Plumber has turned combi off

willkeddie

We've had an unpredictable boiler for a little while now. We contacted a local plumber who came over and said expansion vessell and pressure release valve are bust. This makes sense as the pressure has been variable from quite low to quite high and over the cold snap, the copper outlet pipe froze and the whole boiler was leaking. Since then the copper pipe has been permanently leaking (even when the pressure was low).
The strange thing is that he has turned the combi boiler off. He's taken the fuse out and we now have no hot water and no heating until the end of next week. Why has he done this? Is it a safety issue or is he turning up the heat (or not) so that we book him in to fix it sharpish? I'm naturally cautious by nature, but with 3 kids under 5, a freezing house and no bath time, it's caused a few problems!! I stuck the fuse back in this morning just to see what would happen, but the pressure did nothing and I don't know if he's done something internally to make it inoperative. Anyway - I'm off for a freezing cold shower! Brrr!

Any advice very much appreciated. Thanks everybody.

chrissyfp1

I 'think' it's a safety issue! My boiler packed up a little while ago and they did the same thing. As your pressure is varying a lot and your pressure release valve isn't working, I suppose that if the pressure goes too high and it can't be released then it might go bang (or whatever boilers do, lol).
You can always get another quote from a diff plumber as well if you're unsure about it. You have my sympathies though!! I bought a little fan heater from Argos and sat next to that for a week...... I made the kids spend the time running around in circles, lol!

fishhawks

Hi
Im a gase safe registered plumber and hope you dont mind the advice .
The pressure variation in your system is not a safety issue but the pressure relief valve not working is very dangerous and should not be tampered with .
Would it be an option for you to purchase a boiler yourself and have the plumber come in and fit it ?
This could be a big saving for you .
I know what the mark up is on condensing combi - boilers and it is a lot !
If you let me know how many radiators you have and the size of house I can give you some advice on which boiler and what size would suit your home.
Jim .

willkeddie

Thanks guys - the older kids (5 and 3) think it's a real adventure. I, on the other hand, nearly had a heart attack in that cold shower this morning!

We live in a 3 bedroom link detached house (1970s build) with 9 radiators. The combi boiler is in the garage. The plumber is going to quote us to replace the prv and expansion vessell and also quote us for a new boiler as it is about 9 years old (doesn't qualify for the scrappage scheme, unfortunately). He suggested a condensing boiler as it is more efficient - but I believe them to be more expensive. He also stated that the flue may need to be moved. It goes straight out of the garage roof - the neighbours linked wall is close - but they have no windows there.

I'm more interested in getting the existing boiler up and running and looking at a replacement later in the year when the climate is a bit more forgiving.

Thanks for any advice folks. Much appreciated.

macman

All new boilers are now condensing, whether conventional or combi. You don't have any choice, surely your installer made that clear?
A 9 year old boiler should be fixable, a new one will certainly be more efficient but it will take you a long time to recover the costs.
If your installer has disconnected the combi for safety reasons and you now have no DHW or heating in January, then I would expect him to prioritise quoting you and then doing a repair. Doesn't sound like he is doing that, so I would go elsewhere.

willkeddie

I've got that feeling as well MacMan. He kind of left my wife and kids in a bit of a lurch without explaining exactly what was going on (admittedly she had a screaming baby around her) - so I don't know whether to trust him or not. My wife thinks he seemed fine - but I'm sure I would have expected an explanation about the lack of water and heating (until Wednesday, evidently).

macman

willkeddie wrote: »

I've got that feeling as well MacMan. He kind of left my wife and kids in a bit of a lurch without explaining exactly what was going on (admittedly she had a screaming baby around her) - so I don't know whether to trust him or not. My wife thinks he seemed fine - but I'm sure I would have expected an explanation about the lack of water and heating (until Wednesday, evidently).

I think the first thing you need to do is talk to him-shouldn't take him more than 48 hours to come up with an estimate for the repair. You could price up the parts yourself. If he's then got to order the parts and find you a slot, then you will be without hot water and heating all next week.
If you post the make and model then someone on here should be able to give you an idea of the repair cost.
If your guy is too busy with other work, fine, but he should say so.

Mrs_Imp

When my old boiler started making funny noises and stopped I called a plumber. He took one look and said that it was beyond repair, but he could get it working again, in the VERY short term if I really wanted. It was winter, so I said yes. It was very short term. As he shut the door on his way out, the boiler emptied it's entire contents of water on to the floor. If I had the same problem again, I'd leave it turned off.

He said he could get a new one in within 2 weeks. I called British Gas to see if they could get me a quote. They told me that they needed to send someone out to assess the boiler to see if it could be fixed! And the soonest they could send anyone out was over 2 weeks.

So I would say, if he leaves it switched off, it's probably for a good reason.

arfurrrr

i would get a second opinion , quick . most expansion vessel are easy to sort and require no parts . except maybe a new prv . whats the boiler make and model ?