First, a small leak from a radiator valve..

[nat25]

The Maxol microturbo 40H gas fired boiler, worked faultlessly throughout last winter. This was my first winter at these premises.

About 6 months ago, I switched the heating off.
But had to call a plumber when I spotted a small stain on the sitting room floorboard, caused from the pipe that links the radiator to the floor.
Tightening the bolt stopped the leak and he advised I use the immersion heater only, or I'd have a leak problem again (with pipes expanding) if I turned the system on again.
He explained that he should have drained the system and changed the valve, but suggested coming back some other time, if I wanted it done, as it'd take too long to do it.

Unable to trace back his number, another guy came last week. I wanted him to regulate the immersion heater as the water is too hot!
His excuse for not doing it: he could damage something if he unscrewed the lid as the box houses many wires. No idea if this is a valid excuse.

To my question: is it more expensive to get hot water from a gas boiler or an immersion heater, he said it's about the same.

He turned the boiler on but switched it off soon after as it made awful noises and commented Maxol is always full of problems and has been discontinued.

Assuming he'd checked the radiators, which in the past 6 months must have filled with air, I wonder why he hasn't, and now don't know if I can trust that it's the pump that needs changing.

 

[namsag]

Both sound a pair of halfwits get someone by recommendation from work mates or family

 

[nat25]

Hi namsag, thanks for your reply.

Trouble is, I have no family in the UK and my friends don't seem to know anyone they can recommend.

I rang Maxol, called their heating engineer, but he won't deal with the faulty radiator valve as he's not a plumber.

Apart from increasing costs, do I really need a guy to change the radiator valve, and another one to sort out the boiler?

 

[tryitandsee]

I don't mean to be rude, but try being a little 'sharper'. If when the plumber fixes the leak with a 'nip of the spanner' and then suggests he needs to call again to drain down and do more work, then maybe he is just looking for extra unnecessary work.

Gas is normally cheeper than electric, however prices have increased so much lately, that that may be debateable.

Forget about the immersion heater for the time being and use it when boiler not working. Perhaps ask kindly of a boiler engineer (when servicing boiler) if he could turn the thermostat down on the immersion (if it has one). Killing two birds with one stone. By the sound of it as the boiler has been switched off for some time, the pump has probably got stuck and needs freeing. A good service would sort that out.

 

[nat25]

That guy had told me he was very busy and that all he could do was pop over and stop the leak, which he did. He'd also advise I keep the boiler off.

I've now booked a boiler engineer from a company found online, to sort the boiler and radiator out today.

I'd like to thank everyone who gave their advice. Hopefully, I'll have some good news to report later.

 

[nat25]

Well, I didn't need a new pump after all; it was jammed and the new guy who came from an agency took no time at all to get the system going again. He also advised I switch the immersion heater off, only meant to be used in an emergency.
Apart from the agency charging more than advertised on their website for the first hour, the problem has been solved.

Thanks again to whoever took the trouble to reply.

 

[tryitandsee]

A good tip for the future is to run the central heating for half an hour occasionally during the summer, this will run the pump and keep the pump from sticking. New boilers have an automatic pump run that spins the pump every 24 hours, avoiding this very problem. However. now you know the problem, read on the FAQ's on this site about freeing the pump, all very easy to sort out.

With regard your immersion heater, with the electrics off, try taking the top cover off immersion and seeing if you have a thermostat type dial inside, if so, small electric tester screw driver inserted in slot and turn it slightly down.

 

[nat25]

Tryitandsee, thanks for the pointers re: the boiler and the immersion heater.
Always good to learn something more!