House Buying - Boiler Stove

PMurphy

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice really, my wife and I are very close to exchanging on a property. The HB report came back and most things looks very straight forward, however it did flag an issue with the boiler stove (Charnwood) and it having no service agreement. It was installed correctly (according to paper work) back in 2005 and has been swept annually since. I have been advised by my solicitor to look into this but i wonder if this is a bit of bum covering. never the less I have been ringing every man and his dog.

Now that I have spoken to several installers/plumbers/sweeps I have been given a headache of information. The brief round the all up the options for the stove and boiler to be looked at are;
Only need a HETAS registered installer
Need both a HETAS registered installer and plumber
Chimney sweep (who can service boiler stoves) and plumber
Only need a chimney sweep who can service boiler stoves

It was swept in Oct 2016 btw. (Not sure if it is lined as it currently sits under the old fire place and so is attached to the existing chimney, have asked though)

Then given various options;
Inspect both (now) and service stove (when we move) - A query about this, how do people inspect a working stove - surely it'll be red hot?
Inspect the stove only as the boiler is heated by the immersion and/or the stove and fed by a separate water tank in the loft.
Inspect both and service both, though I am not entirely sure how they would service a self contained boiler behind a stove.
I'm sure there is another option but I've forgotten.

Has anyone got experience of this? If so, please let me know what I should/could/should not be doing. It's very frustrating.

martinthebandit

Why would you have a service agreement on a boiler/stove?

PMurphy

Well, I can understand the requirement if it was a gas or oil boiler but when it comes to self contained solid (multi) fuel I have no idea.

TBH I think it was more whether it had been serviced at all. But I haven't seen any paperwork to suggest this.

martinthebandit

Well if you read the Hetas guidance they recommended that a hetas certified person services it once a year and sweeps the chimney twice a year.
http://www.hetas.co.uk/wp-content/mediauploads/Advice-Leaflet-2-15-12.pdf
Personally I've never had mine serviced and have it swept once a year which is good enough for me.

My opinion would of course be different if I had paid out good money to get myself an Hetas accreditation.

G_M

Why would you need a chimney sweep if it was swept in October?

Personally I suspect annual inspection of a correctly installed stove is OTT, but if that's what HETAS recommed and it's never been done, then get a HETAS engineer to inspect it. If he needs it to be cool (ask him?) then arrange this with the seller when booking the appointment.

Plumber? Personally I'd just do some basic checks myself on the next viewing:
* Is the house warm?
* are the rads hot?
* is there hot water?
* is there a thermostat and if turned down do the rads cool down?

If the stove report is fine and all the above is fine, you've pretty well got a working system, no?

Gigervamp

Have you tried contacting Charnwood and asking what they recommend?

PMurphy

I think i'll book an inspection with a view to servicing it when we move, and carry out the other checks when I am in.

I spoke to Charnwood and they said, speak to the people who installed it. But trying to get hold of them is harder then holding smoke. Then they said they couldn't really comment on servicing the boiler it's usually serviceable, but they said about getting the stove serviced.

Any ideas how much this would cost roughly?

G_M

PMurphy wrote: »

I think i'll book an inspection with a view to servicing it when we move, and carry out the other checks when I am in.

I spoke to Charnwood and they said, speak to the people who installed it. But trying to get hold of them is harder then holding smoke. Then they said they couldn't really comment on servicing the boiler it's usually serviceable, but they said about getting the stove serviced.

Any ideas how much this would cost roughly?

Ring three local HETAS engineers and ask....

kinger101

It's just bum covering. Don't worry about it. It's been correctly installed and recently swept.

knightstyle

Agree it only needs a chimney swept once a year plus the stove itself needs a good check every three years or so to make sure the seams and lining are OK.
A wise precaution would be to install a CO2 detector in the room as well.
I am not an expert but we have had wood/coal stoves for over 20 years now.

Graham_D

Hi

My advice would be to have a HETAS service engineer take a look at both the appliance and chimney. You may find there is no work required if they have both been looked after and serviced regularly by the previous owner, there would a minimal charge for this but a small price to pay for your piece of mind.
Going forward, it is sound advice to have your appliance checked over once a year, and your chimney swept at least annually.
There is often a misconception that a solid fuel appliance does not require a service, this is nonsense! You have a combustion appliance in your home and no appliance is infallible. I do agree with other comments from year to year the appliance may not require any attention or parts etc, but again it is worth having them checked over.
As for servicing them while they are red hot, obviously they are serviced when not in use.

Finding the right service engineer and sweep is also important, I would suggest looking on the HETAS website to find service engineers in your area. You will also find details of suitable sweeps too.

Hope this helps

Graham