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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Do you service your boiler every year?

62 replies

Keenoonvino · 24/09/2013 19:13

I normally do mine every summer to stop the heating breaking down in the middle of winter and having to pay a fortune/ go cold. I haven't done it this year.

Is it necessary to service your boiler every year or is that what companies say to get you to spend more
Money???

OP posts:

whatshallwedo · 26/09/2013 06:45

Yes I have my done every year although this time it was closer to 18 months.

It has just been done and cost me £65 for a very old back boiler.

I was told previously by the plumber that if you rent a house from someone then it needs to be done yearly (arranged by landlord) but if it is your own home then every two years is sufficient.

bigTillyMint · 26/09/2013 06:56

Oooh, so glad I saw this thread!

We have always had a boiler/central heating contract with first British Gas and now F**king NPower - £27 a month - boiler serviced annually. But after a 2week fiasco to get our heating/hot water sorted, we are thinking about getting a local gas engineer/plumber to do an annual service and whatever needs to be done to the heating, etc.

Norudeshitrequired · 26/09/2013 07:05

modern boilers are less reliable and don't last as long partly because they are mainly combi boilers now and therefore work harder. they are much more flimsy than the old robust boilers though. the new ones are also more energy efficient so save a fortune on gas usage in comparison. its a balancing act between pros and cons.
I service annually because I have a 10 year warranty which would be invalidated if I didn't service the boiler. I also like to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide problems. I have a carbon monoxide alarm in the house as a service doesn't eliminate the risk totally as faults can happen mid year too.
please buy a carbon monoxide alarm - they cost around £15 and last 7 years which is a small price for peace of mind.

valiumredhead · 26/09/2013 07:17

I had a cm alarm in our old flat and when we put the new boiler in this house the chap that put it in told us it wouldn't work with that type of boiler. So check it will actually work.

WhispersOfWickedness · 26/09/2013 07:19

Ours is three years old and the 5 year warranty would be invalid if we didn't have it done so it was done yesterday Not sure what we will do when it is out of warranty though! Maybe every two years. Ours is a local plumber, he charges us £40

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 26/09/2013 07:20

I don't really get that Valium. Surely CO is the same whatever source it comes from? Did he explain why?

Norudeshitrequired · 26/09/2013 07:23

Carbon monoxide alarms pick up on carbon monoxide in the air - they aren't fussy about the brand of boiler. If a boiler installer told me that it's the wrong type of co2 alarm then I would be quite worried about his knowledge and ability.

Meglet · 26/09/2013 07:24

Yes. It's over 10yrs old but the engineers say it's a good boiler so better to keep it ticking over than installing a modern, energy saving but less reliable boiler.

Cybercat · 26/09/2013 07:31

Yes. I get a local plumber to do it which costs me about £40ish and think it's worth it to check safety and efficiency. We no longer have any warranty/cover on the boiler though.

valiumredhead · 26/09/2013 07:34

Out was something about the way it comes out of the boiler/pilot light. Perhaps I wasn't listening properly

LonelyGoatherd · 26/09/2013 07:48

Yes - a local plumber does it. New build so need to to keep warranty.

Used to have british gas "deal". V expensive, and they didn't fix it for 2 cold winter weeks when it broke down.

Bunbaker · 26/09/2013 07:57

I am amazed at the laissez faire attitude of those who never have their boiler serviced. I knew a couple of people who did from CO poisoning and always have our serviced every year. Besides, our boiler is a couple of years old with a 5 year warranty. We have to have an annual service for the warranty to be valid. We also have a CO alarm.

GiraffesAndButterflies · 26/09/2013 08:11

Incidentally on the subject of new boiler reliability, Which surveyed its members on their boilers' reliability this month and Worcester won all round- easily most reliable gas boilers and narrowly rated best oil boilers too.

Fairylea · 26/09/2013 08:52

Really important to get it serviced!! I've had a boiler blow up on me and set fire to the cupboard. Scared the life out of me, luckily I was home and awake at the time.

Also please get carbon monoxide alarms and put them upstairs as the fumes rise. This is what the fire brigade told us when they came to us after our boiler incident!

Editededition · 26/09/2013 08:56

I inherited a service contract, and kept it going with annual servicing.
Repairs this year would have cost me well over £700.
As it was, it was all covered.
Previous owners may well have racked up that much in monthly payment over the years (very grateful to them, thank you) but even so, there is a lot to be said for not having to find a big bill all at once.

HorryIsUpduffed · 26/09/2013 08:59

Our gas dude said that with our combi boiler it wasn't worth putting the CO monitor near the boiler (automatic cut offs etc) but instead to have it in the kitchen near the gas hob.

Maybe that's what yours meant?

HorryIsUpduffed · 26/09/2013 09:02

Edited - our vendors cancelled their service contract a few days before completion (they thought they'd cancelled for completion day, but British Gas actioned it immediately). Within twelve hours it developed a fault, which they then had to pay for in full (>£1000) even though the repair couldn't be done until after completion. They didn't even save any money on the cover, because it was an annual non-refundable premium.

Editededition · 26/09/2013 09:08

Horry
I never know why people do that, when selling it is so easy to just transfer the contract.

Sounds as though it was a timely breakdown, though, from your point of view!

Bunbaker · 26/09/2013 09:24

Just reread my post. I knew a couple who died.

There was that awful incident when some children from Wakefield died in Corfu a few years ago from CO poisoning. I can't believe that anyone is still stupid enough not to have their gas boiler serviced regularly.

PolterGoose · 26/09/2013 09:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SuperiorCat · 26/09/2013 10:17

Very important point Polter.

All Gas Safe engineers have their photo up on the GS website along with their registration details. DH has heard of companies signing off work using the registration of other GS employees.

zzzzz · 26/09/2013 10:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

valiumredhead · 26/09/2013 11:30

Horry-maybe, that's ringing some bells. We have an electric hob so maybe that's why he said it's not worth using.

Norudeshitrequired · 26/09/2013 12:38

Valium. I did a bit of digging and found out the following -combi boilers are sealed systems and shouldn't leak carbon monoxide inside. However, a faulty system is a faulty system and might not do what it is designed to do so it's still best to have a carbon monoxide alarm.
I'm surprised that a corgi registered person would advise against one. No perfectly working gas appliance is going to be dangerous so the argument of what a combi boiler should do isn't a reason to not have a c02 alarm.

valiumredhead · 26/09/2013 12:50

Ah interesting, that makes sense. Definitely corgi registered, we checked. I'll dig out the alarm again. Thanks

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