Hi,
I rent one property and my tenant has been in touch to say there is no hot water. The house has a combi gas-fired boiler, model glowworm compact 100e.
I have sent a gas safe registered plumber to have a look and he says that the PCB has blown and that the expansion vessel needs replacing. To be fair, the expansion vessel was noticed last time he did a service and annual certificate, so we knew that was on its way out.
He says the cost of a new PCB will be £120 and a vessel £80 for the parts, but with the labour to fit these, he feels the repair will be uneconomical. He hasn't said what the labour charges would be for me to make up my own mind.
I would think swapping a PCB would be fairly straightforward but he says the expansion vessel is at the back of the boiler, though it was suggested I could have one fitted externally.
The boiler is what was there when I bought the house, ten years ago. Is ten years considered the average life for a boiler these days?
The plumber asked how long I wanted to keep the house for. The idea being the longer I wanted to keep it, the more it makes sense to buy a good boiler. At first he said a boiler with a 2 year guarantee would cost about £500 but when he phoned back with a quote, he said with fitting etc it would cost £950. Is this the going price (I am in the Midlands).
I would like to keep the house as an investment, so want something that will last a few years and be reliable. Also, I want something that I will be able to get spares for in the future. I think the make the plumber mentioned is BRC; I've never heard of them. Have you?
I guess it makes sense to keep it as a combi to save the expense and hassle of installing a cylinder. Also, if it makes any difference it is a three storey house, where the ground floor is the garage and what should be the ground floor (lounge, kitchen, etc) is on the first floor, and the bedrooms are on the second floor.
It doesn't have a power shower and the old boiler seemed to fill the bath fast enough, so hopefully a boiler of the same or similar spec would be ok.
Toolstaion don't seem to do boilers, I thought they used to? And I don't know the brands in Screwfix, though I realise I should also look in plumbers merchants for a wider range.
The quote for thePCB seems about right to me, based on a very quick web search, but the vessel seems dear compared to the prices in TS.
What would you do? get a new boiler or fix this one?
TIA