PCR Plumbers Ltd

10/06/2026

Are you an apprentice heating engineer?
..and looking for that next level of knowledge, the kind of stuff not taught in college, but sets you up for real employment with genuine companies looking for the talent you can bring to the table?

We've made the entire module 1, with 4 lessons, free on

www.futurehomeheating.com

Lessons here

https://www.futurehomeheating.com/learners/heating-fundamentals-lesson-1

Feel free to sign up and have a go at the questions, all designed around you! you can also request to join

The Heating Engineer Collective community on here, where you can ask all your technical questions about your journey.

These resources are built by engineers for engineers

Practical guidance on UK home heating: heat pumps, gas boilers, oil boilers, and the energy transition. For homeowners, apprentices, and heating engineers.

02/06/2026

You 'must' put inhibitor in the heating system after replacing the boiler!

Your boiler will rot and corrode if you don't, inhibitor stops this happening!

Your warranty is categorically null and void if you don't

I can't even understand why you would even ask if inhibitor is required...

All these are answers from a manufacturer's technical helpline.

The system is thoroughly flushed clean, every radiator one by one, and a new magnaclean is installed.

How much inhibitor do I need? What's the concentration, just the 1 litre as recommended? How do I check the concentration?

Let it circulate for 48 hours and retest...

Test with what? Test strips.

If the conductivity of the system water (post flushing) matches the incoming cold mains water, is that acceptable?

Are individual manufacturers able to null a warranty for the lack of inhibitor?

Thoughts?

30/05/2026

How much?
..are you paying for your home heating energy bill?

While the weather is epic 😎. Have a look at the comparison tool on the website and let me know what you think about the money you spend on your home heating energy!

Will it be more in the future or less?

https://www.futurehomeheating.com/homeowners

For gas and electric, have a look at your recent bill, combine your current pence per kwh and your standing charge, input the figures and get a better picture of what heat source is right for your needs and your home!

This post was inspired by a recent post, I read, saying heat pumps only last 5 years 🤔 and electric boilers are not only cheaper, they cost less to run and maintain...

As the homeowner, I'd rather you decide on what is right for you!

Practical guidance on UK home heating: heat pumps, gas boilers, oil boilers, and the energy transition. For homeowners, apprentices, and heating engineers.

29/05/2026

Why do I need to work so hard?

Not me, I don't mind... I never have!

The boiler I mean, this boiler was having various issues, it hadn't fired up for a few days, and had been playing up for a week prior.

The customer had been let down by their incumbent engineer...

Here's the thing... no one else has looked at the boiler for several years, only the usual engineer.

Then we come along

• Boiler set to almost maximum, chucking out 75ºC heat (it's a condensing boiler...)
• Several rads only luke warm at best. Luckily the weather is behaving...
• Hot water struggling
• Oil tank non conformances not noted, the customer wasn't even aware

The list goes on

The boiler had been working this hard for almost 10 years, the result, baffle plates warped and cracked, flueways heavily sooted and partially blocked with condensate residue.

Alex's words, 'these haven't been out for a long time' as he is servicing the boiler after repairing a fault.

That's the story... in the the video, I focus on a wider point

What are you, as the unsuspecting customer, really getting with an annual boiler service?
..Value for money, or a headache that costs way more to fix down the line than it should, and high fuel bills to boot...

28/05/2026

Are you being ripped off?

This customer appeared to be...

Why do we service a boiler as thoroughly as we do? Well because the manufacturer specifies it...!

I'm sorry, not sorry to put this out there. Boiler servicing prices are ridiculously low...Why?

You wouldn't drive your car for several years without knowing it's safe or it's using more fuel than it should, would you?

Average car servicing prices are around £300, depending on the make and model £600.

We see oil boiler prices at £90 ? What do you get for that?

The video explains it.

The boiler isn't solely the problem, the heating system also is...

This is a part L compliant, condensing oil boiler with a 'left as is' flow temperature of 70ºC, and it's been like this for 10 years... I'll leave this comment there!

If you're wondering why you're using so much heating oil I'm happy to discuss!

20/05/2026

I hate to say this, but the odds of:

- Becoming a great heating engineer
- Doing it through a college or fast track
- Then expecting the money to roll in

Are pretty much zero...

We need gas engineers, but, more importantly, we need 'heating engineers'.
..and good ones who really understand how a heating system works in real homes, it's a brave new world people and we're losing the engineers we have to retirement.

Over 50% of gas safe registered engineers are over 55...

As we transition over to heat pumps, you'll love 'em eventually (the future of home heating...). We need engineers who can fully grasp why a heating system does what it does. What it needs to operate efficiently and exactly how to fix it quickly when things go wrong!

We see the good, the bad and the downright ugly boilers, heat pumps and heating systems every day.

