central heating pump

[david]

Hi

I had a new pump fitted but the plumber said he couldn't renew the valves as neither of us knew where the gas stop c*ck was and he was worried about causing a flood. He said he had fitted the pump to prevent valve leakage. However there is some leakage around the top and bottom valves. Question - what is a gas stop c*ck? I thought that by turning off the mains water supply from the kitchen this would prevent a flood by turning on the taps and running the tank (direct feed hot water system) till it was empty. Was the plumber just wanting to do a quick fix rather than drain and refill the system? Please help in a non-technical way.

[Bob Minchin]

He was just being lazy. The gas valve has no bearing on the job whatsoever. draining down and refilling is time consuming and risk of airlocks on refilling etc so customersmight feel peeved at a large bill for the hours when all that appeared to be done was a valve change. If he managed to change the pump without a flood then the valves were working ok so no need to change them really.

Pump should cost about £40 vat inc and 30-45 mins work to fit, re-wire and check for leaks, bleed etc. How much did he charge out of interest?

Bob

[david]

Thanks bob Total cost including call out, new pump and fitting =A3156. Incidentally should I worry about the very slight leakage or should I get the plumber to come back and fit the new valves

[Andrew Gabriel]

Where did you find this plumber? Sitting on a bar stool? Sounds like he didn't have a clue what he was doing.

[Bob Minchin]

Thanks bob Total cost including call out, new pump and fitting £156. Incidentally should I worry about the very slight leakage or should I get the plumber to come back and fit the new valves.

David, Slight leaks tend to fix themselves so I'd be tempted to keep and eye on them. Perhaps tie an old towel around the leak. This will soak up the water and then evaporate dry when the heating is on.

Bob

[Lurch]

On Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:35:32 GMT, "Bob Minchin" mused:

Items of heating equipment aren't designed to have towels wrapped round them. If it leaks, get the installer back to check and advise, he has a responsibility to do so, especially as you were charged a reasonable amount of money for this.