Heat Pump Servicing

NedS

We had our heat pump installed earlier this year under the ECO4 scheme. The installers are based in Yorkshire (a long way from us), and although they do offer servicing, they said they are currently fully booked with installations so not currently undertaking servicing work.

I cannot find any local companies that do ASHP servicing. Can anyone recommend good national companies? Do someone like British Gas offer national ASHP servicing - I know they offer gas boiler servicing, and they are pushing ASHPs along with all other suppliers?

Also, does anyone have good information on what an ASHP service should cover/include?

The_Green_Hornet

Does the manufacturer of your ASHP offer a service/maintenance plan?

NedS

The_Green_Hornet said:

Does the manufacturer of your ASHP offer a service/maintenance plan?

No, unfortunately not (Samsung)

Netexporter

I'm in a non mains gas area and I see British Gas vans servicing LPG boilers, so I suspect they may do heat pump servicing, as they install them.

I'll be interested to know how you get on, as I'll be having a Samsung fitted, under ECO4, soon.

NedS

Netexporter said:

I'm in a non mains gas area and I see British Gas vans servicing LPG boilers, so I suspect they may do heat pump servicing, as they install them.

I'll be interested to know how you get on, as I'll be having a Samsung fitted, under ECO4, soon.

Feel free to message me if I can offer any advice re the ECO4 scheme and the installation.

FreeBear

NedS said: I cannot find any local companies that do ASHP servicing. Can anyone recommend good national companies? Do someone like British Gas offer national ASHP servicing - I know they offer gas boiler servicing, and they are pushing ASHPs along with all other suppliers?

I wouldn't trust BG to service my gas boiler, and wouldn't let them anywhere near a heat pump - Read way too many horror stories to have any confidence in the comapny (individual engineers may be OK).

As a starting point, I'd see if there are any Heat Geek affiliates in your area and see if they would recommend anyone.

NedS

Having checked the service schedule, which includes a lot of "inspection" and clean items, there is little on there other than checking the refrigerant and antifreeze (glycol) levels that I can't do myself. No reason for the glycol levels to change if there have been no leaks.

FreeBear

NedS said:

Having checked the service schedule, which includes a lot of "inspection" and clean items, there is little on there other than checking the refrigerant and antifreeze (glycol) levels that I can't do myself. No reason for the glycol levels to change if there have been no leaks.

Unfortunately, the manufacturer will probably want the services signed off by a "qualified" engineer to maintain the warranty.

Testing glycol concentration can be done one of three ways - Test strips, hydrometer, or refractometer. The equipment can be had for less than £20. Also worth getting some litmus paper and testing the pH on a regular basis. Glycol can break down in to acidic components that cause corrosion of the heat pump & central heating components.

born_again

https://egensys.co.uk/samsung-heat-pump-service

A google brings up quite a few co's how good they are is anyones guess.

Add you local area in & might bring up some, as well as try local social media for recommendations. 

matelodave

@born_again beat me to it - put your location in and someone might have a tame service provider but a search for heat pump services on t'intweb gives a choice of around half a dozen near where I live

wrf12345

surprised it is not a condition of the grant, regular servicing, that would ramp up the price, though... could also try those websites that provide services such as trustatrader, etc., though I am not convinced that they are in genuine competition to get jobs in some areas, though I have managed a good deal on boiler replacements on them a couple of times (different houses), the one-band guys being the best option.