Boiler woes

Bouncybubbles

Hi all


To cut a long story short our boiler has blown up. Its an unusual brand we have wasted over £200 trying to fix the darn thing and its having none of it and it finally gave the ghost up around 4 weeks ago. however we do have hot water (not sure how). My biggest issue is being on a DMP so clearly I am incredibly poor, my husband Is not much better off either and it would take us not far off a year to save for a new boiler if not longer. Now my husband has asthma quite bad and whilst I can cope with the cold he cannot so really we need this sorted prior to getting really cold. We have got BG coming next weekend as I know you can pay monthly (despite it costing a hell of a lot more) and I don't know what to do for the best. Bite the bullet and stretch our budget to accommodate this payment for the next five years (hopefully pay off early) or leave it until next year and save. Getting a bank loan is a no go btw for either of us however my husband managed to finance a settee this time last year oddly enough... also my mum has offered to either take the finance on in her name or be guarantor for him (as I am not allowed more debt due to DMP).

thescouselander

Don't go with BG - they're very expensive. Have a look round to find the best deal. I'm sure other providers will offer finance too.

Hoof_Hearted

I presume you own rather than rent, otherwise it would be the landlord's responsibility. Have you checked whether you are eligible for a grant?

From MSE:
You could qualify for freebies if you get tax credits or income-based benefits, such as pension credit or income support. To speedily uncover these crocks of gold and see a rundown of current offers, check the Free Boilers and Insulation guide.

Bouncybubbles

Hi
We do not qualify for any help as we receive no benefits thinking both for your suggestions

xyz123

Avoid British gas as said . They r too good. Find a decent local Plumber to get new boiler and ask mum to pay for it and u pay her back monthly...

worried_jim

I had a boiler replaced in June for £1980. 8 year guarantee and fitted by a local recommended firm, did it on a 0% balance transfer so very easy to pay for, will be paid off by years end.

C_Mababejive

i wonder what make and model OP has?

southcoastrgi

What's an unusual make of boiler & what have they said is wrong with it ?

Biggles

southcoastrgi wrote: »

What's an unusual make of boiler & what have they said is wrong with it ?

Both those things appear to be classified information. As is the source of the hot water; maybe there's an immersion heater but we aren't told that either......

Bouncybubbles

My boiler is a SIME the guy came in and said it was the overflow connection had some dirt in it thereby leaving it constantly open and therefor dripping out of the wall. Costing £100 to fix. After applying the new one the water was dripping inside the house and we had to have him back again because he has not tightened it. Then we still had the same issue of water constantly dripping from the wall. We had the same guy come back when the issue clearly wasn't fixed who then said it might be the expansion vessel so after he pumped that up and faffed around for ages charged us £50 said it was fixed and left. Then we had another guy come and look at it dismantle part of it declare that it might be the heating plates which might have a hole in but he wasn't sure without taking it all apart which he wasn't willing to do without us ordering a brand new heating plate to the tune of over £100 plus fitting and VAT which I am not wiling to pay for if he isn't sure as its just throwing more money away. To be honest I don't know why the water is working but not the heater. We only have the one boiler. It gives us hot water ok (hot and cold when it doesn't behave) but when we turn the heating on it makes a loud bang and water literally pours out of the overflow and the pressure drops so quickly it was almost at zero in less than 20 seconds so obviously had to turn it off quickly.

southcoastrgi

Sounds like you have had two guys who really can't work out the problem, yes Sime don't make very good boilers but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed, if the pressure isn't increasing without the boiler working then I would say the plate heat exchanger doesn't have a hole in it, I'd be looking at either a faulty expansion vessel or that he didn't re-pressurise it correctly or the connection hose is blocked or a problem with the divertor valve.