Replacing combi boiler central heating pump - fair cost

[fyj]

Hello, recently my central heating stopped working and an engineer diagnosed the problem as being that the electrical connection point on the heating pump has partially melted, presumably due to the connection being poor. The pump is inside the boiler body. He recommended replacing the pump and wire that connects to it. He's given me a quote to do the repair that seems rather on the high side, and I was wondering does anyone here have an idea of whether it's reasonable?

The labour costs quote is £180-250+VAT (~2-3 hours' worth) for changing the pump, plus £180+VAT (a bit over 2 hours) for draining and refilling the whole central heating system (which he says is necessary because on my make of boiler, the boiler isolator valves are unreliable). This is quite a lot more than other people I know have been charged for a pump replacement, though I know it can depend on the boiler. I've read that draining the system can be done in ~20 mins, but I've not been able to find out how long it should take to refill it. (The engineer estimated the system volume to be ~50l.) Do you have insights into any of this?

Also, should it be a concern that the connection got hot enough to melt in the first place, or would replacing the parts really be likely to correct any problem there?

Thanks very much for any help.

 

[denso13]

Over £500 is extortionate for labour only to change a pump in the UK, I suspect Azerbaijan is the same.

 

[ianmcd]

What make and model is your boiler

 

[fyj]

What make and model is your boiler

It's a Ferroli F30 - I wasn't sure if I'm allowed to mention the brand here.

 

[ianmcd]

It's a Ferroli F30 - I wasn't sure if I'm allowed to mention the brand here.

yes of course you can , we need to know what the appliance is, you need a different engineer, no need to drain the system, I hate ferroli boilers but that is one of the easiest boilers to change the circulator (pump) on, should not take more than 30 mins even with altering the wiring to the pump

 

[jeff the gasman]

Hello, recently my central heating stopped working and an engineer diagnosed the problem as being that the electrical connection point on the heating pump has partially melted, presumably due to the connection being poor. The pump is inside the boiler body. He recommended replacing the pump and wire that connects to it. He's given me a quote to do the repair that seems rather on the high side, and I was wondering does anyone here have an idea of whether it's reasonable?

The labour costs quote is £180-250+VAT (~2-3 hours' worth) for changing the pump, plus £180+VAT (a bit over 2 hours) for draining and refilling the whole central heating system (which he says is necessary because on my make of boiler, the boiler isolator valves are unreliable). This is quite a lot more than other people I know have been charged for a pump replacement, though I know it can depend on the boiler. I've read that draining the system can be done in ~20 mins, but I've not been able to find out how long it should take to refill it. (The engineer estimated the system volume to be ~50l.) Do you have insights into any of this?

Also, should it be a concern that the connection got hot enough to melt in the first place, or would replacing the parts really be likely to correct any problem there?

Thanks very much for any help.

Does your engineer have a horse?

 

[bennettp23]

Does your engineer have a horse?

More like a Ferrari with ripping people off like that.

 

[jeff the gasman]

More like a Ferrari with ripping people off like that.

Probably a furloughed footballer.

 

[fyj]

Thanks very much for your replies. I talked to him again and he said he'll remove the extra charge for draining and refilling, so I figured I'd just go with it to get it done with and I'm not sure there would be a better deal from anyone else.

 

[ETAF]

you don't have any other plumbers recommended in your area at all, to get a quote ?, it would not surprise me, if he tries it on when in the property and your boxed in

 

[Nige F]

Just google - gas safe - you'll find engineers in your area

 

[Madrab]

The labour costs quote is £180-250+VAT (~2-3 hours' worth) for changing the pump, plus £180+VAT (a bit over 2 hours) for draining and refilling the whole central heating system

For that I'll head over to Azerbaijan to fit it for that, if there's an air bridge of course

 

[boolie]

Hello, recently my central heating stopped working and an engineer diagnosed the problem as being that the electrical connection point on the heating pump has partially melted, presumably due to the connection being poor. The pump is inside the boiler body. He recommended replacing the pump and wire that connects to it. He's given me a quote to do the repair that seems rather on the high side, and I was wondering does anyone here have an idea of whether it's reasonable?

The labour costs quote is £180-250+VAT (~2-3 hours' worth) for changing the pump, plus £180+VAT (a bit over 2 hours) for draining and refilling the whole central heating system (which he says is necessary because on my make of boiler, the boiler isolator valves are unreliable). This is quite a lot more than other people I know have been charged for a pump replacement, though I know it can depend on the boiler. I've read that draining the system can be done in ~20 mins, but I've not been able to find out how long it should take to refill it. (The engineer estimated the system volume to be ~50l.) Do you have insights into any of this?

Also, should it be a concern that the connection got hot enough to melt in the first place, or would replacing the parts really be likely to correct any problem there?

Thanks very much for any help.

@fyj How are your diy skills? replacing the pump is pretty straight forward and is nothing to do with the gas parts so no issue doing DIY

I changed my pump a while ago, took about 30 minutes

 

[boolie]

also the fact that the electrical connection melted could mean that the PCB is faulty. You'd need a multimeter to verify

however, more than likely it's the pump - and changing it will fix

 

[HERTS P&D]

Does your engineer have a horse?

He's looking to buy a new field to put his horse's in with that cost.



Andy