14/01/2022
Something that always amazes me !! big companies have been there before you!! It’s all about money and not you the poor customer,popping the burner we do it every 5 years on round exchangers, n 3/4 on alloy silicates ones , , took this from our gas mag
In his exclusive column for Installer, Heating Engineer Andy Gibbs gives his opinion on what a boiler service should look like:
“Morning Madam, here to service the boiler.”
We’ve all said it, but what’s in a service? What should that customer get for their money?
Is it a case of get the flue gas analyser in, check the readings, tap the case, sling their tea down the sink and get on to the next one?
“The last bloke didn’t take the case off”, is one we all hear time and again. My reply to that is always: “Well he didn’t service your boiler then.”
Is that acceptable as a service?
It certainly is if you are some of the larger companies. This whole analyser thing was developed by the larger companies, for the sole purpose of cutting down the time taken on each service, therefore increasing productivity and increasing profit. It’s always about the money. Safety is the first thing that goes out the window.
Or is it a case of stripping the boiler to individual components and cleaning them until they shine? No doubt this would prolong the life of the boiler, but at what cost? The cost of additional time, and replacement seals and gaskets would build up fast, and really, there’s no need to go that far.
It isn’t actually too hard really. It’s all written down in the manufacturers’ instructions, and if they aren’t present, Google will know where there are, so do what the instruction manual requests.
There’s no excuse for at least trying.
Personally, I think it should be a mix.
Whip the case off, have a look inside, use your eyes, they are an important tool here, especially at any areas known to fail, like sumps and electrode gaskets.
Pop out the burner and have a look at it, clean up the condense trap, check any expansion vessels, clean up the magnetic filter, get the analyser in and check the readings. Then drink their tea.
(Please note, this is an indication, so don’t go getting all “you should do this as well” on me).
I think the customer wants you there for an hour, so be there an hour or at least 50 minutes. Give the customer the service they want. There’s not really any excuses for the drive by boiler service.
Back in the day, before analysers, we had to take the boiler apart. It was great. But it was easier then because there were only about two bits that actually moved, so there was hardly anything to go wrong.
Now the boiler is controlled by an app and a satellite feeding info back to the Metaverse, but that’s progress I suppose.
