Power flush required yes or no?

[Iamchamps]

So just had a new boiler installed today to replace my 17 year old potterton.

The original quote included boiler fitting, all parts (flue, piping, magnaclean etc) and a power flush.

As the day went on and the boiler was fitted and other work done I noticed no power flusher was connected or used and this evening I was told ok nearly finished just a few last bits.

I asked are you coming back tomorrow to do the power flush then and the reply I got was I have checked the water and is clean so does not need a power flush. I reminded him it was included in the quote and also from reading lots of stuff on the internet regarding warranty and stuff it is a must.

He seems reluctant to come back and do it, am I right to push for this and if he tells me the water is clean and doesn't need doing is that right?

The guy is really nice and I'm not really good at being strict so just need something to backup that it needs doing or shall I leave it not being done.

Thanks

 

[HootingOwl]

The water was clean on the install I did this week. I put the powerflush on it and got a load of filth out of the radiators. Powerflush takes best part of a day to do properly. Ask for a reduction in the labour charge if he isn't going to do the flush.

 

[Iamchamps]

Hi Hootingowl thank you for the reply. I did consider that and then pay someone else to do the flush I.e. Deduct the cost from his original quote that someone else would charge me.

However my question from what you have answered is if I deduct the labour charge from the quote and not get a flush done will my newly installed boiler function ok and still be covered under warranty if it has an issue if he does not do a power flush?

Thanks

 

[HootingOwl]

What boiler have you had installed? Some manufacturers will use any excuse to shirk the warranty and some boilers react badly to dirty systems.

 

[Iamchamps]

It is a valiant 418

 

[HootingOwl]

Vaillant are pretty decent when it comes to warranty and that boiler should be reasonably tolerant to dirt with a magnaclean installed. No need to worry.

I would ask for a reduction in the bill. I would also check the magnaclean after a few weeks to see how much dirt it has caught. If it has got a lot of dirt in it then you need to ask for the powerflush. A powerflush will cost between 400 and up to 800 if those cute penguins do the work. It takes best part of a day.

 

[Iamchamps]

Ok thank you. I will see how it goes the gas engineer has to come back tomorrow to finish doing something with wires if he doesn't want to power flush I will ask for a price reduction.

 

[HootingOwl]

That will go down well. Put your tin hat on. And look at your quote carefully - does it say powerflush if needed or just a powerflush with no conditions attached.

 

[HootingOwl]

Oh...and a reduction between 200 and 300 would be realistic. Unless he is a dapper penguin in which case you want 800 off the bill.

 

[HootingOwl]

Maybe ask for two years free servicing if you want to keep relations cordial with your installer...

 

[Iamchamps]

The quote was sent by email and missed off the power flush, I then replied to the email and said "Your quote does not have the power flush included as discussed" the reply was then "sorry yes I forgot to write it on there it does include the flush aswell!" The general feeling I was getting is he has to borrow the power flush unit and did not have with him when coming to do the install today and hoped I would not realise. A family member many years ago had a boiler installed by British Gas who forgot to power flush and then refused to help when the boiler started going wrong 6 months later and months of arguments eventually led to them coming back and flushing the system which resolved the problem. That reason made it something that stuck out in my head and I made sure to mention it on the walk round he did, on the quote when he emailed me and more than once today. I will try and push to get him to do it if that fails and he really does not want to then I will do as you suggested and get a deduction or I like the idea of a couple years free service.

 

[FiremanT]

If you want a PF done, and notsuffer an increase your budget, you will need to get a quote locally to have an idea of what to "charge" him.
This is not going to end well, methinks.

 

[muggles]

I'd go for the rate reduction if he refuses the powerflush (which as mentioned above should take the best part of a full day to complete properly). It would be too easy for him to agree to a couple of years free servicing and then be mysteriously uncontactable next year

Worth noting as well that the installation instructions for the Vaillant 4-series state "Flush the heating installation thoroughly prior to installation", and the commissioning checklist requires you to confirm that "The system has been flushed and cleaned in accordance with BS7593 and the manufacturers' instructions".

In reality, there's almost naff-all to go wrong with a 4-series on the water side, but I don't know whether Vaillant will test the water quality prior to carrying out any warranty work regardless of whether it's water related or not (some manufacturers will check the water and invalidate a warranty if there's dirt present even if it's a fan or a gas valve that's broken). If your heat exchanger failed or a wet sensor broke though, they'd probably use dirty water as an excuse not to pay out

 

[Iamchamps]

Thanks for all the replys guys he has agreed to power flush and has booked a whole day in a week to come back and do it.

 

[Agile]

I think that the current 418 uses an alloy heat exchanger which is probably less likely to problems from dirt than the previous stainless ones ( which I preferred ).

Power flushing when doing an installation is not charged at the same rate as a stand alone power flush. That's simply because while on site doing the installation with the system drained its not a lot of extra work.

A stand alone power flush needs the chemicals for cleaning as well as the inhibitor. But those chemicals should also be used during any installations.

On my quotes I include cleaning as required, that can be chemical or power flushing according to my assessment of the system. But, whatever I decide to do I give a full guaranty against any problems arising from dirt.