central heating combi boiler problem

[wally]

Hi I wonder if anyone can help me . Our old combi boiler was replaced in December because the water jacket was leaking & could not be repaired [ Grant Boiler], soon after fitting the pressure dropped again, Engineers came & found a small leak.

One again the pressure is dropping, i am now told itmust be a leak in the house, probably under the floor boards & nothing to do with them . The problem did not exist before the new boiler was fitted

On top of that i have now also had an account for commissioning the boiler, this was not done at the time of fitting.

Could i question why a separate expensive trip was required for this, Thanks Wally

[Nicko]

I can only suggest that you have a look at easymaintain.com as there are a lot of useful tips on the site, and you could ask them and they do reply ! I had a central heating problem and it was sorted thanks to them

[Ed Sirett]

Take a look at the SealedCH FAQ.

As for the companies pricing structure... on what basis did you engage them.

[wally]

here:

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Hi Ed

Thanks for your reply,

To fit a new boiler i am not complaining about there fees as such, only i had a separate fee to pay when they came back to commission the boiler , i wondered why this could not be done at the time it was installed , not about 3 weeks later

They have called again to day, been under the floor boards, as far as they could , but cannot see a leak Yet the system, lost 4 bar over 2 nights, which means if it had been set it at 1 , it would be nearly empty, i has now been set at 2 bar

They have doubled checked the boiler, found no leak except a very small drip, they have now put a sealent into the system to stop any leaks. Hopefully I will do as you suggested & check out Take a look at the SealedCH FAQ. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my question

What a wonderful site, nice to see people take time to help others Regards Wally

[John Rumm]

Did the old boiler also have a sealed system, or was there a header tank for it in the loft?

Converting to a sealed system can result in the heating circuit being more highly pressurised than previously. One thing that often gives out are old lockshield valves. Were any radiator valves replaced?

Which is to be expected on some older systems...

Did you pre-agree a all in price for the work?

[Ed Sirett]

I strongly suspect one (or more of) the following:

Not all of their manual employees hold CORGI cards. So they send out their registered operatives to check things over and sign off the paper work.

There was some minor part or component to the entire system which prevent the installation being signed off until later.

They are making an excessive deal about commissioning and are using it as a lever for more margin.

They wish to explicitly pass on the administrative costs associated with self certification to the customer and use this mechanism.

[abaker]

Hmm, quotes like that make me very nervous and suspicious about what I am being told. A "very small drip" is quite enough to cause the pressure to drop substantially. 0 pressure does not mean the system is empty, is simply means there is insufficient water in the system for it to be under pressure. If you have a small leak, if you pressurise the water, that leak will be a *little* worse.

If the small drip is occurring on pipe work installed by the company who fitted the boiler, the work IS substandard and completely unacceptable. They should fix it, now, and for free.

It is possible a leak has developed elsewhere in the system, even though your previous system retained pressure. But I would say it is unlikely. Therefore I think adding a 'leak stopper' to the system is a bit of a con, to fool you into thinking they are being helpful. Try to identify any water (no matter how little) occurring on pipe work that they have installed; this sounds like the cause.

Regards commissioning, it is very difficult to advise since I do not know what you agreed before hand. Having said that, 'commissioning' is the bit that is signed off (and your boiler warranty likely void without it); therefore even if it was not agreed beforehand I think it reasonable to assume this would be included in the installation costs.

Don't let them get away with it.