Sitting here reading these posts is like deja vu! Allow me to tell you our story...
We had our barcelona installed around spring 99, it arrived with bashed side panels. Our installer called Baxi who said it would be fine and they would dispatch new panels. He installed the boiler.... some weeks later our replacement panels arrived...they were for a Bermuda... it had begun!
all was quiet for 11 months, then, one very cold winter morning it stopped, dead. we called baxi who agreed to send out an engineer. half a dozen engineers and 6 months later Baxi relented and replaced the boiler with a new one!
all was quiet for 11 months, then, one very cold winter morning it stopped, dead. this time we had the foresight to join British gas' celsia cover. the first of a troop of engineers arrived and replaced the PCB, 2 months later he replaced the fan, then the condensate trap a few months after that. some 12 visits and numerous parts and engineers later we still have a boiler that is totally unreliable.
This morning it was cold, so it stopped, dead. a new engineer came today! (welcome Simon! i think Lee was probably suicidal at this stage, and Dave did a runner after last winter....). Now we have a leak causing it to go into lock out. he fixed it and blew dust from the ignition area and again I have heat and water..but for how long?
The ignition is so loud it wakes us up at 6am. Our neighbours complain about the huge sonic booms that frequently emit from the thing. if you happen to be washing dishes adjacent to it when it does explode beware.....many a plate has hit the floor in fright. It refuses to work for any period longer than 3 months and only likes warmer summer weather.
For 4 years I have had a boiler in the corner of my kitchen that is absoloubtly perfect.....as a holder for fridge magnets. As a boiler? forget it. but looking on the bright side, I have made so many new friends who all happen to be heating engineers.....
Jane
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