Worcester Bosch Refurbished Heat Exchanger ? Yes or No .

[Fast_Muchly]

Advice please

The Situation

12 year old 15i greenstar worcester Bosch condensing boiler .

2 months ago had a new pump and prv and expansion tank

Im 3 years away from accessing my pension and want to go down the route of a combi boiler or even the new air pump type systems if their cheaper then and it actually works . Also instead of a gas fire we go to a wood fire as we do own an acre of woodland.

Right now money is damn tight and i was hoping the boiler would last another 2 or 3 years .

The boiler is leaking from the bottom right , i have taken the front off but in no way would i do anything else bar look . I know there are 2 suspect spots in the bottom part where leaks come from , ive done my homework .......i dont think its any of these . But in the top part of the boiler its damp all o nthe base and around the bottom of the heat exchanger but i cant see no obvious leak and its absolutely bamboozling me how its dripping off the bottom front right of the boiler as i cant see how its getting down there at all .

Have told the plumber all of this and he is coming on monday to have a look , but doing my homework im pretty sure its the heat exchanger at £450 quid just for the part that hurts alot !! but i can see reconditioned ones on ebay for around £90 but prob dont have the seals .I have asked our plumber about this and he doesnt want to fit a refurbished one at all as he doesnt want no come backs on him , he is very squeeky clean and i dont blame him at all . But is he being over careful why should a refurbished one have a high % rate to cause a problem as surely if i buy new seals they should work .

What would people do , really i want to buy a refurbshed one and try get by a few years , is there any plumber near us who would be willing to fit it , we are notts way mansfield .

Thanks for any reply folks .

I should add it is losing a bit of pressure and there is a drip around every 3 seconds . There are no warning lights on boiler its working perfect at moment . Also no drips coming from the pipe that leads outside which involves the prv .

Condensing unit has been emptied and the outlet pipe was not frozen .

 

[kidgreen61]

If your boiler is a 15Ri, its's heat only boiler, and won't have a PRV.
If it's a combi, then they are easily repaired.

 

[ianmcd]

just get a WB fixed price repair, cost around £300 and includes the heat exchanger if indeed that is whats leaking, but that would be unusual, you dont get re-furbished heat exchangers, they are second hand removed from a boiler that has been swapped out

 

[CBW]

If your boiler is a 15Ri, its's heat only boiler, and won't have a PRV.
If it's a combi, then they are easily repaired.

Is a greenstar I a system boiler?

 

[muggles]

"Refurbished" just means they've cleaned them up a bit. There's no way to take these apart to do any kind of mechanical refurbishment. If you're lucky they might have powerflushed it, but other than that it's basically a used item which has been polished to make it look better

 

[Fast_Muchly]

I can confirm it is a greenstar 15i and it DOES have a prv and it isnt a combi boiler . Just another question people if the damp is around the bottom of the heat exchanger could it be a cheaper repair ? . I was thinking that because its damp there that will be the definite problem ? . Plumber is coming on monday just to diagnose fault who is sort of a friend .

Problem i have then if it is the heat exchanger he hasnt mentioned a pay £300 whatever it takes fee from WB to fix it and thx for that info thats brill . But if he comes round and diagnoses it as the exchanger he wil lwant £450+ and then fitting on top . So im going to have to put his nose out of joint so to speak and mention the wb deal ............i will watch his face when i say it lol . We might not have a plumber after going that way but im afraid needs must .

 

[muggles]

https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/support/boiler-repair/out-of-guarantee-repair

 

[ianmcd]

I charge my call-out fee, and if it is the heat exchanger, I always advise the customer to go down that, route, they will change anything else required while there, and you will get a years warranty, a decent engineer wont be upset that you take the best route, as said they have common heat exchanger faults, but leaking there is not a common problem, more likely a leak on the hydro block

 

[Fast_Muchly]

I charge my call-out fee, and if it is the heat exchanger, I always advise the customer to go down that, route, they will change anything else required while there, and you will get a years warranty, a decent engineer wont be upset that you take the best route, as said they have common heat exchanger faults, but leaking there is not a common problem, more likely a leak on the hydro block

I cant see anything on the top half thats leaking but that doesnt mean it isnt as i can only see the front . But only 2 months ago this same plumber has fitted a PRV an expansion tank and a new pump . It did need all of these as pump had gone and it was losing pressure and leaking from pipe outside . But could the leak be from a poorly seated seal on the pump and if it is should we be paying anything at all .I know that sounds harsh but if its on that side its quite possible that the pump wasnt seated very well yes unless its something else that he can show me that has gone because i will ask .

 

[Mottie]

If your boiler is a 15Ri, its's heat only boiler, and won't have a PRV.

I have a heat only boiler and I have a PRV. I think it's vented systems that don't have one. Mine is a sealed system.

 

[kidgreen61]

I have a heat only boiler and I have a PRV. I think it's vented systems that don't have one. Mine is a sealed system.

You will have a PRV, but not on the boiler.

 

[Fast_Muchly]

Right Plumber has been who cant fit us in for 3 weeks anyway and has confirmed its leaking from the heat exchanger . He basically said its a dead boiler and was about to start a speech on new boiler wanted until i dropped the worcester bosch fixed price repair . His face did change slightly and i was a little annoyed he didnt think to mention it as he obviously does know about it .

But what im asking now is does worcester bosch fixed repair price definitely include a heat exchanger . I dont want to now drag them out for them to say we cant do it its a new system its not inclued in the T&C .

Is there anywhere that ican view the Terms and conditions on the worcester bosch fixed price repair deal please .

Thanks in advance as you have been really helpful on here .

 

[CBW]

I think it’s been said in the past on here about them being covered, but if in doubt ring and ask.

 

[kidgreen61]

WB are known to have excellent after sales service, and will usually go the extra mile for people.

There's a fella called PVM in the pro section of this site who loves WB boilers, I wonder if you live near him, he'd love to do your HEX swap.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Also instead of a gas fire we go to a wood fire as we do own an acre of woodland.

I'm interested in the acre of woodland, that must be fantastic if you are a dog owner. Also for woodland walks. Not forgetting a very cheap source of energy to heat your home with a wood burner.

Any pictures?

Andy