Powermax 155x Replacement

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My 5 yr old Powermax 155x recently packed up. I had the guys from the Baxi Heat team come around who said that they could not fix it , too much corrosion , and would refund the maintenance warranty charge (gee thanks guys).

British Gas took £160 (fix everything including parts and labour charge) and said pretty much the same thing. Their new boiler division reckoned it would cost between £2k to £4k to replace this boiler. Oh and they can't even visit for 3 weeks.

I am now left in the position of having to replace the Powermax 155x. The problem is that the boiler is in an internal cupboard of a one bed flat in a new development with a horizontal flue (twin? ) to an external wall above the ceiling. I am told that the Flue is aluminium and if i replace the boiler with a Condensing that flue would need replacing.

Can anyone help me to find a boiler that can replace this beast without having to replace the flue. or offer any advice as to what I should do?


Many thanks

Al
 
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You can't use the old flue with a modern boiler, period.

A Keston is rubbish but uses a similar (but plastic) two pipe system.

One may be able to replace it with a modern boiler and a concentric flue and some roof tiles. You need a resourceful independent to have a look, not one of the nationals.
 
Thanks Simond,

I see that someone had the same problem about a year ago. Any idea what they replaced their Powermax 155x with?

I'll have alook at the Keston C36.

Oh and both BG and the HeatTeam have cop out clauses in their Cover plans. So if they think that the repair is going to be too much they will simply say that the boiler cannot be economically repaired and refund the outstanding cover costs. A win win situation for them! Basically if the repair is less than the cover price then the customer is ok if its more then tough luck!

Al
 
do not look in to getting a keston, they are useless. if you want an unreliable boiler that falls apart and parts cost a fortune then by all means get one, personally i'd want a good boiler.

i think you'll find that if it's too much corrosion then it's to do with the external flue connection on the cylinder or the cylinder itself, that's a part which is unavailable therefore both baxi and BG cannot fix it, or it may have numerous problems which would mean it'll have continous problems. blame the manufacturer for that. normally parts are made for approx 10 years after a boiler stops production (except on the budget or poor selling boilers they cut this period down). the powermax was originally made by imi range until baxi potterton bought them out and decided to wipe their hands clean of the old design boiler. that's why some parts are not available now.

i don't know if it's still available but there was a condensing powermax released which had a nice problem of condensate making it rot through.
 
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i cannot believe that your boiler needs replacing after 5 years,the new boiler probaly needs to be relocated closer to an external wall for flueing.
fit a decent combi.
where is the corrosion on your boiler,there must be a way of fixing it,although most gas engineers use the oboslete part phrase to often espically with powermax boilers.
any chance of a photo of the part which is corroded.
if this was my property i would take legal advice on why the developer has fitted a boiler which needs replacement in 5 years.
good luck.
 
Just an update for anyone interested. After the "HeatTeam" refused to repair my boiler , saying it was going to be too expensive & BG saying the same thing after taking £160 call out charge I thought I would need a new boiler.

I was however fortunate to find a Corgi Registered plumber who was prepared to work through the problem without a long whistle on opening it up. He has started on repairing it , estimated at £440.00, a lot cheaper then the cost of replacing it.

Moral of the story is do not trust the Powermax Baxi " Heat Team" or British Gas as both have their own agenda and will only honour their fixed price repair if they know its not going to cost them any more than the cost of their call out.! Worth getting a third opinion!

Al
 
I'm glad you find an honest decent engineer to solve the problem. BG are a joke (along with many others) where Powermax boilers are concerned, they will take the easy way out and say it needs replacing when in reality it more often doesn't.

Most engineers shy away from Powermaxes and make up rubbish like parts are obsolete as they are incompetent at working on these boilers. I was told mine needed replacing and was beyond repair, when in actual face it just needed a new electrode and PCB, which in total cost me less than £150 in total, including labour, as I found a good honest local corgi engineer who actually understood the boiler, and gave me a sensible diagnosis.
 
i'd be interested to see the outcome of this. and as for the comments about bg , ive been to loads of second opinion jobs where the private guys says boiler cant be repaired but ill do you a deal for a relpacement. then ive fitted £50 worth of bits and left the customer happy. plus the tales from plumbers that condensing boilers and comnbis cant be repaired. :rolleyes: . sure theres some crap engs with us but to tar us all the same is a little boring to say the least. i certainly dont go on about incompetent privates, which tbh is all ive ever come acrross.
 
Hi Govinda,

Fair comment. Will let you know when the job is complete and the outcome.

Am however a bit cheesed off in paying an all inclusive visiting charge to BG and then being told it needs replacing with a likely estimate of £2k -£4k from their new boiler team. Oh and they can't give a firm quote for 3 weeks let alone actually do the work. Nice business plan if you can swing it!
 
Hi Govinda,

Fair comment. Will let you know when the job is complete and the outcome.

Am however a bit cheesed off in paying an all inclusive visiting charge to BG and then being told it needs replacing with a likely estimate of £2k -£4k from their new boiler team. Oh and they can't give a firm quote for 3 weeks let alone actually do the work. Nice business plan if you can swing it!

BG aka ****ish Gas are a money making machine-nothing else! They are out to extract as much cash from you as possible. By all means get a quote from them but get a quote from a local independant who has a good reputation-it will be alot cheaper and probably a better job too.
 
Thought BG had a no fix no fee policy. did you check terms conditions on web site
 
BG aka ****ish Gas are a money making machine-nothing else! They are out to extract as much cash from you as possible.

Yes you really should be getting quotes from one of those charitable , non profit making businesses :LOL:
 
Moral of the story is do not trust the Powermax Baxi " Heat Team" or British Gas as both have their own agenda and will only honour their fixed price repair if they know its not going to cost them any more than the cost of their call out.! Worth getting a third opinion!

Al

There is no agenda Al, we have frequently replaced isar hx's, unvented and vented cylinders etc. for 168.00 If it is a single fault and the part is available there is no get out clause
 
BG aka ****ish Gas are a money making machine-nothing else! They are out to extract as much cash from you as possible. By all means get a quote from them but get a quote from a local independant who has a good reputation-it will be alot cheaper and probably a better job too.

funny that cos ive made no money this year from ripping people off. however i have saved several lives after dodgy private installs. yours perhaps :rolleyes: .

seeing as were playing the tar em all the same game. get a new joke and possobly a clue whilst you're at it.

i tend to find those that talk ****. are.
 
I've lost count of the ****ish gas f%&kups I've had to sort out and their misdiagnosis. Gavinda you say you've not ripped people off by that I can only asuume you haven't sold any grossly overpriced cod's, powerflushes, new boilers etc etc to your customers via bg then. :rolleyes:

"Best advice" what a load of bullshit.
 

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