Have a go boiler wreckers tsh.

[Paul Barker]

Was I mad yesterday, went to fix an Alpha, goodness knows what the original fault had been, probably the flow switch. Symptom writen on the sheet, "no hot water".

I get there boiler in an outhouse has obviously just been moved by the builder of the extension who has just finished.

casing all off it (covered in plaster and building rubble)

So I turned on water underneath to see why no hot water, out it sprang from every orifice. Shut it off.

Have a go henry had obviously had the diverter valve off because the brass manifold was orientated 180 degrees out so the grubscrew wouldn not have contacted the flat and the whole dv could have shot off under mains pressure (and probably did before I got there). All the o rings had been disturbed. The prv was dripping and the aav and the pressure guage. So I changed that lot and as I had to renew all the seals on the DV and the flow pipe where it joins the primary heat ex beacuse a gorilla had been swinging from it, and I changede the dv anyway as it was a full stripdown and Alpha don't mind me doing so.

Then I find because he has clearly flooded everything including the pcb properly, it didn't spark ignight. Anyway Alpha don't mind so rather than nip home 50 miles for the hair dryer I just changed the pcb.

There you go missus your hot water works now, just a quiet word, don't ask that "plumber" to look at it again will you. I'm not complaining, I've fixed it no problem, but it was in a bit of a state, made worse by tampering.

Inside I was livid, it made me late to collect my son from school. That jhust isn't fair to him! If it had been left alone it would have likely been a 5 minute fix, most of them are.

 

[nickso]

thats the one thing i dont like about alphas.....touch one bit and the whole thing starts leaking for no reason.

obviously the guy had been a bit heavy handed in this instance but they are known for being leaky sieves.

 

[gas4you]

I take it this was a warranty call? If so Alpha are obviously very lenient to cover what some bodger has damaged, or is it down to you on site to decide as they trust you?

 

[mehran]

i am shocked alpha are so lenient.

just back from a biasi warranty job a incorrectly fitted room stat took out the pcb clearly a installers fault, biasi said just change the pcb and not to charge. the customer was lucky i was getting ready to charge them gave the customer a good scar with the price it should of cost then phoned the installer and gave a list of all the things that needed changed

 

[gasandoilman]

What do you think about the Biasi boilers?
I have just installed 3 and they seemed very good.
Water flow good rads got hot very quick but worried about the price?
You get what you pay and they are cheap

 

[mehran]

i have never fitted a biasi...but they are ok in my view get a bad rap not because the boiler is bad but they are poorly installed by some people. the biasi rads are very good.

i fit alpha A band or vokara B band boilers

also paul i must say as you are on a fixed price repair you really bend backwards for the end user. i would of told the people it was a chargeable visit

 

[Paul Barker]

I take it this was a warranty call? If so Alpha are obviously very lenient to cover what some bodger has damaged, or is it down to you on site to decide as they trust you?

It is down to me on site, but they do have a very good attitude towards customer service.

The full story on this job is that the original installer of the boiler is probably Alphas largest Yorkshire customer, and an imensely good pipe fitter his jobs are a pleasure to work on, and I always give him a rapid response.

Sadly he wasn't available for a boiler move so the builder used "another plumber" who had made this mess. Strictly speaking the boiler was outside warrantie anyway by quite a margine, but the original installer got onto the head honcho sales team person for the area, not just the local salesman but his boss. He sent me to fix it, so I wasn't really in a position to knock it back, and anyway that is not the spirtit in which Alpha engineer trainer for the area prepared me. Biasi's attitude on these matters and Alphas are as far appart as East and West.

I take exception to the comment that alphas leak if you touch them, this is not so at all, you just have to approach the job with knowledge and experience and all the jobs are relatively straight forward. Anybody who takes off a diverter valve and reposisions the brass manifold wrongly (so that diverter valve would shoot off under mains pressure, shouldn't be having a go. Likewise if you don't have a kit of o rings and fibre washers don't think about undoing a seal. Only idiots would try to re-use them.

It is possible for an experienced person to change the dv or domestic hx without disturbing the out of sight o ring seal where the flow pipe joins the primary heat ex, if I am first on site I don't normally have to change that seal, but this gorilla totally unaware of what is going on elsewhere must have exerted rediculous strain on this pipe because all his other work was so clearly hamfisted.

He finally gave up on the job and helpfully I was sent in with the useful information from him "it needs a diverter valve". WHat a good job he had told me I'd never have thought of that! I hope he reads this and stays well clear of diverter valves.

 

[ACOperson]

I haven't worked on many newer Alpha boilers, but I wholeheartedly agree that the older generation are complete sods for leaking.

I am fairly well experienced in servicing & maintenance of the Alpha 240 generation, and they leak from completely random places when one is working on them. Even joints which have not been nearly disturbed!

Sorry to hear about bodger the builder, however it frustrates me that CORGI guys who know what they're doing bail these people out when they've made their umpteenth cock up on a thing they shouldn't be working on. I condemned a (previously) perfectly good Worcester 240 that a UK builder had attempted to 'service' last week. The combustion casing was flooded out, every electrical component destroyed and he had ruined the casing & seals by attempting to crowbar off the internal combustion chamber. When I arrived the thing was still electrically live and had gas to it!

I would have informed the HSE about it but owner claimed not to have builders details and wanted me out after I had issued warning notice & made safe. I am surprised that you didn't take a similar view with this builder guy. How will you feel if you hear in a few months that he's done something dangerous with a boiler thats lead to an injury or fatality?

Don't mean to moan but it just ****s me off that this builder who moved this Alpha & damaged DV etc probably went home with a big smile on his face counting his money and told his wife what a good job he'd done that day, while you were picking up the pieces after...

Grrrrrrrrrrr

 

[Agile]

i am shocked alpha are so lenient.

Just back from a biasi warranty job a incorrectly fitted room stat took out the pcb clearly a installers fault, biasi said just change the pcb and not to charge the customer

Thats the first time I have ever heard of Biasi replacing a part damaged by the installer!

The boilers are fine but sold at a lower margin and they are not usually at all lenient with any installer who has damaged them. For example they dont clean the plate HE free like Heatline and Worcester do.

The only place the earlier Worcesters leak from is the sliding "O" ring joint between the diverter valve and secondary HE. We carry one just in case.

Tony