SIME combi boiler - a million problems

PaulJM

Wonder if anyone has an experienced or professional view on this...

When we moved into the house we're in now, about 4 years ago, there was a fairly new SIME combi boiler.
I remember when we viewed the house it wasn't working properly, as they had a BG engineer in looking at it - I didn't really think twice.

The previous owners had installed it about a year before.
It pretty much broke down on the first day we moved in, and since has broke down 3 or 4 times, sometimes with the same symptoms - won't fire up when taps run and eventually gives up - and sometimes with others - Central heating cannot fire it and it'll start flashing different warning lights.
Sometimes I can get it going again by switching the power off and back on, others need an engineer, and sometimes, if it flakes out when trying to fire the raditors, I can force it on by running the taps.

Because of the problems, I've always paid for insurance - it's the only thing in the whole house I do pay for, I tend to find them a rip off - but in the case of the boiler, as long as I'm careful with the premium and alternate between BG, N-power, and EoN say, I end up paying about £15 a month, I'm sure I get more out of it, for a change!
BG tend to do the best work, I've had motherboards changed, and BG found a switch once that the manufacturer says was a weak point, and we thought we'd sorted it then, but 6 months later, something else broke.

Although we can get it fixed, it's still maddening. Excepting the money, we have no hot water or heating while it's off, and if it's an intermittent fault, it tends to be back on by the time an engineer comes, so they can't prove a fault.

I've asked BG to give me an idea of a new Bosch boiler say, and they want £3500 to install a new one. Say I half that for a local fitter, and even then I'm financially worse off. - even if I pay insurance for the next ten years, I'd about break even, not withstanding that I may end up getting insurance after 5 years on a new one.

What do you reckon? Any ideas?

macman

Model would help? I have an 80E, and the weak point on that has always been the ignition PCB, which seems to go about every 4 years. I've found a excellent company who recon the PB's on an exchange basis, less than half the price of a new one. This is predictable, and still a lot less over a few years than a new combi.
Otherwise the trick with a SIME is to find an RGI who knows the boiler (not easy with these). With BG you'll just be getting a different RGI each time who's probably never seen a SIME before, and justs adopts the usual 'swap out each part in turn and see what happens' approach.
PM me if you want the name of the recon people.
BG will typically charge 40% more than a local independent for a new install.
The flaw in your calculation is that within 10 years you will probably need a new boiler anyway, whether you pay for annual cover or not.

jbainbridge

We had a SIME on our last house. It would stop firing while on CH. After replacing the the pcb (blue box) it was fine. Still running fine after 10 years.

PaulJM

macman wrote: »

Model would help? I have an 80E, and the weak point on that has always been the ignition PCB, which seems to go about every 4 years. I've found a excellent company who recon the PB's on an exchange basis, less than half the price of a new one. This is predictable, and still a lot less over a few years than a new combi.
Otherwise the trick with a SIME is to find an RGI who knows the boiler (not easy with these). With BG you'll just be getting a different RGI each time who's probably never seen a SIME before, and justs adopts the usual 'swap out each part in turn and see what happens' approach.
PM me if you want the name of the recon people.
BG will typically charge 40% more than a local independent for a new install.
The flaw in your calculation is that within 10 years you will probably need a new boiler anyway, whether you pay for annual cover or not.

It's called a Format HE on the front.

You're right - all the engineers from the big utility companies have undergone a process for replacing bits and servicing the thing, which usually works.
I have had two motherboards, and two of the ignition PCB's.
I managed to get a BG engineer who knew the boiler well, and he got one of the issues down to not only the PCB you refer to, but an individual switch, which when replaced made the boiler work for its longest period yet.
However, then another issue occured, and it was back to the start. I'm beginning to think that the latest issues are back to the switch again.

I'm pretty practical (though I'd never touch a boiler) and even I'm getting to the point where I think it might just be a load of cr*p, and wondering if the money to replace it is worth the hassle saved.

However, I've bene told by a couple of engineers that the house is too big and we use the boiler too much for a combi to stay reliable, and a dedicated water heater might be useful. I know this is probably a money making sales pitch, but sometimes I wonder if any combis are very reliable - a know a load of people with Worchesters and Glo-Worms that go wrong every couple of years, which makes me reticent to invest in a new one anyway!

macman

Combi's are no more or less reliable than a conventional boiler. It's the brand and the quality of the installer that matters.
A large house is only unsuitable for a combi if it has two or more bath/shower rooms, in which case you obviously can't feed the two simulataneously. But that is a 'lifestyle' issue, not a reliability issue.
The only 'specific' part on a combi that is liable to fail eventually is the diverter valve.