Boiler servicing question

I'm curious to know what's involved in servicing a boiler.

Not because I plan to do it myself!!!!

I have a 2-year old Bosch Worcester combi, now out of warranty. It was installed by a corgiman, and I had it serviced last year to keep in with the warranty. If I'd thought about it in time I might have had it done again this year just before the 2-year limit was up, but I missed that date.

My question is what is actually done when a boiler is serviced, how important it is, and what might happen if it wasn't looked at, given that it is fairly new and I believe a well made make. I understand your natural desire for income protection, but I would appreciate your honest advice on whether I really need it looked at every year, or if less frequently would be OK.

If it makes any difference, the boiler is "lightly used" - the HW is not used for showers or baths, and in terms of CH, we tend to use ours for fewer weeks each year, and to maintain a lower temperature than average. It's not that we're miserly or "green", we just don't like our house to be a hot as most people do.

[quote="24121964"have you ever saw a new car broke down on the side of the motorway .......... like anything else new or old nothing is perfect[/quote]

Thanks for that Xmas Eve.
I can learn such a lot from your postings

The straight answer is to look in the Manufacturers Instructions. It varies a bit from boiler to boiler. TYhe really important bits are in colour:

First you run through, aloud, all the things that might be wrong, while watching the thing work a bit - but you can't have it too hot - and wondering where the hell the case screws are.
Well then you have to take the case off, ask about the room thermostat and the gas meter, adopt an earnest expression, pop out to the van, place hand with a certain degree of gravitas on the knobbliest bit of the boiler, raise eyebrows a bit and bite your bottom lip. Then you get your hoover from the van, clean out an area about 6 inches square , milimeter at a time, pausing to work out how many square millimeters that is. There will be sod all to hoover out, but you must stick to your disciplined approach.

Then you call out "white no sugar" and have a break. While you're dunking your second hob nob you scan over the boiler to look for leaks, spark gap and sense electrode positions. 2 year is too young for the fan to be dirty so you skip that bit.

If you can see anything wrong at all you leap with glee that you have saved a life, and go off down the betting office which is on the way to the parts centre, for a part which didn't really need changing so its doesn't really matter that they didn't have it. What you do next depends, really, on whether there's a chance of more hob nobs.

You put your manometer on the gas nipple to check the pressure, once the boiler's assembled and warm. Then you go out to the van again, for a screw to replace the one you dropped on the shag pile.

You have to wait ten minutes because it says so in the instructions. You know it makes bugger all difference, but you're being paid by the minute.
If its a combi them you get all patronising about how filling loops are supposed to be removed. If you take it off you can dangle it such that water drips on the carpet and you get an eyeful while the lady bends to mop up and you come with a merry quip "never mind love it's only water, it washes off".
That's about it really, unless there are diagnostic codes you can go through as though you know what they mean. Vaillants are good for that. You can look at loads of numbers and take a few more minutes.
If you fancy staying a bit longer you can do a gas soundness test. A good psyhological ploy that - you have to go into the cupboard under the stairs, which means she has to run to your feet saying "Let me, let me", while she gets all that awful mess out of your way. She apologises profusely and you say something like "yes, they're usually quite tidy" and she can't workout if you're being sarcastic or not. Enigma, see?
Next bit is important - booking next year's appointment. She won't object - who the hell knows what they're doing in a year's time?

Usually pretty bored by then so just pop out to the van to get the little sticker to put on the boiler, and get out your watch to see how long you've managed to take. Quid a minute stuff, of course.

Sorry if I've rambled a bit, I've been watching telly and servicing a boiler at the same time.

Ah - so breathing in noisily through the gaps in your teeth whilst shaking your head slowly from side to side is not a requirement?

That's a relief.

it bleedin well is I spent FOUR YEARS learning how to correctly suck air through my teeth.

I took advanced chin rubbing as well

Sorry I haven't been doing it four years - still at the Earnest Expression stage.

sharp intake of breath and mutter just auidiably who the hell has been at this
second cup of rosy hits your elbow as if by magic

followed by "can you do anything to fix it " "no problem love"

OK - in summary, I should fit a CO detector and not have the boiler looked at until something breaks.

It's sealed to the room so any CO should go outside. If nothing actually goes wrong, a dirty fan might stop it eventually, and the pressure vessel precharge would need checking every few years.
I would keep the inhibitor up, especially if you have to top up the water a bit frequently, and get it serviced every 3 years, say to clean the fan, check electrodes etc, check the PV, the gas (burning) rate and generally have a careful inspection. I know it isn't the manufacturer's advice but it hasn't got oil to change or brake pads to wear out...

Oh
"All appliance should be serviced at least once a year" ok?

maybe but I've come across netaheats with the casing rotted through at the back of the combustion chamber, leblancs and swiftflows rotten through casing due to leaking aav's, many boilers scaled up in the heat exchanger enogh to make them useless, rotten flues causing bad combustion, cracked heat exchangers on wau's, open flues not connected in the loft space, over gassing, undergassing, failed fsd's and tons of others which have left the boiler scrap and could easily have been picked up on an asv.

ChrisR - thanks for the advice.

Ollski - how old were these decrepit boilers?

Any age....condensate traps have been known to leak and corrode boilers within weeks of installation, flues (especially open chimneys) can get blocked with dead birds anytime aswell. I'm not trying to persuade you if you don't want to but that annual spray of fan lube and brush of the heat exchanger will probably save you a hefty breakdown bill in the future.

I would only take my own advice there on newish designs which are well known, and certainly not on wau's or positive pressure boilers. And I have to agree you could get caught on a new Worcester which has had a 1 year service, but it would be pretty rare.

Hi,

Can I come in here? Thanks to Chris R for the info, none of it in the least bit surprising I have to say. Unlike ban-all sheds I AM intending to do this stuff myself.

I have installed a couple of boilers in the past (conventional iron ones), so you aren't replying to a bonehead. My question is simple then, I have moved house and have inherited this old gas fired Potterton iron floor standing boiler (conventional flue) is about 20 years old and probably hasn't seen a £1.00 per minute call for many years.

It's going well enough. Nothing wrong. Is it likely though that there could be a lot of soot anywhere? Is it worthwhile me opening up the bottom of the flue and checking it out? Where else does soot it collect (if at all), - round the burners? or on the outside of the iron boiler?

Ta,

S

skyblob, you may think you are not a bonehead but you certainly do not think much of our intelligence if you think we are going to advise you how to fully service your own open flued boiler!