- Messages
- 14
Hi. I'm having some issues with my boiler / central heating and have enlisted a local 'Combi Heating Specialist' to sort it out but he seems to be making things worse. I really need another expert's opinion, to put my mind at rest, or help me make the decision to stop using his services.
I live in a house built in the 1980's and we have a 'Logic Combi 3' boiler with radiators in every room. Around a month ago I noticed that there was a small, slow drip coming from heating pipe of the filling loop. Also, I've been needing to top up pressure 1-2 a month for a while. Everything was working fine and a large bowl catching the drips took around a month to fill, so I wasn't really bothered.
But we're thinking about selling the house eventually and so though best to get it sorted.
Local guy came along, had a look and told me he could replace a part and put sealant in the boiler to fix the issues and would send a quote for what needs doing.
We received a bill for: "Re-charged expansion vessel. Quote to be sent re replace sump cover"
Then we received the quote: "decommission and remove existing sump cover. Supply and fit replacement. Add two doses of leak sealant to the system"
Immediately after he'd been and "re-charged expansion vessel" I guess, the pressure became much, much worse. From topping it up 1-2 a month, to 1-2 a day every day. I waited a week for him to return and a couple of days before he was due to come, one of the downstairs radiators began to drip, very slowly from a pipe.
He came back and I told him about the pressure being worse and he told me it was because of the dripping radiator downstairs, which he fixed simply by tightening a bolt! He went to the boiler and came back with a photo of a black component (sorry I have no idea what it is), telling me it has a hairline crack in it and it will cost around £500 to replace. He said it might be cheaper to get a new boiler. He told me that he was going to add the sealant but that the leak would not be fixed. Off he went.
Soon I realised that 3 radiators were not working (unfortunately, 2 of them my kids bedrooms). I called the company and they sent someone around. The new guy told me that when the first guy had half-emptied the boiler, he must have moved some sludge, which was now blocking the radiators. He then told me that my radiator pipes were the wrong size and they might need to take the floor up and replace the pipes. He suggested a power flush.
So, that's it. I've gone from the minor annoyance of a slowly dripping boiler pipe and topping up pressure monthly, to half my central heating not working and a scary amount of work needing doing.
The good news is that my pressure is fine and the leaking boiler pipe has stopped. All I need is my radiators working again.
Please, if anyone with expertise can tell me what they think of all this, I'll be most grateful. I have no idea if this is all just bad luck and one of those things or I have incompetent plumbers.
Thanks
Ian
I live in a house built in the 1980's and we have a 'Logic Combi 3' boiler with radiators in every room. Around a month ago I noticed that there was a small, slow drip coming from heating pipe of the filling loop. Also, I've been needing to top up pressure 1-2 a month for a while. Everything was working fine and a large bowl catching the drips took around a month to fill, so I wasn't really bothered.
But we're thinking about selling the house eventually and so though best to get it sorted.
Local guy came along, had a look and told me he could replace a part and put sealant in the boiler to fix the issues and would send a quote for what needs doing.
We received a bill for: "Re-charged expansion vessel. Quote to be sent re replace sump cover"
Then we received the quote: "decommission and remove existing sump cover. Supply and fit replacement. Add two doses of leak sealant to the system"
Immediately after he'd been and "re-charged expansion vessel" I guess, the pressure became much, much worse. From topping it up 1-2 a month, to 1-2 a day every day. I waited a week for him to return and a couple of days before he was due to come, one of the downstairs radiators began to drip, very slowly from a pipe.
He came back and I told him about the pressure being worse and he told me it was because of the dripping radiator downstairs, which he fixed simply by tightening a bolt! He went to the boiler and came back with a photo of a black component (sorry I have no idea what it is), telling me it has a hairline crack in it and it will cost around £500 to replace. He said it might be cheaper to get a new boiler. He told me that he was going to add the sealant but that the leak would not be fixed. Off he went.
Soon I realised that 3 radiators were not working (unfortunately, 2 of them my kids bedrooms). I called the company and they sent someone around. The new guy told me that when the first guy had half-emptied the boiler, he must have moved some sludge, which was now blocking the radiators. He then told me that my radiator pipes were the wrong size and they might need to take the floor up and replace the pipes. He suggested a power flush.
So, that's it. I've gone from the minor annoyance of a slowly dripping boiler pipe and topping up pressure monthly, to half my central heating not working and a scary amount of work needing doing.
The good news is that my pressure is fine and the leaking boiler pipe has stopped. All I need is my radiators working again.
Please, if anyone with expertise can tell me what they think of all this, I'll be most grateful. I have no idea if this is all just bad luck and one of those things or I have incompetent plumbers.
Thanks
Ian
