I own a British Gas RD1 boiler, which is not automatically igniting when the boiler is either turned on manually or via the separate timer.
From reading though the manual, it is my understanding that rather than operating with a permanent pilot light, an electrode runs from a PCB over a small gas valve. When the boiler is operated, gas feeds through the valve and is ignited by the electrode. This pilot light/injector then ignites the main gas burner.
Whilst gas is feeding the main burner, it is not being ignited. The boiler will attempt the ignition process four/five times, but then stop when the main burner does not ignite.
It is still possible to operate the boiler – by adopting the old fashioned method of lighting the gas burner with a match (which I have been doing for a period of time) but clearly this is far from optimal.
I am therefore attempting to find the most sensible method of getting the boiler fixed at a reasonable cost. Whilst I am a competent individual and can read through a manual, I am far from an engineer or boiler expert. I have contacted British Gas and they have quoted a fixed fee of £210 – which is rather excessive as a bit of searching on the net suggests that the parts at fault will cost little more than £20.
Based on the above, what is a reasonable cost to expect to repair a problem of the above nature? Aside from obtaining a recommendation, where is the best place to locate an appropriate engineer to fix the above - I am based in Highbury, London.
Thanks in advance.
From reading though the manual, it is my understanding that rather than operating with a permanent pilot light, an electrode runs from a PCB over a small gas valve. When the boiler is operated, gas feeds through the valve and is ignited by the electrode. This pilot light/injector then ignites the main gas burner.
Whilst gas is feeding the main burner, it is not being ignited. The boiler will attempt the ignition process four/five times, but then stop when the main burner does not ignite.
It is still possible to operate the boiler – by adopting the old fashioned method of lighting the gas burner with a match (which I have been doing for a period of time) but clearly this is far from optimal.
I am therefore attempting to find the most sensible method of getting the boiler fixed at a reasonable cost. Whilst I am a competent individual and can read through a manual, I am far from an engineer or boiler expert. I have contacted British Gas and they have quoted a fixed fee of £210 – which is rather excessive as a bit of searching on the net suggests that the parts at fault will cost little more than £20.
Based on the above, what is a reasonable cost to expect to repair a problem of the above nature? Aside from obtaining a recommendation, where is the best place to locate an appropriate engineer to fix the above - I am based in Highbury, London.
Thanks in advance.