Sold a Replacement boiler on a sludgy system

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I would like some advice as to our way forward. My daughter has a system gravity fed boiler and the 10 rads were not warming up and hot water was luke warm.

Her neighbour popped in and said there was hardly any heat on the return ( flow ok ). he kindly cleaned out the magnaclean in the air/cupboard which was a little grimy but not too bad.

She contacted her service company who sent an eng out who said the boiler was overheating and considering its age she needed a new one. He felt it unsafe and switched it off with a sticker.

A surveyor came round, agreed with eng, but said as the existing flue fed out into neighbours area it would need to be moved to the other end of kitchen. He gave a price which she accepted, and pre install paid.

An eng came around and said existing position ok, and went ahead with instal and completed the job. (Ideal Logic H18) resulting in exactly the same problem, return cold.

Another eng came round and repositioned boiler to survey advised posn. Still the same problem.

Return visit and eng converted system to pressured. On setting to 1 bar and firing system up, within 5 minutes there was a pop and a pipe burst in the ceiling above.

Return visit, repaired pipe and changed the 2 pumps in A/c ( 2 zones )….no change !! At this point he cut into the return pipe 3mts from boiler and said its full of sludge and the floors would need to come up for a re pipe ( which isn’t covered by her contract ) so no more they can do.

My Q is, would a powerflush be the best next step to avoid floors up ?

And, when the boiler was installed should the system have had some form of pre flush and any issues been discovered.

This is up to date, and has been going on for the last month. A new boiler, a big hole in the ceiling with 2 kiddies and no heating. Any advice really welcome. Thanks.
 
And, when the boiler was installed should the system have had some form of pre flush and any issues been discovered.
YES Absolutely, jtell the installation company that they mis-dagnosed and did not clean the system properly as they are required to and they have to fix it at their expence , if they refuse get on to trading standards, absolute cowboys
 
+1 ... Cleaning/flushing should have been included as part of the install estimate/quote ... if they have any issue with that then first point them to the manual Pg14 Section 9 re cleaning/flushing then to benchmark at the back of the manual, where it clearly states - The system has been flushed as per BS7593 and the manufacturers Instructions. Did they complete the benchmark?

If the system hasn't been cleaned/flushed then the manufacturer will invalidate the warranty if there are any issues. Don't let the installers get away with that.
 
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Well there is always the case where it was deemed unsafe and shut it down with a do not use sticker and was it actually unsafe but that's too late now. The rest is just conjecture really as nothing can really be proven, apart from the system still being sludged up. It could be argued that the boiler wasn't needing replaced but without that boiler then it's nigh on impossible to prove.

The least that should be done is that the client has her system cleaned and then not left until its working as it should, as suggested, anything less is a rip off and they should be legally brought to task if it is left like that.
 
When professionalism takes the back seat to ££olly, what is written above is a common occurrence.
For a start, the visiting engineer does not have power to flag and disconnect appliance Without permission.

Then there is case of lack of rudementory understanding of their appliance on part of the enduser. Knowing the basic operation will stop such episodes taking place.

Clearly based on what OP has said, there is a case of refusing to pay for work carried out which was undertaken ( based in what has been posted) through lack of proper diagnoses
 
This is up to date, and has been going on for the last month. A new boiler, a big hole in the ceiling with 2 kiddies and no heating
It’s disgusting the way your daughter has been treated.

Its seems to me the problems are the result of deliberate mis selling rather than being misdiagnosed.

My Q is, would a powerflush be the best next step to avoid floors up ?

Probably should’ve been the first step.



Your daughter should really be getting compensation, but that could take ages, not much help for your daughter in a cold house.

I wonder if a professional powerflushing specialist would be a good route?
 
It’s disgusting the way your daughter has been treated.
I would agree, basic point is old boilers have a fixed output, assume rather old to use gravity for DHW, so if the water is not flowing, it will cycle, if boiler is cycling, then one knows there is a flow problem.

But as to how to force the service company to correct their errors I don't know. By time taken to court, it will be summer.
 
They used to say if you paid with a credit card, then you could ask the credit card company to sort it out or give compensation. Also Trading Standards, Citizens Advice, BBC Watchdog.
 

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