Is this a fair price?

[johnny2007]

Old fella called me and wants to know if this is a good price, but I'm no plumber, so here it is:
Worcester bosch greenstar 24i
Expansion vessel replacement because of pressure raising and subsequent pressure dropping.
All works fine for a couple of days once water pressure is restored via filling loop.
£340 all inclusive to replace expansion vessel and seals and get all working fine again.
What do you think?

 

[Gasguru]

Has the vessel actually failed or does it just need re-inflating with air?
The vessel's around £80 but depending on clearances and whether the flue is rear exiting the boiler may need to come off the wall.
Sometimes it's easier to plumb in an external vessel on the return pipework near the boiler.
Seems a high price though, see if Worcester do it on a fixed price too.

 

[ianmcd]

Has the vessel actually failed or does it just need re-inflating with air?
The vessel's around £80 but depending on clearances and whether the flue is rear exiting the boiler may need to come off the wall.
Sometimes it's easier to plumb in an external vessel on the return pipework near the boiler.
Seems a high price though, see if Worcester do it on a fixed price too.

Not 100% certain but Im sure I read somewhere that WB dont cover the expansion vessel on a FPR anymore

 

[johnny2007]

Has the vessel actually failed or does it just need re-inflating with air?

Don't have a clue what that means, sorry.

The vessel's around £80 but depending on clearances and whether the flue is rear exiting the boiler may need to come off the wall.

Flue has a 90 degree at the top and exits straight outside.
In my next life I must become a boiler technician.

 

[ianmcd]

Don't have a clue what that means, sorry.

The vessel should be re-charged and checked every year, if this hasnt been done properly a good chance it wont need replaced

 

[johnny2007]

The vessel should be re-charged and checked every year, if this hasnt been done properly a good chance it wont need replaced

I have watched plumbers service all sorts of boilers and chit chat with them, but never heard anything about recharging an expansion vessel.
Could you be more specific please?
The old fella said that the plumber knocked on the vessel with the tip of a screwdriver and it had a "full" sound.
Plumber said it should sound empty.
Is he taking the pi$$?

 

[ianmcd]

Is he taking the pi$$?

he certainly is

 

[johnny2007]

The vessel should be re-charged and checked every year, if this hasnt been done properly a good chance it wont need replaced

Ok, I just read a bit about it.
Do you mean that it might just need inflating following the correct procedure?
Is it something a non certified person can do or is it only for gas safe registered?

 

[Gasguru]

The vessel air/nitrogen charge pressure should be checked each year as part of a proper service...just like a car tyre it deflates over time (it can loose significant air over just a year).
If it's not done the "rubber" diaphragm inside wears excessively to the point where it becomes perforated and a new vessel is required.
Once the air pressure is low the heating water has no place to expand and the system pressure rises too high often leading to the safety valve discharging (a laborious expensive job on the Juniors).
When did the boiler last have a full service...that's burner/sump gaskets, electrodes, bearing plate etc and a full heat exchanger/trap cleanout..it won't have been cheap.

 

[johnny2007]

Don't know if all of that was done.
Apparently the same plumber who installed it years ago has done the yearly service and the boiler never had a problem until now.

 

[kidgreen61]

I came across one last week where the pipe between the exp vessel and hydroblock was blocked, correct charge in the vessel, but the boiler pressure rose very quickly as expanding water had nowhere to go.

Pipe was easy to clean with a bit of coathanger.

 

[CBW]

I came across one last week where the pipe between the exp vessel and hydroblock was blocked, correct charge in the vessel, but the boiler pressure rose very quickly as expanding water had nowhere to go.

Pipe was easy to clean with a bit of coathanger.

I’ve had one on a Greenstar junior too , another engineer booked it in for a vessel , this was changed luckily flue has play in it and it was the pipe all along (I trusted his judgement as he was more skilled than me ).

 

[Razor900]

(I trusted his judgement as he was more skilled than me ).

Clearly not mate

 

[Gasguru]

Some aspects of modern boilers are like cars...for instance if you blindly carry on driving without paying attention to the life of the camshaft belt/chain
you'll likely need a new engine at some time....certain maintainence is essential.
On boilers it's the burner gaskets...leave them long enough and the boiler's often toast....most other issues won't destroy the boiler.

Get the old fella to dig out all his invoices going back to the install date and see what was done and charged...have a look in the back of the manual at the service log and see what's written there.

On these models (and in order not to push your luck) the burner gasket should be changed every 5 years.
I also throw on new electrodes and a bearing plate plus all the other checks like the gas valve hose, vessel, trap and hex clean etc.

There's little point in getting just the vessel issue sorted only to leave the boiler ready for meltdown through poor servicing.

 

[johnny2007]

Ok, got to go and see him rather than getting info over the phone.
I'll come back to you this afternoon.
Thanks for your help.