Finding a gas fitter to install a condensing boiler

[Tim Mitchell]

How do you go about finding a gas fitter who is willing to install a condensing boiler? (Not in the true spirit of DIY, I know, but I've read the installation manual and the gas side looks a bit too complicated to DIY.)

After much looking around I think the Keston Celsius25 would be good for what we want, but I've had 4 "central heating engineers" come round now, from a variety of big and small organisations, when I tell them what I want to do they all suck air through their teeth and try to persuade me to get a cheap combi. They then come out with a stream of bizarre reasoning - Kestons don't like microbore, condensing boilers are a waste of money, Kestons don't work with normal control systems because of voltage leaks, it'll be broken in 10 years anyway so you may as well get a cheap one....

I'm in Hull, there must be someone in the east riding of Yorkshire who knows about these things and won't run scared?

[Andrew Gabriel]

Some suggestions... Firstly, I would ring Keston and tell them exactly this. They may have some suggestions.

You might be able to get a gas installer to install the pipework of appropriate size and connect it up to the boiler, but not commission it. You can then get Keston to come and commission it; they charge £120, but I don't know if they have coverage of the whole country. Also, they might arrive and then not be satisfied with the installation. I don't think they will do the installation, but you could try asking - they may have a subcontractor who will.

Something else you could try is asking a stockist of Keston boilers near you who might fit them -- they might be able to tell you based on which of their customers buys them.

Your tale exactly matches what I reported here a few weeks ago, which was a conversation I had with several gas fitters at a trade desk. This isn't just a problem with Kestons -- it applies to condensing boilers generally. When I spoke to several of the manufacturers, a couple commented that most condensing boilers installed for domestic use are DIY installed.

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , Andrew Gabriel writes

OK, I've rung Keston, they seemed somewhat amazed by this story ("any corgi-registered plumber should be able to fit one!") and suggested I try ringing local plumbers merchants to see if they have any known Keston installers. Unfortunately only Plumb Centre had heard of Keston (this is after all the heartland of Ideal Boilers) and they had no recorded sales of any. So I think I am back to trawling the yellow pages. Maybe I should come up with a good opening line to weed out the losers...

"Hello, can you name 2 Keston products?" "Can you tell me 3 features of a condensing boiler."

[Andrew Gabriel]

When I asked them for a quote for a Keston boiler, it was over £300 more than everyone else quoted, so I'm not suprised.

[Alex]

Every time I go to the local scrapyard ,there are always numerous condensing boilers being dumped by local plumbers.I managed to ask one why ,he replied that they are to expensive and appear to be not durable enough for the task corrsion in the heat exchanger a major culprit.

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , Alex writes

Presumably that's a good reason to go for a more expensive one with a stainless steel heat exchanger like the Keston.

[Ed Sirett]

1) I'm in the process of fitting a Keston C.25 in my home. 2) I beleive the OP is very much in the area for "John [e-mail]" That adddress may well need some tweaking to work? He will certainly know how to fit one and not come up with pathetic nonsense as an excuse.

[John]

Thanks for the recco Ed but I'm up to November with bookings at the moment. I would however say that I don't hear much criticism of Kestons (no news is good news) BUT if we are talking about a combi version, Hull has the same water supply as that in my locality which is bloody hard stuff. So much so that I refuse to fit standard immersion heater replacements and go for Aqualoy or similar. Scaling of the secondary heat exchanger will be included in the kit round here. If the OP is looking for a straight boiler with an existing stored hot water system then I suggest he tries speaking to Advanced Heating Spares in Sutton Fields Ind Estate in Hull and asks them for a few local quality installers names

-- Please note antispam measures - do not hit reply Horse sense is what horses have that makes them not bet on people - W.C. Fields

Regards, John

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , John writes

Yep it just a normal boiler with HW cylinder not a combi. I'm currently sitting in my office in Sutton Fields ind Estate so I will contact the people you suggest who as it turns out are just round the corner.