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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask for help with my boiler!

24 replies

HouseofSkullduggery · 13/02/2022 08:52

It's stopped working yesterday. I'm waiting for home insurance company to open to see if they can send someone out.
But it's about 17 yrs old. Not regularly serviced. I fear it might need replacing. It's a minefield. At the moment it's a standard boiler and we have an immersion heater for hot water. When I Google new boilers they seem to be combi boilers. Are they better?
Are these online companies that claim to do them the next day reputable? Any more info would be helpful.

OP posts:

Dontreadtoomuchintothis · 13/02/2022 08:57

We recently used Heatable to replace our 17-year old combo boiler. You get a fixed price when you order online and can pay monthly. They were excellent and other reviews on Trust Pilot were positive. Hope you get sorted soon, I know how stressful it is

dementedpixie · 13/02/2022 09:00

You can still get conventional boilers as we got a new one last year rather than a combi boiler.

Do you have boiler cover on your insurance as that's something you'd normally take out separately?

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 09:00

Is it a gas boiler? If so why is it not serviced every year? This is a safety issue. Gas boilers really should be regularly serviced. Do you have a CO alarm?

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 09:05

As far as I know home insurance doesn't cover boiler breakdowns, but I am happy to be corrected. If it did it would say so on your policy. If you had separate boiler cover it would include an annual inspection as this would be a requirement. I think you need a plumber.

itwasntaparty · 13/02/2022 09:06

Don't think you can claim for boiler breakdown on insurance.

Bagelsandbrie · 13/02/2022 09:09

I would think if it’s not regularly serviced any warranties or cover you have related to it will be invalid anyway. I know it’s not the point of the thread but you’re putting you’re life in danger not getting it serviced every year. It really is that serious - it could blow up or leak carbon monoxide and poison you in your sleep.

Bagelsandbrie · 13/02/2022 09:09

*your

dementedpixie · 13/02/2022 09:10

Yes, its a condition of my boiler cover that my boiler gets an annual service. Think you need a boiler engineer rather than your home insurance

Whattochoosenow · 13/02/2022 09:13

You’d be better off asking local friends for a recommendations for a boiler repair person.

chipsandpeas · 13/02/2022 09:16

my insurer (sheilas wheels) has home emergency cover which will cover the loss of heating and hot water and will arrange a local firm to come out and fix

Original poster

HouseofSkullduggery · 13/02/2022 09:58

I'm covered on home insurance for someone to come out thankfully.
I know I should have it regularly serviced. Better start from now! We have a carbon monoxide detector.
Just wondering if it needs replacing which type of boiler is best. I have no idea

OP posts:

dementedpixie · 13/02/2022 10:02

Do you have storage tanks in your loft?
We just got a like for like replacement when we did ours. If we had gone for a combi it would have been a much bigger job involving removing water tanks and hot water cylinder.

We got quotes from 3 places and ended up going with British gas as we got a discount from having boiler cover with them already. They also offered interest free credit

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 10:02

I'm covered on home insurance for someone to come out thankfully.

Thank goodness, although I would check the small print to check if you should have had it serviced annually. Please get the boiler serviced as a priority. It is a massive safety issue.

ApricotPeony · 13/02/2022 10:07

It might be something simple. Has the pilot light gone out and it needs resetting by turning the knob? It might be the radiators need bleeding and the pressure needs resetting.

MongoOnlyPawnInGameOfLife · 13/02/2022 10:11

You can have it replaced like for like, so they would literally just replace this old one with a new one doing the same job.

The thing is the new one should be much more fuel efficient so while it will cost you now, you should eventually end up saving money over the next 10 years or so thanks to lower gas costs.

MongoOnlyPawnInGameOfLife · 13/02/2022 10:12

Also, depending on the boiler, the new one will have a warranty for up to 10 years (providing you have it serviced every year).

NFLwidow · 13/02/2022 10:33

It might be worth while contacting the boiler manufacturer for a fixed price repair as it can be more economical.

samsam123 · 13/02/2022 11:50

call a heating engineer tomorrow and get them to look at it, a new one would be more economical and safer

Original poster

HouseofSkullduggery · 13/02/2022 12:30

It's fixed hurrah! It wasn't actually the boiler itself. It was the control panel on the wall not connecting properly.

OP posts:

bilbodog · 13/02/2022 12:38

Now get it serviced!

OpheliaThrupps · 13/02/2022 12:43

Good news! We've got a boiler of 2002 vintage, which is still going strong, with the occasional part replacement. Our boilerman had told us that when we get a new one we'll need a bigger pipe all the way from the meter at the front of the house to the boiler upstairs. New boilers need more pressure or some such? Apparently that will cost more than the actual boiler

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 12:52

Now get it serviced!

Please do this ^^

I once knew someone who died from CO poisoning.

Asdf12345 · 13/02/2022 17:43

We don’t get our boiler serviced, but it’s in a well ventilated cellar. The chap we use reckons the model is so reliable to run it till it stops and then fix it. The Rayburn does need servicing to run well though but we do that ourselves.

Bagelsandbrie · 13/02/2022 18:11

Getting a boiler serviced isn’t just about carbon monoxide. I’ve had a boiler literally catch fire randomly in a house I moved into. It was purely by luck that I was in the house at the time when I happened and was awake and could ring the fire service and the damage was fairly limited. It was absolutely terrifying though- it could have happened when I was asleep or when I was out. When I had the boiler replaced afterwards I was told that due to lack of servicing (the previous owners hadn’t serviced it and we had literally just moved in about 3 weeks before) there was a huge build up of debris and dust which just caught fire. So please, please service your boilers. It costs about £60 a year….!

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