Britony Combi hot water problem

[mag_pie]

Hi everyone...sorry if this has been asked (hundreds of times) before...but here goes
An elderley aunt has a 10 year old Britony Combi se boiler...she had it service by British Gas a couple of weeks ago...she told the engineer that she was having problem with hot water only..ie had to turn tap on Fully before boiler would ignite...he said this was due to age of boiler and needs replacing...having read some of the other posts on this site...is it worth getting a "propper" engineer in or cutting her losses and replacing the boiler?

thanks in advance
Magpie

 

[dcawkwell]

Should be perfectly fixable. Don't know the boiler
but will be flow switch or diverter valve related.

Give British Gas the push.

They will only come around and try and sell you a boiler or
tell you it needs powerflushing instead of fixing the problem.

 

[mag_pie]

Hi
Thanks for the reply...I suspected this may be the case...will do some further research to see if I can fix it....or get someone who specialises in these boilers

 

[45yearsagasman]

If it was "only 2 weeks ago", then get them back as a recall. There are plenty of BG bashers but they should come back as they guarantee their repairs and should not charge you. There may however be a charge for parts. Ask them not to send the 1st engineer. Not a difficult boiler to repair and it is as suggested diverter / diaphragm related.

 

[Agile]

Hi

Thanks for the reply...I suspected this may be the case...will do some further research to see if I can fix it....or get someone who specialises in these boilers

Oh dear!

You evidently think that plumbers are very thick indeed and leave school at 16 with few on no GCSEs and that you can surpass their skills with just a few minutes learning on the internet!

In fact, with that view, it surprises me that you have allowed your aunt to spend £180 pa with BG when you could have gained all the necessary qualifications and registration in a very short time and done all her boiler maintenance yourself!

This is a very simple fault for any competent boiler engineer to deal with. As suggested, BG do have some amongst their staff with enough skills.

Unfortunately their management reward appointments to give a new BG boiler quotation ( extra money ) rather than to an engineer actually fixing an older boiler ( no money! ).

 

[twgas]

some of us at BG repair faults AND get a rep in, bit of commission never hurts.
If you attempt a repair yourself BG will be within the Ts & Cs to charge you for anything that has to be re-repaired.

 

[Agile]

They will also be entitled to refuse to honour the maintenance contract subsequently and NOT to give any refunds.

Not surprisingly, they have a term in their contract that when your system is under their cover then you will not alow any others to fiddle with it. Not an unreasonable term as considerable damage can be done to a boiler in unexperienced hands!

 

[gas_man_gaz]

Hi everyone...sorry if this has been asked (hundreds of times) before...but here goes
An elderley aunt has a 10 year old Britony Combi se boiler...she had it service by British Gas a couple of weeks ago...she told the engineer that she was having problem with hot water only..ie had to turn tap on Fully before boiler would ignite...he said this was due to age of boiler and needs replacing...having read some of the other posts on this site...is it worth getting a "propper" engineer in or cutting her losses and replacing the boiler?

thanks in advance
Magpie

what contract if any has she got with bg?
did she report the fault before the engineer visited?
which britony is it?

iam with the bg man on replacing it, they are crap

 

[Agile]

They may not be the most reliable boiler.

They may most easily fail with just a little magnetic dirt.

But they are a totally repairable boiler for anyone who bothers.

If BG are happy to take them on they they should expect their engineers to fix them when they go wrong. ( Which is more often than some other boiler makes ).

Tony

 

[gas_man_gaz]

he hasn't even said if they have a contract with bg. also if the customer hadn't reported the breakdown wen the appointment was booked the engineer wouldn't be given the time to repair it, the engineer may not even do repairs. would you do a job for nothing? wait to ya got the facts

 

[mag_pie]

Hi all

Information re the request for advice....The lady in question does not have a maintainance agrement with BG...she arrange a yearly service of the boiler and stated at the outset that there was a problem with the boiler (in that she had to turn the tap on full to get the boiler to ignite)

When the engineer called,he serviced the boiler...said nothing about the fact he needed to turn the tap on full to get the boiler to ignite. when asked by the 85 year old lady if this normal...he said "well the boiler is nearly 10 years old and thats what happens when they get to this age"

As for myself....I worked as a service engineer for over 40 years and worked with people I would not allow to wire a plug at my home....and others who I would trust my life with.

so....if I can find information that would indicate that with some research and the correct parts...I would asses if it was something I could tackle myself...or as stated attempt to find an engineer who specialises in these boilers.

Regards
Magpie

 

[Andy1927]

Oh my god, I'm not having a dig here at anyone, but this boiler, although prone to certain faults and not brilliant engineering is diagnosable/ fixable quite easily,why advise a new boiler.

 

[gas_man_gaz]

because they are crap

 

[gas_man_gaz]

is it the old britony 80 or the newer se model?

 

[Agile]

Hi all

Information re the request for advice....The lady in question does not have a maintainance agrement with BG...she arrange a yearly service of the boiler and stated at the outset that there was a problem with the boiler (in that she had to turn the tap on full to get the boiler to ignite)


#Regards
Magpie

As explained above, a service is just that and is NOT a repair ( at a cheaper price )!

You must not expect a repair when you ask for a service!

And as for expecting to pay a service fee of £40 and getting a £200 repair.......................