, BG were telling customers it would be two weeks before they could attend, (and they paid for that service)

 

[DavidSWP]

Been wondering about this too. Got a new boiler (Glowworm 18 HX Flexicom) a little over a year ago and recently paid about £70 for a service booked via Glowworm.

But am I right in saying that any gas-safe registered engineer can do a service on any manufacturer's boiler and that can't invalidate the warranty? The guy who came out spent less than 30 minutes before declaring all was well and signing the service book. Gas safe reg. plumbers (i.e. all of them) around here (Lancs) charge about £35 an hour so I don't see why someone can't get an annual service for that or less to spend a proper hour and do a better check.

Also the home building and contents insurance I got recently included boiler cover (complete replacement if required) and was the most competitive price even without that. The T&Cs didn't say anything about the boiler having to have been serviced every year. So I'm now questioning whether to pay for one at all considering it involves doing almost nothing from what I can see, and if it breaks I get it fixed for free or a new one on home insurance

 

[sbgasman]

op Lee Simpson in Honley is a good lad

 

[muggles]

Boiler (Baxi) is only 15 months old in a new build house.

...and is therefore 3 months overdue for a service. It is a condition of the boiler's warranty (which may be as long as 10 years depending on the model) that you get your boiler serviced every 12 months

No service = no warranty = chance of expensive repair bills in the future that would have been free if you'd had the service done.

If you bought a brand new car, would you skip the manufacturers' first few service intervals "because it's new"?

 

[Agile]

But am I right in saying that any gas-safe registered engineer can do a service on any manufacturer's boiler and that can't invalidate the warranty? The guy who came out spent less than 30 minutes before declaring all was well and signing the service book. Gas safe reg. plumbers (i.e. all of them) around here (Lancs) charge about £35 an hour so I don't see why someone can't get an annual service for that or less to spend a proper hour and do a better check.

You have fallen into the trap of assuming that all you have to consider is the engineer's time in your home!

He is not a genii who magically appears when you rub your boiler.

Actually, surprisingly he is a human being and subject to the same laws of physics and of the country as you.

He has to take your order by phone, find out where you live, drive to your place and find a parking place. You may have your own drive but in cities that can mean searching for a parking place that can be up to 300 m away and often involve paying a parking meter.

At the best that's likely to be 20 min to get to you and park. Then he has to return say for another 15 minutes. He has to pay for vehicle costs to get to you.

So 30 min at your place will usually involve an hour of his time!

That's why most charge £55 to £75 for a service and expect to take about 35 min.

Some of my clients have difficult to access pockets and can take 10 minutes to pay.

Then there is sustenance! Some clients don't realise the engineer is human and don't offer any tea or coffee. So he has to stop afterwards in a café!

Life is not so simple!

 

[Agile]

When I was doing manufacturer's warranty repairs, there was an Arab customer and when I asked where the boiler was fitted he said it was in the boot of his car.

I had to try not to laugh and politely tell him that I could only repair a boiler which is installed in a property with a gas supply!

Tony

 

[Nige F]

6/6d it used to be 9/3d here in Sussex. But back then you didn't need to be Gas Safe.

 

[Echo the husky]

Just had a boiler service done here today, took 2 hours 40 minutes £78

 

[Aquaheat]

What was he servicing!?

 

[Echo the husky]

Vaillant turbomax, 10 yr old, its first service. There was some minor leaks on the boiler connections to see to as well.