British Gas Boiler Service

theukmoog

theukmoog

theukmoog

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Had British Gas service our boiler (the recent £74 offer) and am just wondering how long such a service should take?

Two guys turned up and they were done and gone in well under 10 mins... closer to 5, really!

Took the front off the boiler and attached a gizmo.
Took one to the outdoor gas meter (to check the grounding).
Then took him to the airing cupboard to look at the hot tank.

That was it.

Boiler is (IIRC) around 9y old and apparently in very good condition with at least 3y life left.

Have I been fleeced by the BG engineers?
 
We get a yearly service from British Gas as part of our Home Care plan. Have only ever had one engineer come out and normally takes about 30mins to 1 hour. Probably closer to 30 mins.

Also I would imagine you have got a lot more than 3 years life left in it if all working fine. Mine is about 22 years old and just coming to end of life now. Getting a new one installed beginning of October. Could probably of held out for a few more years but planning a new kitchen so moving the new boiler from the kicthen to the loft.
 
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The only serviceable part is the magnetic filter (if fitted) and topping up any inhibitors (extra scope?). So ya 10 mins sounds about right. My local guy charges 60 quid in a very high cost of living area.
 
I stopped having boiler services it just doesn't add up to me as worth it.
All they ever did when I watched was check the flu emissions after asking me to turn the hot tap on full.
They'd take the cover off and have a look.
 
dlockers said:
The only serviceable part is the magnetic filter (if fitted) and topping up any inhibitors (extra scope?). So ya 10 mins sounds about right. My local guy charges 60 quid in a very high cost of living area.
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For most companies inhibitor is probably beyond scope for a service.
 
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robj20 said:
I stopped having boiler services it just doesn't add up to me as worth it.
All they ever did when I watched was check the flu emissions after asking me to turn the hot tap on full.
They'd take the cover off and have a look.
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Having the flue gas analysis done is not a waste of time, its quite necessary to determine if your boiler is working correctly or if its going to kill you your sleep(that's a bit extreme but you know what I mean). Its one of those things you cant really cut corners on, yeah most boilers will run for years but why take the chance?
 
I only have an annual boiler service to keep the extended warranty valid and at 6 years we've definitely saved on replacement parts costs. However once its not needed I'll probably drop to bi-annually at most as there really is little to check if you read the installer manuals for most boilers.

I already have to do an annual re-pressure the unvented HW cylinder expansion vessel, check/top up inhibitor and clean the Magnaclean, so I'll just do some basics from the installer manual on the boiler in the between years. I am not worried about our boiler leaking CO/gas as its in our garage and I've got applicable detectors linked to our alarm right next to it.

I've even had two return visits (out of 5) by the manufacturer after their service visit to fix issues they created during their visit :rolleyes:
 
gingergundog said:
Having the flue gas analysis done is not a waste of time, its quite necessary to determine if your boiler is working correctly or if its going to kill you your sleep(that's a bit extreme but you know what I mean). Its one of those things you cant really cut corners on, yeah most boilers will run for years but why take the chance?
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The boiler tells me if anything is wrong, got lots of pretty graphs showing emissions, efficiency, any errors and so on, highly unlikely it would ever kill us either short of it blowing up.
 
robj20 said:
I don't need to rely on it, of it breaks I'll get it fixed, servicing doesn't guarantee no break downs. On the tests I haven't paid for serving I have enough in a pot of money to cover a complete replacement boiler if needed and certainly any repairs.
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Well its not about that, its more about making sure its operating safely within the parameters the manufacturer specifies.
 
gingergundog said:
Well its not about that, its more about making sure its operating safely within the parameters the manufacturer specifies.
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Like I said it'll tell me if it isn't. Already replaced a thermistor after it flagged it up. Simple £5 fix.
Not like it's going to blow up is it, it's in the garage so CO isn't an issue.
 
robj20 said:
Like I said it'll tell me if it isn't. Already replaced a thermistor after it flagged it up. Simple £5 fix.
Not like it's going to blow up is it, it's in the garage so CO isn't an issue.
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I'm not sure anyone has a concern about a boiler 'blowing up'. Ahh well as long as its in the garage I guess there is no way it could kill you /s
 
gingergundog said:
I'm assuming your garage is attached and maybe a bedroom above? If you had potential fumes from the boiler you don't know what route they could take. Its just common sense to make sure the boiler is burning correctly.
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Nope garage is at the side, no windows near by. Lots of ventilation in the garage.
Like I keep saying it tells me if it's running correctly, if it wasn't good see the efficiency drop, or an error. It goes into a safe mode for anything serious. If either fix it myself if I can get hold of the parts or just pay to get it repaired. I choose to save that £70 a year and keep it earning interest.
It's a pot of money I can use for anything that should come up, its just the way I prefer to do it.

I don't get my oven serviced yearly either.
 
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robj20 said:
Nope garage is at the side, no windows near by. Lots of ventilation in the garage.
Like I keep saying it tells me if it's running correctly, if it wasn't good see the efficiency drop, or an error. It goes into a safe mode for anything serious. If either fix it myself if I can get hold of the parts or just pay to get it repaired. I choose to save that £70 a year and keep it earning interest.
It's a pot of money I can use for anything that should come up, its just the way I prefer to do it.

I don't get my oven serviced yearly either.
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So your boiler is in a separate garage and the pipes run from it outside and then into the house? Even so Id still get it serviced. Why even compromise on the safety and efficiency of the boiler?
 
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gingergundog said:
So your boiler is in a separate garage and the pipes run from it outside and then into the house? Even so Id still get it serviced. Why even compromise on the safety and efficiency of the boiler?
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What safety you still haven't said what's going to kill me, you're just stuck in a loop when I've told you multiple times it monitors efficiency itself, and what exactly is going to kill me if I don't service it every year. By your logic I should be dead or it should be running like poop after 6 years of not servicing it but no it's working great.
 
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