Being ripped off

jgl1 · 24 Mar 2010

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help in advance.

I have a glow worm ultimate 40ff boiler. An engineer told us that the pcb had gone so we had a new one fitted at a cost of £197.00.

It stopped working shortly after so she called him back out. It needed a new solenoid. We had that fitted £96.00. It stopped working so he came out again and it needed a new Thermocouple £82.00.
It doesn't work. I work away from home but am here this week and I can't get this bloke to come round as he is too busy. My wife informed me that when he left he put a gas bottle to the boiler to light it. So I thought I was being mugged and now I know I am.

The boiler sparks but does not light the pilot. I have used a small blow lamp to light the boiler and that does work, it fires up and continues to work but when you turn it off it will not it wont go again.
It just sparks. the fan comes on but that's it. Some advise as to what the real problem is would be a great help, so when I call out another engineer I know that he will not be mugging me too.

Thankyou Jack

kevindgas · 24 Mar 2010

im sure if you give us a location, someone on here will probably be able to come sort it out for you. we try to look after peeps on here.

matt1e · 24 Mar 2010

jgl1 said:
My wife informed me that when he left he put a gas bottle to the boiler to light it. So I thought I was being mugged and now I know I am. The boiler sparks but does not light the pilot. I have used a small blow lamp to light the boiler and that does work, it fires up and continues to work but when you turn it off it will not it wont go again. It just sparks.

I think you already know what the problem is mate and so did the last "engineer" what an absolute t@sser he was! I think I would report him if I were you
anyway phone around and get yourself a decent RGI who will come around and check the pilot assembly and ignition. I would also recommend getting it checked over as the last bloke sounds like a knob twiddler to me

Boilerman2 · 24 Mar 2010

Sounds like a cracked electrode insulator to me part is about £10 +a call-out, sounds like you have been victim to a "part changer"

herebriefly · 24 Mar 2010

Shorting electrode and possibly blocked pilot. Pin vice with guitar wire.

Soggy

ollski · 24 Mar 2010

Lpg or nat gas?, often get the electrode lead shorting to the case and dodgy solenoids (on the maclaren gas valves)

Agile · 24 Mar 2010

This is one of the OP's previous postings:-

jgl1 said:
I have a glow-worm ultimate 40ff. It recently stopped working and after reading some replies on this site I changed the pcb and it worked fine for about 2 weeks.

New problem!! It was sparking but not firing for heating or hot water. I read some more responses on here and then checked the solenoids by swapping them over and then I got the pilot to light but main burner would not fire up.

I have now changed the solenoid and am back to the same problem. The boiler is sparking but the pilot will not light. The fan does come on every time. Can anybody please point me in the right direction. If it needs a new gas valve I will have to get somebody registerd to do it. I just don't want to waste any more time or money on this.
Regards jack

Thats what he said before!

I dont think this "engineer" really exists except as the OP.

I think he is just angling for some DIY gas advice so that he can try to fix it himself again. We dont give DIY gas advice here.

Tell us where you live and we will recommend someone in your area!

Tony

Gasman77 · 25 Mar 2010

haha busted! how long is your nose then?? dont come on here trying to get diy gas advice - you could kill yourself or worse someone else.

Mug.

jgl1 · 25 Mar 2010

I work in norfolk and would not entertain playing with a gas appliance. But this trade and the plumbing trade as a whole has not got a great reputation. My boiler still doesn't work and I hoped for a little advice so I didn't end up replacing every part in the boiler. Thanks to the people who have tried to help and Holmes and Watson can go and boil their heads.

Agile · 25 Mar 2010

You have tried to cheat us into giving you free advice on DIY gas work.

You have demeaned our profession and most amazingly accused "an engineer" of ripping you off when in reality there is no engineer!

I am very pleased that your DIY efforts have cost you more than an engneer would have charged and you still have a boiler that does not work!

You have tried to rip us off, but failed!

jgl1 · 25 Mar 2010

It is people like you that demean your proffesion. To be pleased that someone is out of pocket is a very sad, negative outlook. Unfortunatley the man who has been to my home and still not fixed my boiler and other such so called profesionals are the reason your industry has the reputation it has. your profesion is even ridiculed on a macdonalds advert on national tv. Real profesionals would be dismayed by the negative publicity. Only the coboys would be defensive. Again I thank all of you that have given advice. I did not intend to offend anybody but I also didn't create the view that dealing with people in this industry is an absolute minefield. Unfortunately the crap clouds the cream. Again thanks for the posative posts.

Agile · 25 Mar 2010

When someone asks for free advice on here we expect them to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

You are still pretending there was a gas engineer but if I refer you to your original posting which I copied above there is no mention of any profession.

You were trying to mislead but you failed, just as you failed with your DIY repair...........

jgl1 · 25 Mar 2010

All this is because I put I changed instead of I had it changed. If this has mislead anybody it was not my intent. The same engineer has been to my boiler although I have never seen him. I am off work this week and wanted to get this sorted. I can't prove that the work has been done by somebody my wife called but the engineer that called last night said it was the gas valve.

If I had undertaken to attempt this myself I would have started with the cheap fixes not all the expensive ones.

Agile · 25 Mar 2010

jgl1 said:
I have a glow-worm ultimate 40ff. It recently stopped working and after reading some replies on this site I changed the pcb and it worked fine for about 2 weeks.

New problem!! It was sparking but not firing for heating or hot water. I read some more responses on here and then checked the solenoids by swapping them over and then I got the pilot to light but main burner would not fire up.

I have now changed the solenoid and am back to the same problem. The boiler is sparking but the pilot will not light. The fan does come on every time. Can anybody please point me in the right direction. If it needs a new gas valve I will have to get somebody registerd to do it. I just don't want to waste any more time or money on this.
Regards jack

I changed PCB !

I swapped solenoids !

I changed solenoid !

There are three clear statements that YOU did these things. No mention of any engineer!

Why dont you identify this parts changer engineer?

Why dont you let one of the engineers who advise on here repair your boiler?

jgl1 · 25 Mar 2010

I live in Coventry if you can suggest someone I would be grateful.

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Being ripped off

herebriefly

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