Baxi Duotec 40 HE - Tearing my hair out

[Dean744PiN5]

simple way round is to only hire companies with a no fix no fee policy, who only charge for the correct diagnosis and part and whom only accept payment once the fault is cured.

 

[Eric Walton]

all banter aside , glad you got it sorted ,you see all rgi are not the same , treat her right and she will probably see you right . ranting hardly ever get you anywhere .

I completely agree.
Sadly some folks only understand vulgarities, to realise how insignificant their comments actually are.
She's a clever little gem - plenty of work coming her way.

5 pages after being told the problem in the first reply. One of the most basic, easily sorted faults we come across, which would have been picked up if you'd put your hand in your pocket and got the boiler serviced before it packed in.
Now, after insulting all and sundry you tell us there's plenty of work coming for the girl who fixed it.
Yeah right, from a typical mingebag like you? Don't think so.

Interestingly, the correct answer was given quite early on, yet according to the forum rules about not giving out gas parts and advice , and therefore not understanding it was the correct part because I am not a gas safe genius, clearly like yourself no doubt, I was unaware I had been told the correct part.

The boiler is serviced every year, and I guess things break at such inconvenient times. Odd though that it took the third engineer to look at it to correctly diagnose the bent igniter - The second one even stripped the thing down !
Hey, finding a RGI that actually knows a thing or two about fixing boilers is clearly a rarity - 1 in 3 to be exact.

Mingebag.. you are hilarious.

 

[Eric Walton]

One of the most basic, easily sorted faults we come across, which would have been picked up if you'd put your hand in your pocket and got the boiler serviced before it packed in.

So why didn't the first "repair" man find and fix this most basic, easily sorted fault on the first visit ?.

A very valid question - I conclude it's because most RGI's dont have a clue how to fix boilers.

 

[Eric Walton]

simple way round is to only hire companies with a no fix no fee policy, who only charge for the correct diagnosis and part and whom only accept payment once the fault is cured.

Are you saying don't call a gas safe fitter unless they do that... there will be a lot of RGI's on here without work.
2/3rd of them haven't a clue - clearly.

Nice idea though.

 

[Dean744PiN5]

simple way round is to only hire companies with a no fix no fee policy, who only charge for the correct diagnosis and part and whom only accept payment once the fault is cured.

Are you saying don't call a gas safe fitter unless they do that... there will be a lot of RGI's on here without work.
2/3rd of them haven't a clue - clearly.

Nice idea though.

Exactly that, weeds out the people that can't repair boilers and is exactly how i run my own company.

 

[Aquaheat]

A very valid question - I conclude it's because most RGI's don't have a clue how to fix boilers.

You are quite right with that assumption and to any others reading this thread then when on the phone to them you should be asking if they are experienced in fault finding and diagnostics or if they just install. If they then say that they are experienced ask them what their policy is regarding changing parts that don't cure the problem. The 2 answers to these questions will inspire you with confidence or put you of. I know that I would not be offended by being asked those questions.

You have been unlucky but hope that you have seen the learning curve that the consumer needs also. You now have a good RGE that you can keep on board but remember... if you need an install doing she may not be right for the job.

Jon

 

[Eric Walton]

There are bad as well as good plumbers/RGI's shock. There are also bad as well as good doctors, dentists, joiners, plasterers etc. How do you pick a good one if you don't know anything? Dunno, sometimes life's just a lottery innit. Get practising your darts.

Well this was my point?

Some things are obvious, if your plasterer or joiner does a crap job, you can look with your eyes, realise its crap, and use someone else. Those trades produce a very visible end result, and people sort of expect a wall to be flat and smooth, or their doors to open and close without catching the floor or jamming on the frame. Sometimes a crap job can be done and it looks alright to your untrained eye, but to a pro it would be obvious its a crap job. Or they might have cut corners and it only appears crap sometime later. We've all come across threads on here where someone posts some pictures of an install that to the untrained might look perfectly acceptable, neat and tidy, and then a Pro points out X Y and Z arent right.

As always, it turns into "take the ****" thread, despite the fact i'm making a valid point. At no point have i stated i can go and watch youtube and become an expert heating installer. What i'm saying is that with a little bit of research and background info, instead of being clueless and blindly throwing darts you can apply some level of plausibility to a decision, and have a level of confidence in what your expert is telling you.

