Having moved house a few months ago, we decided it was time to get someone in to have a look at the boiler and let us know where we stand pre-winter. So we signed up to British Gas' HomeCare and got someone out to do a check.
Straight away, we were told two things: the air vent in the kitchen has been blocked by a new unit put in (prior to us moving in) and that the boiler is connected to the mains and doesn't have its own power supply, which may damage it if we had a power cut. Until both of these things were corrected, we could not sign up to a Home Care service - and, more importantly, they're both quite dangerous.
He also said the boiler is at least 25 years old (they stopped making parts for it in 1983) and his readings told him it was working at 65% efficiency (although he doubted it was that high). Parts for it may prove to be hard to come by if it broke down too.
So we've got a few choices - do we plump for a new boiler (it's a back boiler) or get work done on the two jobs? Apparently, both jobs would cost about £150 each to do, tops, whereas a boiler may be up to ten times that price. Money is an obvious issue.
Will we need these two jobs doing regardless of whether we get a new one?
And how easy is it to install an air vent, or shall i leave it to British Gas to do?
Attached is a picture of the gas heater we have in the kitchen, which we do not use, but should give an indication of the type of boiler, etc. I wouldn't mind having this thing ripped out - could that happen if we had a new boiler installed?
Also, is there any point signing up to the HomeCare if the boiler parts are hard to come by anyway?
Many questions, thank in advance for reading!
Straight away, we were told two things: the air vent in the kitchen has been blocked by a new unit put in (prior to us moving in) and that the boiler is connected to the mains and doesn't have its own power supply, which may damage it if we had a power cut. Until both of these things were corrected, we could not sign up to a Home Care service - and, more importantly, they're both quite dangerous.
He also said the boiler is at least 25 years old (they stopped making parts for it in 1983) and his readings told him it was working at 65% efficiency (although he doubted it was that high). Parts for it may prove to be hard to come by if it broke down too.
So we've got a few choices - do we plump for a new boiler (it's a back boiler) or get work done on the two jobs? Apparently, both jobs would cost about £150 each to do, tops, whereas a boiler may be up to ten times that price. Money is an obvious issue.
Will we need these two jobs doing regardless of whether we get a new one?
And how easy is it to install an air vent, or shall i leave it to British Gas to do?
Attached is a picture of the gas heater we have in the kitchen, which we do not use, but should give an indication of the type of boiler, etc. I wouldn't mind having this thing ripped out - could that happen if we had a new boiler installed?
Also, is there any point signing up to the HomeCare if the boiler parts are hard to come by anyway?
Many questions, thank in advance for reading!