Did I really get a boiler service? Q for Gas Engineers Please

krissy08

Morning all- I will keep to short and sweet. I requested a boiler service from a registered gas engineer and paid £70 for it. The boiler is a Suprima HE type with the associated Hot water Cylinder. It is not a combination type.
He did other work at the property- fitting a gas oven and was at the property for hours however he never connected to any machine in his car ( He came in a regular car) and told me after the service that I would need a new boiler in about 6 months as the ground floor was taking about 40 minutes to heat up.

Is this standard? I ask because at my last property with the same name boiler, the guy who serviced it would connect it to a big pump type machine after running. 
My invoice does state clearly boiler service and certification. Obviously I am a novice at these things but would just like a sense check. Is it possible to do a thorough Service on this type of boiler without connecting to any machine externally? was that just an extra by the other provider?. Thank you as always

tux900

A typical boiler service doesn't require any external machine (other than a device to measure combustion products but that's a small handheld affair) and indeed there's very little involved and so is often padded out a bit to make you feel like you're getting your money's worth! It's more of an inspection than anything else. 

The previous machine you speak of sounds like a powerflush machine that is used to clear out the system of crud. That's not normally used during a routine service - only to fix faults and/or prior to installing a new boiler. 

tacpot12

The previous machine could have been a puwerflush machine, in which case it was an extra provided. But it could have also been some sort of tyre pump and used to recharge the expansion vessel. Although your previous boiler might have had the same name on it, it might have actually been a Combi-boiler. Such boilers usually have an expansion vessel and a pressure guage that can be see on the front of the  boiler. 

I would be very wary of his assertion that replacing the boiler would fix the problem of the ground floor rooms taking a long time to heat up. I would get another engineer to look at that problem. 

krissy08

Thank you both very much- I feel much better as I did see him with a handheld device. I also take on board your comments about changing the boiler.

[Deleted User]

krissy08 said:

Thank you both very much- I feel much better as I did see him with a handheld device. I also take on board your comments about changing the boiler.

The handheld device is usually used to test flue gases which is a key part of any service. Most service engineers that I have used over the years will normally sign off the servicing certificate in the back of the boiler manual with the % results or they will provide a print out of the results. Engineers have to retain these results as should they be taken to Court for (worst case) manslaughter, it is their first line of defence. I should add that I am not a Landlord. My chosen service engineer provides a Gas Safety Certificate as part of the annual service.

cattom

I'm not sure of the answer to your question, but I do know when I have my combi boiler serviced, the engineer takes the front of the boiler off, checks the flue for blockages, debris, leaves etc. then he checks all the jets are working properly and puts everything back together. costs me £85 for 30-40 minutes work.