If you take your car to the garage with a slipping clutch, and the mechanic tells you its not really a slipping clutch, the car just needs a new fuel pump, you know probably enough about the workings of your car to suspect that hes probably talking rubbish, and might ask for a second opinion. That doesnt mean your going to haul the engine out yourself and fit a new clutch.

If your RGI tells you the boilers not firing due to a faulty gas valve, when a cursory external inspection of the boiler shows the fans not even starting up, or ignition system isnt sparking you again can suspect he might be talking rubbish. That doesnt mean your going to set about with the spanners changing the fan or ignition unit. Such basic diagnostic steps are so secret that they're often even printed in the boilers manual which is freely downloadable and might even exist in paper form right next to the broken boiler if the owner hasnt chucked it out.

Great advice, I did indeed look on youtube, google, lots of websites and even the Baxi one that gives a lovely video of what to do if you get error 133. ,Reset it a few times and call in someone else who doesn't have a clue ( 2 x RGI's) but should, yet you get fleeced for nearly 300 quid including a unnecessary gas valve ( that wasn't set up) and an incomplete service that failed to spot the bent ( then broken igniter ).

Info to the public is scarce for obvious reasons - maybe I should have stripped out the igniters and just changed them myself. That's what it could have been according to some websites, if that didn't work I could have just undone the gas valve and done that as well, only compression fittings for petes sake.
Or I could have just done what I did - made a mistake thinking registered gas monkeys knew what the problem would be and paid them to " fix " it.

Let's face it, boilers

 

[Eric Walton]

A very valid question - I conclude it's because most RGI's don't have a clue how to fix boilers.

You are quite right with that assumption and to any others reading this thread then when on the phone to them you should be asking if they are experienced in fault finding and diagnostics or if they just install. If they then say that they are experienced ask them what their policy is regarding changing parts that don't cure the problem. The 2 answers to these questions will inspire you with confidence or put you of. I know that I would not be offended by being asked those questions.

You have been unlucky but hope that you have seen the learning curve that the consumer needs also. You now have a good RGE that you can keep on board but remember... if you need an install doing she may not be right for the job.

Jon

Absolutely bang on advice - I wished that had come about 7 pages ago.
And also the lady who fixed it told me she didn't do installs. She can't lift he boilers on her own.
She loves fixing them though ans has been doing just that for ten years self employed after being employed for ten years fixing them.
The public in general won't get that advice though will they, cos then the 2 useless RGI's out of 3 wont get any work in.

 

[jedi]

That's what I would have done.. Just fix it ya self.. By now you will know more about your boilers inner workings that most RGIs..

Been in your predicament many a time

 

[Aquaheat]

A very valid question - I conclude it's because most RGI's don't have a clue how to fix boilers.

You are quite right with that assumption and to any others reading this thread then when on the phone to them you should be asking if they are experienced in fault finding and diagnostics or if they just install. If they then say that they are experienced ask them what their policy is regarding changing parts that don't cure the problem. The 2 answers to these questions will inspire you with confidence or put you of. I know that I would not be offended by being asked those questions.

You have been unlucky but hope that you have seen the learning curve that the consumer needs also. You now have a good RGE that you can keep on board but remember... if you need an install doing she may not be right for the job.

Jon

Absolutely bang on advice - I wished that had come about 7 pages ago.
And also the lady who fixed it told me she didn't do installs. She can't lift he boilers on her own.
She loves fixing them though ans has been doing just that for ten years self employed after being employed for ten years fixing them.
The public in general won't get that advice though will they, cos then the 2 useless RGI's out of 3 wont get any work in.

We have tried to tell you that you need people that are experienced in repair but it has been muddied by others giving wrong or bad advice plus those that want to shout that we are all cowboys. I stayed away from the initial posting as the correct advice had been given and choose to stay away from the slanging matches unless it has been directed at me or I feel that someone is giving dangerous advice. I think my first post on this was to try and help you and explain the situation to you.

The public will get the info which is why I included what I did in the last post as hopefully it may be read. I may start adding that to future posts though so that it gets seen earlier.

Glad you're sorted.

Now I wouldn't be a good engineer without asking you one question......



Was she fit?

Jon

 

[Eric Walton]

Similarly, if i have some insurance scheme in place, call it up and expect them to come out and fix my boiler, i expect that person will hold the appropriate qualifications and be competent to do the repairs. The qualification is supposed to ensure they are competent at working on the boiler, thats the whole point of it. If they hold the qualification and arent competent, the qualification isnt fit for purpose.

