Service Procedure

[ACOperson]

Hi all, I'm a RGI who is wondering what sort of checks & procedures other CORGI engineers perform when servicing boilers. To a question like this there is obviously no 'right or wrong' answer, but it would be useful to me to see how much (or little) other service engineers do.

I only ask as I have heard some other contributors saying that they go as far as stripping down diverter valves and removing and flushing DHW heat exchangers during their usual boiler services. As I work for a company who expect us to service 8+ boilers a day between Central London & Middlesex this much involvement would not be possible. I also would worry about the possibility of damaging o-rings, washers & gaskets when removing some components on older boilers, as you can never have everything in the van you inevitably would need.

I generally follow this kind of procedure:

Tightness test & visual inspection
Check correct operation of boiler
Remove burner & clean, clean pilot assy & electrodes (where present)
Clean heat exchanger
Check free movement of fan & venturi (where present)
Check free movement of flow switches where present
Check safety devices
Check gas pressures (where possible) & gas rate

Is this normal or do others go much further on annual service visits?

Cheers

 

[chrishutt]

Sometimes worth cleaning the fan impeller, though not every year. They can pick up quite a thick layer of dust in urban environments which might unbalance them if a chunk fell off. Fanned boilers with permanent pilots and therefore permanently running fans tend to collect the most dust.

Also worth checking expansion vessel precharge pressures occasionally, although some are really awkward to get at. Like the fan clean, this is probably something for a 3 or 5 yearly check, or if there's evidence of excessive pressure rise on heating.

On condensing boilers the condensate trap may need regular clearing and I would check for condensate leakage from flue and heat exchanger. Otherwise I do much as you describe, although on fanned boilers the burners and heat exchangers may not need cleaning for many years.

 

[Agile]

Many of the people who post here are some of the most conscientious in the industry.

We had a trainee who had worked for a larger firm and he had been to 11 CP12s and had NEVER seen even a tightness test let alone measuring any burner pressures!

We would aim to take about 40 minutes on a wall mounted boiler but charge more and take about 80 minutes on a back boiler.

Tony