Ones that are running at their peak (very few...), ones that function and waste energy like there's no tomorrow, and ones that should never have been taken out of the packaging and gone anywhere near a customers home!

The latter 2 are the real kicker here, the customer isn't even aware...

Which comes back to my burning question.."Why not?"
..they trust the 'heating engineer' in front of them, to tell them the truth about their 'heating system'

That's the one that needs to sink in for most of us.

The energy we waste in our homes is exorbitant. It needs to stop.

Want a better way to understand heating, how it really works in our homes, what you need to do in the event of a breakdown and fix it quickly?

Want to be one of the 10 lucky future home heating engineers to get the training for free?

The entire course (built by engineers for engineers) is in build and the link is here:

https://www.futurehomeheating.com/early-access

It costs you nothing to get notified straight to your inbox. We'll let you know when the 'done different' heating engineer course is available.

Learners: Test your current knowledge with the level 1 free taster. It's all about sharing the knowledge.

https://www.futurehomeheating.com/learners/heating-fundamentals-course

Practical guidance on UK home heating: heat pumps, gas boilers, oil boilers, and the energy transition. For homeowners, apprentices, and heating engineers.

19/05/2026

Have you got what it takes ....to be a heating engineer?

We're launching the next steps to help you really get the best out of your learning.

Are you starting your 'heating engineer' journey, either as an apprentice or a career changer!

Test what you already know here: https://www.futurehomeheating.com/early-access

We're giving away 10 free courses, designed to stretch your knowledge. Written by engineers for newbie engineers.

This is all about supporting you to become a top heating engineer!

Want to be one of the 10?

Sign up and we'll let you know if you have a spot secured, you'll also get early notification of when the full course launches...!

Best of luck !

Practical guidance on UK home heating: heat pumps, gas boilers, oil boilers, and the energy transition. For homeowners, apprentices, and heating engineers.

16/05/2026

Are gas installers right to ask what the energy transition means for their trade?

The latest article on our resource website has just landed!

https://www.futurehomeheating.com/engineers/gas-oil/future-of-gas-engineering-uk

If you're a gas engineer, an apprentice or a trainer. I'm genuinely interested in your views on this. I think it's incredibly important to tackle this topic head on!

We're seeing more gas engineers retiring or nearing retirement than we are new entrants to the trade.

I'm looking to gather your thoughts and any ideas you have or you feel worthy of discussion on the next podcast episode of the 'Heat Exchange'

Practical guidance on UK home heating: heat pumps, gas boilers, oil boilers, and the energy transition. For homeowners, apprentices, and heating engineers.

15/05/2026

"The cheapest, cleanest unit of energy is the one your home no longer needs"

We waste so much heat in our homes... if you're on mains gas, you're on a subscription you pay every month to waste energy you never feel. Let that sink in for a moment...it's your money you're wasting!

The majority of UK properties have a heat loss of 7kW on average, some lower, some a little higher.

Yet the majority of properties all have a boiler that's way oversized, which means the pipework is oversized and so are your radiators.

Your thermostat, the box on the wall, that doesn't do a lot except turn the heating off as your home heats up and on again as your home cools, doesn't have a brain. It's as dumb as they come!

The majority of gas condensing boilers (that don't condense, happy to be proven wrong), have the technology to connect to weather compensated controls or Open Therm.

Yet they're wired to a switched live from age old zone valves that we should have gotten rid of years ago.

Your home heating system will be set up this way, and it's costing you way more than you think!

We don't have an energy crisis, we have a wastage crisis (phrase coined by a friend in the industry - Rob Berridge) not by us!

We have a new resource website for you to check out which has loads of free home energy advice!

www.futurehomeheating.com

12/05/2026

Are you heating your home or your garden?

If an Air Source Heat Pump isn't insulated correctly, it will lose heat at a rate of knots.

Manufacturers ensure that all the pipework inside the unit, including the heat exchanger is insulated to prevent heat loss.

Then comes the installation.

I thought, following an earlier post, I'd highlight what good looks like... and this one isn't even complete yet!

The top photo is bad insulation, the insulation isn't bad, how it's installed is, that said downstream (of this coated section), the installer has used internal quality insulation, which will absorb water as soon as it rains and render it pretty useless, it'll also breakdown and degrade in matter of weeks.

The bottom picture is good insulation, it will be completely sealed from the elements at every joint to prevent moisture ingress, the coating on the insulation is water proof and UV stable.

Before you say your heat pump doesn't work. Please check the quality of your external insulation along all your exposed pipework.

When we're called in to look at poor performing heating systems, it's the first thing we look at ...and fix. The issue is not the heat pump... The standard of the installation is.

I built the hub www.futurehomeheating.com to highlight these issues.