So whats a general member of the public supposed to do? My own approach is to find out as much as i can about an issue before hand, sometimes that info will enable a DIY fix, other times it gives me sufficient knowledge and background info to know that what the supposed professional is telling me is correct. Thats what forums like this are for.

If at the beginning of this post, the OP had been told "its probably the ignition electrode, but its a safety critical component and you require an RGI to fix it", then when plumber 2 arrived and started spouting about the gas valve, the OP would have known he was an idiot and sent him on his way. But instead, due to the DIY Gas nonsense, we got 5 pages of ****ing around dancing around the issue and namecalling going both ways achieving nothing.

What you and all the other non industry people fail to understand is that an RGI training and assessment only covers basic safety with gas appliances. It does not cover fault diagnosis.

Some RGIs take additional training at their own expense to learn how to do boiler repairs. That needs commitment and a logical mind. Many on this forum have entered the industry from backgrounds where they did fault finding in other fields.

In this case for some reason the OP did not let Plumber 2 buy the gas valve himself as would be normal. There must have been some money saving reason for him to drive 40 miles to buy one himself.

Many RGIs will still come to "repair" a boiler knowing they are not going to lose any money and might get what they want which is the chance to fit a new boiler. Those never buy the allegedly faulty part but get the client to do that so they don't risk their own money.

Last, the only way to diagnose a fault is at the boiler, NOT on an internet forum. In this case it sounded like the ignition electrode but could have been the ignition lead or even the PCB or just possibly the gas valve or a problem with the gas supply.

Tony

Plumber no 2 asked me to get it from his supplier cos he couldn't travel the 40 miles, yet would fit it when I got back.
I could have got it off ebay for a quid cheaper i suppose, and wait 4 more days.
I don't object to spending money - I object to getting ripped off and fleeced by so called professionals that proudly show off their gas safe credentials, yet haven't got a clue how to diagnose and fix a broken boiler.

There should be RHI - RGE's - Registered Gas Engineers as another person posted before .
And then RGI-Hac's ( Haven't a clue) for the rest.

 

[Eric Walton]

A very valid question - I conclude it's because most RGI's don't have a clue how to fix boilers.

You are quite right with that assumption and to any others reading this thread then when on the phone to them you should be asking if they are experienced in fault finding and diagnostics or if they just install. If they then say that they are experienced ask them what their policy is regarding changing parts that don't cure the problem. The 2 answers to these questions will inspire you with confidence or put you of. I know that I would not be offended by being asked those questions.

You have been unlucky but hope that you have seen the learning curve that the consumer needs also. You now have a good RGE that you can keep on board but remember... if you need an install doing she may not be right for the job.

Jon

Absolutely bang on advice - I wished that had come about 7 pages ago.
And also the lady who fixed it told me she didn't do installs. She can't lift he boilers on her own.
She loves fixing them though ans has been doing just that for ten years self employed after being employed for ten years fixing them.
The public in general won't get that advice though will they, cos then the 2 useless RGI's out of 3 wont get any work in.

We have tried to tell you that you need people that are experienced in repair but it has been muddied by others giving wrong or bad advice plus those that want to shout that we are all cowboys. I stayed away from the initial posting as the correct advice had been given and choose to stay away from the slanging matches unless it has been directed at me or I feel that someone is giving dangerous advice. I think my first post on this was to try and help you and explain the situation to you.

The public will get the info which is why I included what I did in the last post as hopefully it may be read. I may start adding that to future posts though so that it gets seen earlier.

Glad you're sorted.

Now I wouldn't be a good engineer without asking you one question......



Was she fit?

Jon

Was she fit ?
My missus thought so

 

[Eric Walton]

That's what I would have done.. Just fix it ya self.. By now you will know more about your boilers inner workings that most RGIs..

Been in your predicament many a time

I won't be touching gas stuff ever - believe that or not, it doesn't matter.
I work with the bloke that lost his dad and wife in this explosion.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ed-father-trying-fit-new-central-heating.html

 

[Aragorn84]

Yet that explosion wasnt caused by gas at all, looks to have been caused by expanding foam vapours.... Something many folk would use without even considering such a danger.

 

[Eric Walton]

Yet that explosion wasnt caused by gas at all, looks to have been caused by expanding foam vapours.... Something many folk would use without even considering such a danger.

At the time there was a lot of speculation about the gas being messed about with. I wasn't there so naturally can't comment.