Gas boiler - Major service

Albermarle

It is that time of year when the central heating/boiler questions get going, so here is a starter for 10.
We have our WB system boiler serviced every year. I know that many think it is not really necessary once out of warranty, but it is 9 years old and has never broken down, so who knows.
The Gas safe guy who did it said it should have a more major strip down service at 10 years ( it had a couple of new parts at 5 years) . I had not heard of such a thing before, and was just wondering is it normal/worth doing to hopefully try and make the boiler last a few more years?
I could not find much with Google, but Chat GTP said some manufacturers do recommend it, especially for older hard working boilers.
It can include dismantling and cleaning the heat exchanger , burner and other internal parts.
It suggests the price could be around 75%  more than normal ( plus any parts) but I am thinking it would be more than that. Not sure if it would be worth it next year?
Any comments welcome.

WIAWSNB

You know the guy? You trust his judgement?
If the combustion chamber has not been opened until now, then I'd say it is worth doing - it can be astonishing how much grit and debris ends up in there.
Annual services are probably not required, and if you replay the time, it may have been best to have these carried out every second year, and then you'd be quids in for having this 'major' service.
Bottom line - the guy has served you well. I'd be inclined in this case to go with his judgement. 

tacpot12

I think that doing this at the 10 year point could be a good idea. It could ensure your boiler makes it to 20 years old, rather than having problems around the 15 year mark. 

However, the value is likely to be related to how clean your system is; if the system is very clean anyway, then you might stretch the point to 12 years. If the system is dirty and is difficult to keep clean, you might do it after 8 years. 

The quoted additional price seems reasonable, so if money is not a concern, I would go for it. 

Albermarle

WIAWSNB said:

You know the guy? You trust his judgement?
If the combustion chamber has not been opened until now, then I'd say it is worth doing - it can be astonishing how much grit and debris ends up in there.
Annual services are probably not required, and if you replay the time, it may have been best to have these carried out every second year, and then you'd be quids in for having this 'major' service.
Bottom line - the guy has served you well. I'd be inclined in this case to go with his judgement. 

I do not know the guy personally. It is a local company where the guy used to be a one/two man band, but has now grown and he has people working for him. Trustworthy enough I would say.
I agree about the biannual service, but if the heating broke down in the middle of Winter and it had not  been serviced, then there would for sure be some ‘marital tension’ if you catch my meaning. 

So I just do it, anything for a quiet life 😁

Vitor

Worth doing IMHO. I did this myself on a CDi30 and the build up of products of combustion in the heat exchanger were considerable 

Eldi_Dos

@ Albermarle

For a bit more info for you to base your decision on do a online quote with one of the online boiler companies. If it is just a like for like swap, get a quote off a couple of them, it only takes a few minutes.
Then you would have a good idea of the differential between the two.( service or renew)
Sometimes they offer 0 % interest.

WIAWSNB

Magnetic filter fitted? And is it clean? 

Albermarle

WIAWSNB said:

Magnetic filter fitted? And is it clean? 

None fitted.
However never had any problems so far.
Last year I drained some water from a radiator and it was clear.

WIAWSNB

How often - if at all - do you need to repressurise the system?

Albermarle

Almost never.