Servicing boilers

Allington

Is there a neutral view on how often boilers should be serviced? The general view seems to be every year, but then all these views seem to be from people with an interest in servicing, such as boiler manufacturers and boiler service providers. Where can you get a more neutral viewpoint? I have an oil boiler that was serviced last year, but many years ago I had a gas one that was never serviced all the years I lived in that house, and it still ran perfectly when the house was sold (and after, as far as I am aware).

jk0

I think oil boilers need servicing more often than gas because the fuel is well... more oily.

reeac

We have an oil boiler which is now 20 years old. In principle I get it serviced annually although in practice it's usually rather less frequently. It's never let us down but once needed a new pump bearing and has needed a few trivial replacements. It's used all year round for heating and hot water as necessary.

Anthorn

According to OFTEC servicing of oil-fired boilers is recommended every year as well as a visual inspection of pipes and storage tanks and inspection and cleaning of appliances at the same time.
https://www.oftec.org.uk/consumers/oil-boiler-servicing

Looking back into the mists of time I lived in the country and had oil-fired heating and it was never serviced. After that I moved into a house which had bottled gas heating and that was never serviced either. From this we can deduce that the recommended servicing is to protect against the possible but not the inevitable.

Norman_Castle

The annual service is a safety check as much as a mechanical service. Boilers may function normally but be emitting dangerous fumes.

macman

If it's in warranty, an annual service is a requirement to maintain that warranty: I have a 2 year old Viessmann with 8 years still to run on the warranty.

brewerdave

The main reason for me to have my gas boiler serviced annually, is for safety -they check the flue and flue gases as well as cleaning out the bottom of the boiler and checking the condensate is draining.
Doesn't guarantee the boiler - my last two boilers both failed catastrophically within 4 months of the annual service!!

Allington

Thanks - I don't have a CO alarm installed, but will be putting one in...

I think I will skip the service this year!

bri160356

C/H boilers should be serviced at least once a month, IMHO.

I feel sorry for those poor plumbers,..it can’t be easy trying to keep a brand new luxury BMW or Mercedes on the road can it?;

...we should all give generously.

reeac

If you're worried about plumbers' wealth then get the servicing done by a boiler specialist. Our chap used to work for the boiler manufacturer before setting up on his own. He's the only service man that we've used in 20 years and we'll stay with him.

PixelPound

This is one of those questions you won't get a consensus on! Some people will get it checked annually, just like they get car serviced and tyres changed from summer to winter, etc. Others less so.

An annual check will allow potential problems to be highlighted, but doesn't guarantee something won't go wrong a few months down the line - at best the engineer may see a potential problem that may fail a few months down the line.

If it gives you peace of mind to get it regularly serviced, or you need to do so for warranty or breakdown cover, then do so. The boiler will continue to work without the regular service, and has said people have gone decades without a boiler service to no detriment.