ravenheat

[dcawkwell]

Sorry don't see the problem. It is working as it should.

 

[Moonmaiden]

If you were to come across say a Vaillant Eco Tec Plus in say, a cash strapped friends house and it needed the pump changed. Where you only have to remove the front cover to do so.

Would you consider yourself competent?

I am not having a go. Just progressing the debate.

TBH no... I probably wouldn't. But I would probably advise them to source the pump themselves then phone around to find the cheapest quote they could find to get it fitted.... which is exactly what I did when I needed a new heat exchanger fitting to mine.

Having looked at the job, and seeing that the HE was located right at the back of the boiler requiring several parts to be removed just to get at it, I figured that it would be better to call in an engineer to get it fitted along with replacing the diverter valve which was obviously on it's way out and which had to come off anyway to get to the HE (no side access to my boiler) The HE cost me £80 and labour charge was £60 which I thought was pretty reasonable.

A couple of days later I was talking to a friend of mine who had been quoted over £500 to have her HE replaced and then had been talked into shelling out £1400 for a new boiler! Her old one was only 4 years old!

I've been having an ongoing problem with failing thermistors for a few years... they seem to have about a 6 month lifespan.... the first time I called an engineer out to look at my boiler when it malfunctioned, he fitted me a £12 thermistor (although I wasn't aware of how cheap they were at the time) and charged me almost £200 for the job.

With these sorts 'assessed as competent' con artists in circulation is it any wonder that 'fairly competent but unassessed' people are driven to DIY boiler repairs where possible?

I am not tarring all gas engineers with the same brush.... but there are a rather alarming amount of rip off merchants out there.

 

[Youllneverguess]

Missing the point a little. How do you know you are competent?

With my sample question... friend has said Vaillant with the display giving a "dead pump" error code.

All you need to do is remove the front cover to access it. Do you consider yourself competent to do so? You changed the pump on your boiler..

To reality... your friend with the new HE. was it the primary or secondary HE she needed? Which boiler wwas it? Its age has no bearing on what parts are needed, and a major factor in the choice of boiler I specify.

Would be marvellous to get your brother on for a little pop quiz?

Again, not having a go, but this is an interesting little debate no?