Boiler Service

[holty]

thing is with modern boilers you cant do much of a service, i mean zero governors by the way.but checks should be made.eg using a fga and or a gas rate.got to admit doing a tightness test is the only way of telling if you did have a gas leak on a gas valve.

 

[holty]

my flat mate took his car into the garage today.they charged him 280, still not solved the problem. alls the garage owner said to him was, i tried my best but iv given up on it love to see what would happen if i tried that with one of my customers with no heating.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Since I also work on automotive air con, I know that there are garages where I would take my car and garages where I wouldn't..... Being a tight wad, I prefer to service both my car and van myself.. I find it very relaxing

 

[Stoyer]

Hi Holty,

Thanks for the replies - a big help.

Does it reflect in your charges if the boiler is modern ?

I would of thought the garage guy would of pointed out that he may not be able to solve the problem and there is the possiblity of charges being incurred.

I certainly would of explained it to my customer if that had been the case.

 

[holty]

my new cars got air con its called windows and sun sunroof its an old one with simple mechanics bit like a baxi bermuda with an ecu

 

[Stoyer]

So -- do I insist on a strip down and clean type job or do I settle for a probe up my flue, and a cup of tea.

I think I may have a few questions for my new heating engineer ?

Stoyer

 

[holty]

hi stoyer i dont charge the customer my boss does. but my input to him as hes not a heating engineer. is it takes a lot less to service a modern boiler than it would a back boiler i would agree to service a very modern boiler it would take 20-30 mins but a back boiler done properly could take 1-2 hrs but then it depends on wich boiler where it is all sorts of issues.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Stoyer... I would argue that it makes no difference if the boiler is modern or old... An FGA is a piece of kit that is expensive to buy and maintain, so what we save in time we have to pay in upkeep of equipment.

Holty....

 

[Corgigrouch]

So -- do I insist on a strip down and clean type job or do I settle for a probe up my flue, and a cup of tea.

I think I may have a few questions for my new heating engineer ?

Stoyer

A modern boiler only needs stripping if there is an issue shown in the reading from the FGA, or in the case of worcesters if the vacuum pressure is out of tolerance... to strip a modern boilers heat exchanger can require a set of seals and gaskets... which would be an extra cost

 

[holty]

and like corgigrouch said on the wb service, to test the fan vacuum you would need a digital manometer and a load of patience if its the junior,id sooner do a soil stack live.well maybe not.

 

[tonybhoy]

Usually when someone asks for a 'service' what they actually mean is 'my boiler is broken a bit but I'm not telling you what is wrong with it in case it costs me money so can you fix it by servicing it?'

I tell owners of combis/condensing boilers/condensing combis that a service is in actual fact a safety check and anything else is a repair which is chargeable on top of the service. Naturally I don't get many takers

Had a customer on the phone today wanting a first service done on an Ideal Mexico OF that I fitted for him five years ago. He even asked if the boiler needed a service after all this time

 

[Corgigrouch]

Usually when someone asks for a 'service' what they actually mean is 'my boiler is broken a bit but I'm not telling you what is wrong with it in case it costs me money so can you fix it by servicing it?'

I tell owners of combis/condensing boilers/condensing combis that a service is in actual fact a safety check and anything else is a repair which is chargeable on top of the service. Naturally I don't get many takers

Ha! when they are on the phone asking for a price, I always ask if the boiler is working at the moment.. This tends to phase them and they come clean. Naturally after every service the customer is left with a list of work that needs to be adressed or a quote for any repairs that need to be done... on rare occasions the applience has been cut off but I always take time to explain to the customer what I have done and why.

To use the car/ garage analogy again, you don't take your car to be serviced on the back of a recovery truck

 

[HarrogateGas]

You really are looking for earth bonding too much. On a service visit the only place you need check is the gas meter!

By 'UnVented 'System most would presume your refering to the DHW. The terminology used by manufacturers and publications is 'sealed' system when refering to central heating.

I can check the gas valve just fine thankyou very much from being stood infront of the boiler.


I dont just 'shove' an FGA in the flue. If im familliar with the appliance I attach/insert in the manufactuers specified place, operate the appliance how the manufactuers require me too and see what reading I get. If the reading is ok per manufactuers I leave it there. Why strip and break seals, wear nuts/bolts/washers when there is no need?

My service is carried out quickly and efficiently with the use of an FGA. I dont charge the customer for useless stripping and cleaning of parts and the additional cost of seal kits etc when they are not required. I think it is you who is ripping the cutomer off!! To use you analogy its like an old lady taking her car for a Ford recommended oil change on a 2 year old motor and you stripping the engine and fitting a new head gasket!!!

Checking the flue is sealed is a basic check and again might take up 10-20 seconds of you 'hour long' service.



PS Some cars go for service on the back of a recovery vehicle.

The local Ferrari and Lambourgini dealer often used them for fetching cars coming in for service!!

 

[landyandy]

Stoyer

My question was, Could someone please explain what is involved in correctly servicing a condensing boiler. If it differs from 10mins to an hour then someone ain't doing there job correctly surely ?

It will say exactly what is required in your manufacturers instructions. Have a look.

Andy, should a Corgi Engineer have the analyser as part of there required equipment ?

I think yes they should. Again , if you look in the manufacturers instructions it will go into some detail as to what readings to expect and then which route to go on the service itself. Sometimes there really is no need to to strip everything down, possibly causing more harm that good. But don't forget the big, IF an analyser is used phrase.
So a Corgi Engineer does not have to have an analyser as part of their required equipment.



Andy.

 

[namsag]

Amazing how peoples attitudes change when BG first start using FGA nearly twenty years ago and still up till recently majority of people slagged them off as it not being a proper service and made assumptions on stripping appliances down.
Now people are saying its a must have gadget to be proffesional
Strange. It would not be anything to do with making money

Same goes for power flushing this was slagged to death as not required untill people realised what a cash generator it was whether it was needed or not.

We now see the same thing with magna cleans funny that also can make people money.

The simple answer is a service takes as long or as short as is required to leave THAT appliance in a safe working condition to last another year by using the MI .

What is the better service , desooting a back boiler that takes an hour or a normal service on a back boiler that could be done in half the time both appliances are left in the exact same condition afterwards but one has taken twice as long on the SAME appliance.


As for visual part of a service when you think of what you take in as second nature just by looking it soon adds up.

First thing used to do on parking up was to look at GC1 see if it in good condition (old ones rot) see if it was an epoxy resin coated one (which are illegal) and there are still some out there.
On walking up the path you would be checking the air vent for correct type etc etc.
CUSTOMERS would not even know you had started the minute you pull up