I need to know if a Potterton Puma 80 is "complete rubb

[eric.carlson]

Help!
I had a problem 7 weeks ago which was low pressure so I had to turn the top up for a few secs, then off, in order to get hot water. Thats all - when topped up the readiators heated up like lightening and the hot water was fine. It had been getting worse over time. I called a plumber to fix (yellow pages) it and hes been back many times replacing something different each time. I had the system installed from new 10 years ago.

I think hes just tinkering, but he keeps saying the system itself is a crap design and has been fit by a cowboy. This set alarm bells ringing - I've always been happy with it and was advised it was the best at the time. The guy who fit it was recommended too, he seemed ok.

What am I to make of this please?

 

[chrishutt]

Your plumber doesn't sound very convincing. Is he Corgi reg. and an experienced boiler repairer? You don't make it clear what the problem with the boiler is. Is it still losing pressure? If so, he should have solved that problem within a couple of visits.

 

[gstens baxi]

has your plumber changed the expansion vessel.

 

[Nige F]

Help!
he`s beenback many times replacing something different each time.

I think hes just tinkering, What am I to make of this please?

How many times the little tinker tell him you`re a mate of Matt Allwright

 

[eric.carlson]

Hes been back 6 times over 6 weeks, twice to fix leaks which mysteriously appeared after his work and hes left us without hot water for two weekends. The last time he came he said he would have to charge us again for any more visits, and was thinking of replacing the burner.

He issued 6 bills up till that point which totalled £722, all paid. Last Thursday the hot water stopped completely, so bearing in mind his threat to charge us more and there was never anything wrong with the burner I called in Corgi (he is registered) and am now without hot water and waiting for the inspector. My 6 year old daughter has to go to her grandmothers for a bath.

I want an assessment of the state of the boiler now and advice on if I have been overcharged. I also want hot water If this goes legal I will not have him saying another plumber has been meddling, therefore I am not calling one in until the Corgi inspector has been round.

Still would like to know if the Puma 80 really is a bad boiler - its all he kept saying but what do I know.

 

[Dick n Dom]

Eric..You are probably wasting your time in calling in the corgi inspector as all they are interested in is seeing dangerous situations that have happened because of installation or servicing work.Your best bet if you wish to go down that road is calling your local trading standards.
regarding the boiler ,Yes they have there common faults but all in all if it is well looked after it will look after you. finally Why not give potterton a bell they will charge you a one of fee including parts and labour and guarantee the work .Plus all the common parts are carried on the vans and it is normally a next day visit....Good luck

 

[eric.carlson]

I got him because he was corgi registered.
He is bringing corgis name into disrepute. We could go to the press.

 

[kevplumb]

He is bringing corgis name into disrepute. We could go to the press.

CORGI means you are safe it does NOT mean you know what you are doing repairing boilers

 

[eric.carlson]

Why not give potterton a bell they will charge you a one of fee including parts and labour and guarantee the work .Plus all the common parts are carried on the vans and it is normally a next day visit....Good luck

Ok got a number please? I spoke to Roy Rodgers and he said he would foot the bill, seeing as his "guarantees" are worthless as he is never setting foot in our house again. If he doesn't, its trading standards/court/press/house of horrors time. Everyone tells me what he has done isn't just outrageous, its criminal.

 

[DP]

I would not say Puma 80 is a bad boiler. There are issues with the boiler, but nothing that should take multiple visits. There are issues with most combi (and sometimes) non combi boilers.

I have to say, you man is out of his depth as he is changing parts one by one, in hope of fixing a fault that may not be on the boiler.

I would suggest you call the guy in and thrash out the problem face to face. If you can email me, I will explain Puma operate sequence, thereby giving you sufficient knowledge to 'see' what is happening. List of visits and what was done would also help.

I would not (without first checking) change the expansion vessel either. Went to a job last friday where someone had fitted an expansion vessel below a combi boiler. The one fitted within the boiler was NOT defective. Looks like external was fitted because the fitter had no knowledge of how to test the internal EV.

 

[ollski]

It may also be worth considering British gas eric...if you get a utility supplied by them they will do you a repair for 132.00 including parts and labour.

 

[eric.carlson]

I have to say, you man is out of his depth as he is changing parts one by one, in hope of fixing a fault that may not be on the boiler.

I would suggest you call the guy in and thrash out the problem face to face. If you can email me, I will explain Puma operate sequence, thereby giving you sufficient knowledge to 'see' what is happening. List of visits and what was done would also help..

Cheers, but those two statements are contraditory! Why call someone back whos out of his depth? Its time to get it done right. I still have no hot water, and he said very clearly further visits will cost us. The original fault was fixed after 3 or 4 visits, everything from then was leaks or further malfunctions, none of which we'd seen before as is the present one (completely not working).

I have lists of what was done in the form of the bills.

 

[ChrisR]

"Bad"? Well they're GOOD for business. It has about 4 to 6 parts which are prone to failure every several years, plus the normal parts like say the fan, no different from most other boilers, which can fail eventually. Then there is a couple of places where it's likely to leak a little.

What that adds up to is a package which gives the impression of unreliability.
Now I've written it down I'm wondering whether it IS a bad boiler! But what I had in mind is much worse - boilers where the design is inadequate, and you change a failed component knowing that the replacement is going to fail quickly because the manufacturer hasn't got it right.

If a boiler bloke owned owned a Puma it wouldn't cost him much to keep it going, but that doesn't really help most owners! Parts which an owner might see in say 10 years, have rrp's inc vat as follows:

pcb £135.65
pilot assembly £30.13
diverter valve £121.66
dhw flow switch operator £53.32
dhw flow uswitch £12.28
water pressure switch £17.95
isolation valves (2=) £53.13
Air vent £5.76

£425 or so, plus the labour charges.

 

[gstens baxi]

potterton (heateam) 08706 096 096

 

[eric.carlson]

potterton (heateam) 08706 096 096

Thanks very much, but when I called them they say they won't come out for a boiler over 10 years old. Its actually 11 now.

So tomorrow morning it will be 1 week since the second time we had no water. No word from Corgi, £722 down and now I guess I've got to start all over again. Anyone know someone in Lancashire can help? I would have said please make them Corgi registered so we get a good job done, but I see thats not the case at all.