Vaillant EcoTEC Sustain Boiler; water leaking from bottom - better to use Vallaint's Repair Service?

theonenonly

WIAWSNB said:

You aren't going to try and sort this yourself, of course? That's all gassy stuff, which can kill you deed.

It appears to be part of the air inlet side of the flue, but I'd have to look it up. 

See the black corrugated hose to the left-down from there? That, I think, will be the condensate pipe from the combustion chamber, so will lead to a syphon trap. This can fill up and block with debris over time, and cause a spill. 

But, it really comes down to what type of 'water' is coming out - is it clean mains water, system water (slightly brown with inhibitor, leaving a scale when dry), or condensate (clear but a bit acidic - does it make baking soda fizz?) 

I suggest the answer to this will determine how serious the issue is likely to be - system water likely being terminal. 

Hang on - there isn't a cold mains supply to the combustion chamber, so I can't see how it can be clean mains water. 

IF the leak is accompanied by a system pressure loss - which you suggested it could be but haven't confirmed - then it's most likely a system water leak, and hence a cracked chamber. Not good.

BUT, that's all guesswork, as I don't know that boiler type. 

No way would I try to do any of this myself- I just took a photo for some local tradesmen, as they asked for it with the case open.

As far as I can tell, the water is clear. The leak is definitely accompanied by a loss in pressure. Now that the hot water is not working, but the central heating is, has got local tradesmen baffled. 

theonenonly

Right, just gone ahead and booked the Vaillant Repair & Care job for £428.

If it's a non repairable job, there's no charge. 

"Vaillant Repair and Care is a support plan offering annual servicing, maintenance, and repairs (up to £1,500) for your Vaillant boiler and controls".

WIAWSNB

Sounds like a good move, especially if there's no charge if BER.

Yes, the CH working whilst the DHW does not (it's a combi, yes?), is confusing to me too. 

Modern boilers - of which this is one - do tend to have two pressure sensors, tho' (well, ones with analogue dials at least) so the boiler 'acts' on the internal digital sensor, whilst the 'readings' may well come from another source. 

I know that my GlowWorm holds steadfast at the set 1 bar regardless of whether it's powering DHW or providing CH - I frankly don't believe it :-) 

If it is a failed MainX, then do consider applying pressure on Vaillant to sort it under the CRA - not of suitable quality. 

Fingers crossed, and please report back.

theonenonly

Well, that was odd.

So the Vaillant guy came down. First issue, the flue was a bit wonky, I think knocked by foxes over time. Honestly, I hadn't gone out into that side of the property since last month, so I hadn't noticed.

Because of this, they say the boiler has not been fitted properly, and invalidates the service I paid for (for which I will receive a refund, though no confirmation in writing of this yet.) However, before he mentioned the warranty issue, he also took a look inside the boiler and said the main heat exchanger is damaged and there are pinholes inside the boiler. And because of the extent of the damage, it is likely to be beyond economical repair anyway. 

So, there's that. Going to try with a few more independents before deciding on whether it's time to go with new boiler

greyteam1959

And get your house insurance renewed ASAP !!

theonenonly

greyteam1959 said:

And get your house insurance renewed ASAP !!

Unfortunately no annual servicing was done on the boiler, so I don't think there's any way I can claim on any form of house insurance. 

WIAWSNB

theonenonly said:

Well, that was odd.

So the Vaillant guy came down. First issue, the flue was a bit wonky, I think knocked by foxes over time. Honestly, I hadn't gone out into that side of the property since last month, so I hadn't noticed.

Because of this, they say the boiler has not been fitted properly, and invalidates the service I paid for (for which I will receive a refund, though no confirmation in writing of this yet.) However, before he mentioned the warranty issue, he also took a look inside the boiler and said the main heat exchanger is damaged and there are pinholes inside the boiler. And because of the extent of the damage, it is likely to be beyond economical repair anyway. 

So, there's that. Going to try with a few more independents before deciding on whether it's time to go with new boiler

It would appear that either the flue was knocked after installation - which is hardly your fault - or it wasn't fitted correctly in the first place - which means their engineer missed it during the service. 

In either event, how does this 'invalidate' a service? 

Did you see what he was referring to as a 'damaged' heat exchanger? Or in particular where these 'pinholes' are?

Did he say what caused this? That is surely important, as it'll determine whether the manufacturer is liable.

Other than that, it would appear that your options are (a) full price MainX replacement, which I'm guessing is going to be in the region of £600 fitted, (b) a refurbished/old stock item which could possibly be done for, ooh, £250-ish, or (c) a new boiler. 

WIAWSNB

SADFART
Satisfactory quality
As described
Fit for purpose
Lasting a reasonable length of time.
I would ask Vaillant, by a recorded method - chat, email, etc - to explain what could have caused the damage to the MainX, and especially the pinholes.
Insist on an answer.
Depending on the possible causes, you may have a case against them. (Although I understand that theoretically your claim would be against the installer).

WIAWSNB

And the potential sixmilliondollar Q - did you use a credit card to pay for the boiler & installation?

theonenonly

Right, good update;

British Gas run a similar product as Vaillant, called Repair and Cover. https://www.britishgas.co.uk/heating/boiler-repair.html

£38.50 a month (£36 for members or £34.75 for members who are energy customers) – £0 excess for future repairs

Pay monthly for your repair plus 1 year’s cover for your whole heating system.

What’s included?

• Expert boiler fix by Gas Safe engineer
• All parts and labour
• 12-month guarantee on repair
• 1 year cover for heating system repairs
• £0 upfront costs
• No fix, no fee
  
  
  

I then looked at the fine print, and unlike Vaillant, there's no limit on the cost of parts or labour. And if they can't repair it, they offer a like for like. 

I had the engineer come down today after booking it yesterday. Honestly, I was nervous about this one, thinking they'd find a way out of it. The guy took one look at it and went "Yep, it's the heat exchange. I'll get the part for you next week." Curiously, I asked how much the part costs. "£700, just the part".

So, for the cost of £462 I'm getting a £700 part repaired. I don't see how British Gas are making any money out of this! Hopefully all goes well next week with the repair. 

What I'm still not sure about is whether the plan includes future repairs, or if it is just a one of repair cost.