Ideal logic max heat 30 boiler reviews

[Lower]

My 75 year old mother had a heating engineer out to service her 15 year old boiler last week. Whilst there, the engineer told her that her existing boiler was getting old and she should consider a new one.

he’s subsequently quoted approx £3k to replace her existing boiler, power flush, fit an ideal logic max heat 30 and ideal sludge filter. He said it will take a day and a half to fit, and he’ll also use an electrician for the electrical work. The whole system is 15 years old and has been serviced annually.

she rang me this evening to tell me that she’s agreed to go ahead and paid him £1400 as a deposit.

Can anyone give me some feedback on the quality of the boiler, and whether the price is reasonable. The boiler cost price appears to be around £1k so £2k on top for profit and 1.5 days labour feels a bit steep, but I might just be out of touch with the market rate.

 

[muggles]

£2k isn't profit, there's additional materials to account for for a start, and running a plumbing & heating business isn't free either. For example, as a sole trader last year my business overheads were just north of £18k, and about £16.5k the previous year. The price isn't too far out of the way, although it depends on which area she's in as prices vary regionally. Whether the job actually needed doing or not is a different matter, but if she's agreed to it it's a moot point now. As to the boiler itself, they've had their share of issues including a lot of leaking heat exchangers, cracked sumps, and leaky diverter valves, but she'll be getting a 10 year warranty so that's nothing to worry about for now. Would I have one myself? No, but again, it's a bit late to have that discussion now.

 

[Lower]

Thanks for your reply Muggles.

I could have written my post somewhat more clearly. I fully expect a tradesman to make a reasonable profit on their work. They wouldn't do it otherwise!

However, my concern with this heating engineer is that the first time he's serviced my mother's boiler he told her its getting noisy and she should start thinking about replacement. The boiler then broke down 3 days after his visit. He came back, and has invoiced for the second visit, stating on his invoice that he cleaned the electrodes. Shouldn't that be part of the service?

When he subsequently quotes for a new boiler, the price seems high and i'm concerned about the quality of the boiler.

When i worked out what i'd expect it to cost i was thinking more along the lines of:

~£1500 for the boiler inc profit
~£350 for 1.5 days work for the heating engineer
~£150 for .5 days work for the spark
~£500 for other materials including the powerflush

totalling £2500

He's quoted slightly upwards of £3k to a deaf, 75 year old women living on her own, and charged for a revisit to a boiler he'd just serviced. She's accepted without speaking to me as i was on holiday, albeit he's allowed a 14 day cooling off period, but she's also paid him £1400 as a deposit. On the positive side, he's local, has done work for other people in her village that she knows, and came out on a Saturday when he boiler broke down.

I'm concerned she's being led up the garden pat, potentially overcharged, and being offered a boiler of lower quality than her original glowworm 30sxi heat only, but i'm also aware that there is a market rate for things that can sometimes be greater than the calculated figure.

I'm after a sanity check as to whether this engineer's rates seem reasonable or whether my concerns might be justified.

 

[denso13]

It's hard to be precise without having seen what is actually required on site, although it sounds like you have lost faith in the guy already, which doesn't bode well. Better get a few more quotes for comparison.

 

[Lower]

It's hard to be precise without having seen what is actually required on site, although it sounds like you have lost faith in the guy already, which doesn't bode well. Better get a few more quotes for comparison.

I've not lost faith, i'm just cynical.

As she's paid a deposit, if he's dodgy its going to be a nightmare to get back. But if it sounds like he's ripping her off, i will get involved.

However, if his quote sounds around the market rate and the boiler is ok, i'm not going to upset her or rock the boat with him. I'll just make sure i'm around when he's doing the work.

 

[denso13]

i'm just cynical

if he's dodgy its going to be a nightmare to get back

I'll just make sure i'm around when he's doing the work.

I'm not trying to be critical and you are quite right looking after your mother's interests. It just doesn't sound to me that it has begun too well.

 

[muggles]

If there is an opportunity to cancel then I'd suggest you do so, if only to give yourselves more thinking time. He'll be replacing an A-rated boiler with another A-rated boiler, so there'll be no efficiency gain and therefore no saving on gas bills. The boiler she has now is eminently fixable, and although it can suffer issues which make it beyond economic repair, it sounds like that isn't presently the case.

Your idea of what an installer might charge for his labour is a bit out though. As I said previously, heating businesses are expensive to run and those expenses are covered mostly by labour charges. As an example, I charge £400+vat per day, and that's not unusual. I know people who charge a lot more.

 

[Lower]

If there is an opportunity to cancel then I'd suggest you do so, if only to give yourselves more thinking time. He'll be replacing an A-rated boiler with another A-rated boiler, so there'll be no efficiency gain and therefore no saving on gas bills. The boiler she has now is eminently fixable, and although it can suffer issues which make it beyond economic repair, it sounds like that isn't presently the case.

Your idea of what an installer might charge for his labour is a bit out though. As I said previously, heating businesses are expensive to run and those expenses are covered mostly by labour charges. As an example, I charge £400+vat per day, and that's not unusual. I know people who charge a lot more.

The rates you charge are useful to know, thank you. £500 per day takes my £350 estimate to £750 which makes his price seem more reasonable.

I'm a little bit stuck between a rock and a hard place. I don't think she needs a new boiler, but she does because its 'noisier than it used to be'. The noise was actually air in the system due to a leaking expansion vessel and was fixed year ago.

However, if she doesn't replace it and then it breaks down, i'll be in the dog house.

If i make her cancel the install, she'll be embarrassed and then we'll have to find someone else anyway. Now that i know its not a rip off price at least if i take that option and the price comes in around the same, i'll be pre-warned.

If she does replace it and the all is well, then great. She's just lost the cost of the boiler, which she can afford, and hopefully she'll have 10 years plus of reliability.

If she does replace it and he's a cowboy, i'll end up dealing with it anyway.

I'm going to speak with him to quiz him on why he's proposed an Ideal logic max (from his website looks like he only fits ideal so i think i know the answer to that one) and quiz him on the warranty conditions on fitting a new boiler to an existing system. If he sounds convincing, i think i'll wind my neck back in and just be around for the install.

 

[Lower]

I'm not trying to be critical and you are quite right looking after your mother's interests. It just doesn't sound to me that it has begun too well.

I don't think you are being critical. I wish she'd spoken to me first before committing to the order. She normally does, but she seems adamant the needs a new boiler, so i probably can't blame the engineer for giving her a quote.

 

[Old Salt]

Sounds like a good plan. Have a chat with him and confirm he is genuine before stepping in if necessary.

 

[Lower]

Spoke to the heating engineer this afternoon. Says he only fits Ideal boilers, and has fitted over 300 of them in the last 7 years. He only fits the Ideal models with the 10 or 12 year warranty and claims he has has one in his own home. He says he only fits works for people in and around the villages where he lives, doesn't advertise, lives on his reputation and was happy to provide recent reference sites.

I'm inclined to think he's genuine, just on the expensive side. However, if he does what he says he will do then it might be worth paying a bit more. I also suspect that he didn't force the new boiler on my mother, just didn't actively disuse her.

Thanks to all for your input. Its been useful.