- Joined
- 9 Jan 2004
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Hi, I think we have a problem with our combi boiler (it's a Sime). It's about 8 years old and hasn't been serviced for probably that long (I am a tennant).
Over the last 4 months or so our shower has been getting cooler and cooler to now the point where it's not warm enough to use, so we are having to have baths. The mains pressure is okay, but the cold water flow is more than the hot - I haven't measured accurately, is easy to tell just from turning the taps on. If we run the bath or kitchen hot taps slowly, the water is very hot, but if we turn up the pressure, the water then cools down.
Based on what I have read in this (excellent) forum, I think our boiler needs descaling or a new heat exchanger. We have had a plumber around who seems very keen to replace the entire boiler, and has quoted about £750 to do that (£480 boiler + £250 install), I think he may just want to get a decent job rather than doing an easier and less profitable fix.
I would have thought a plumber could descale it (is it possible for us to descale it ourselves?) or replace the heat exchanger for much less than £750. I have tried 'Find an Expert' for our area (West London - Hammersmith) but there were no plumber listed unfortunately.
As a side note, the boiler pressure is always 0 bar, I often fill it so it is between 1 and 1.5 bar, but always drops back to 0 within a day - we don't seem to have any radiator leaks, so I am guessing the leak is within the boiler? This lack of pressure doesn't seem to affect anything - our heating is fine, and even when it is at 1.3 bar our hot water is still not hot enough at high pressure.
Over the last 4 months or so our shower has been getting cooler and cooler to now the point where it's not warm enough to use, so we are having to have baths. The mains pressure is okay, but the cold water flow is more than the hot - I haven't measured accurately, is easy to tell just from turning the taps on. If we run the bath or kitchen hot taps slowly, the water is very hot, but if we turn up the pressure, the water then cools down.
Based on what I have read in this (excellent) forum, I think our boiler needs descaling or a new heat exchanger. We have had a plumber around who seems very keen to replace the entire boiler, and has quoted about £750 to do that (£480 boiler + £250 install), I think he may just want to get a decent job rather than doing an easier and less profitable fix.
I would have thought a plumber could descale it (is it possible for us to descale it ourselves?) or replace the heat exchanger for much less than £750. I have tried 'Find an Expert' for our area (West London - Hammersmith) but there were no plumber listed unfortunately.
As a side note, the boiler pressure is always 0 bar, I often fill it so it is between 1 and 1.5 bar, but always drops back to 0 within a day - we don't seem to have any radiator leaks, so I am guessing the leak is within the boiler? This lack of pressure doesn't seem to affect anything - our heating is fine, and even when it is at 1.3 bar our hot water is still not hot enough at high pressure.
