British Gas boiler cover / Powermax boiler

Jo*_2

Hi

We have Home Care 100 cover with British Gas and we have a Powermax 140 boiler. Over the years British Gas have told me that no other plumber will touch this brand of boiler and that getting parts is either impossible or difficult. Mind you a quick Google search contradicts that and BG a few years ago almost completely rebuilt it.

The boiler is absolutely fine (apart from what I'm about to explain) and is serviced every year.

BUT the pressure keeps dropping. We top it up, shower, the pressure increases too much by itself, then drops to zero very quickly. Basically we have to top it up every day.

BG came out a couple of weeks ago and "fixed it". The pressures should stay at 1 and it did for two days before dropping again. From a Google search it could be that it needs a new pressure chamber.

My question is where do I stand with my BG cover - given how they're always told me its such an awful boiler/hard to get parts/no plumber will touch it.. does there become a point where they say they will no longer fix/service it.. and/or recommend a new boiler?

matelodave

Have a look at your Terms & Conditions because that's the contract that you've got with BG. You'll get all sorts of contradictory answers and opinions on the forum but in the end it's down to what you've signed/agreed with BG.
I'm sure there are plenty of get-out clauses in the T&C's which allow them to make the decision when they want to stop fixing it either through age, cost or availability of spare parts etc. You probably don't have much say in the matter except to terminate the contract if or when they don't fulfil their obligations.

McKneff

I have exactly the same Dilemma, my central heating system is warm air and plumbers few and far between take on the expense of the training for this now, and they have to have certificates to work on warm air boilers.


So I have to have cover from BG (or none at all) boiler is 14 years old so Im hoping it will last a lot more years yet.

Pincher

It's an old chestnut.

http://www.powermax-repairs.co.uk/

Unfortunately, there are too many one man bands out there that just want the simple jobs. On the other hand, you don't want to pay extra for a specialist.

You can easily replicate the functionality using a combi, if you only run one shower/bath at a time.

A thermal store heated by a simple 15kW boiler will still have the mains pressure hot water. 30kW is if you need to heat hot water instantaneously from cold, as in a combi, but the thermal store is "hot water you made earlier".

ollski

It sounds like a problem with the expansion vessel, it doesn't have to be a replacement from baxi potterton any old potale water expansion vessel of the right size will suffice. It may be that just a new air valve core is needed. Powermaxs definitely have unavailable parts and it is correct that you are informed of that.