We have recently moved into a house with a Vokera Linea 24 combi boiler. We have never really had very hot water, but it has been alright. In the last two days the water has started to run hot and cold. As soon as you activate a hot tap the temperature on the boiler goes down and it runs cold, then up and hot etc etc.

All the radiators in the house are working correctly and heating normally. I have investigated online and most people have said I need to replace or flush the heat exchanger.

We have a Homecall contract with British Gas who came out and immediately said we needed a powerflush at a cost of £750. Apparently they had been called out 10 times with the previous owners and had recommended this 2-3 times in the past. He said they were now not prepared to do anything else to this boiler as a powerflush is what is needed.

I am not prepared to pay that amount, especially having read everything on BG overselling this product when not needed. I have contacted the Powerflush Associated and they want £300.

My question is this. It is only the hot taps that are not working constantly. The hot water to the radiators is working fine, so is a powerflush really needed or could it be something easier
and cheaper.

I am clueless about boilers, but get the feeling I am being conned into undertaking work It doesn't need. Any help, tips or advice before I pull the trigger on a powerflush would be appreciated.

The system may be dirty and want flushing, you could drain out and see how black the water is.

The problem is going to be the plate HX, wants flushing/de-scaling or a new one, any amount of power flushing wont cure that.

Hope you cancelled the British Cash contract.

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Like Scruff says. Powerflushing only benefits the central heating side, not the hot water.

I'd be raising a complaint with BG asking them why they are recommending an expensive course of action which they KNOW is not going to fix the problem - and charging well over the odds for it to boot!

Alternatively you could agree to the £750 on the proviso that you get a written guarantee that it will fix your problem, and a full refund if it does not. See how confident they are in their diagnosis of your problem then!

Definitely the plate sludged up on system side.

I would clean it,as these are quite expensive on Vokera's

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Thank you very much for all the quick responses. I have a friend who has recommended their boiler man. He is coming to give a second opinion tomorrow.

This makes me so cross. What it is with companies with the name 'British' in them. I've been let down by both BT and BG in the last month - both trying to take excessive amounts of money from me in spurious ways. Not good enough.

Is it easy to break my contract? We have only had it since September. I've got to put up with BT for another 12 months so I expect i'll have to do the same with British Gas.

I would say wait until your (Hopefully) Competent Engineer turns up, see what he has to say..If the same as the advice given here (Blocked HE) then cancel the BG contract, on the basis that it was not what you were sold, was not delivered with due care or expertise..

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Verwood Handyman
I Know it says I'm On-line, but I might have just left myself logged in, whilst I'm out....

The volkera Linda 24 is quite a good but old boiler now unless HE model
It could be a thermistor or requires a good service if not
I would do as a scruff says ,check if system water dirty -blackish
If so power flush or chemical clean maybe the way to go
If not to bad,remove plate heat exchanger and clean and possibly fit magnetic cleaner to collect any debts that may come back to boiler and effect plates performance

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pretty sure its the plate HE thats blocked

if the water quality in your system is very sludged it will block again not to long after add a filter on teh return to the boiler to protect it

all i can say about BG you get some engineers that are good and you get some engineers that are good at selling upgrades that is all

see what your second opinion says, but a quick warning if your intending on keeping your BG contract they don't cover 3 party work, so if your plumber friend works on the boiler and after he has gone the boiler breaks down completely BG will charge you in full to repair it contract or no contract

Bear in mind that BG (and all the boiler service companies) reckon they can turn a profit by servicing your boiler and charging you £12 a month or so. That's £150 a year which you could otherwise be sticking into a bank account as rainy day money.

Then there's their £50 excess - which would pretty much pay for your annual boiler service. And, as you've found, they'll try and sting you for hundreds of pounds over the odds for stuff you don't need anyway whenever you DO call them out for a problem.

And finally, there's the cost to BG of all the pain in the a*se customers who call them out six times a year for silly things - you, as a sensible customer with better things to do than wait in all day for the gas man are subsidising them.

The ONLY way they can possibly be making a profit on boiler care is by setting their engineers strict targets for up-selling of other services, and by doing everything they can to wriggle out of doing what they really need to do to fix a problem.

Like all insurance, it's only EVER worth having if you either have to by law or really couldn't afford to stand the cost of whatever might go wrong. Any other way and you're just lining the pockets of insurance companies and serial claimants.

This episode has gone from bad to worse.

The new engineer who was recommended me spent a couple of hours with the boiler. He drained it down and cleaned out the domestic hot water heat exchanger. This has temporarily solved the problem and we have hot water again.

He said however that the main heat exchanger is really blocked (scaled in his words) and the only sensible way forward is to replace the whole boiler. He could replace the exchanger but they are very expensive and in his opinion a new boiler would be a better option.

It gets better. Having quoted £1775 for a new boiler, he notices that the Gas meter has 22mm pipe coming from it but at the boiler it's 15mm. A new combi boiler will need 22mm which means digging up the kitchen and potentially the hall to look for where 22mm and 15mm piping meet. This is another £650+vat.

I do not know what to think now. Firstly how can this be SO different to what BG recommended and secondly I don't know if I need yet another opinion as this is even more money (though a new boiler would obviously solve everything). Every new opinion is another £100 call out.

What do you think to this new engineers solution?

You shouldn't be paying call out fees, and certainly not £100 ones.

Where about's are you located we may know a good guy in your area.

Indirect boilers don't scale, sludge and dirty system perhaps.

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We are sandwiched between Forest Hill and Catford in SE6. Whatever happens I want to know why British Gas has not said we need a new boiler in the last 6 visits to the house (5 with the previous owner in the last 18 months) and simply gone for the Powerflush.

I just don't know who to believe and would rather have yet another opinion before I spend another few grand (which of course I don't have)

Give John Brookes a call pretty certain he covers your area

07958972051

Mention thescruff and uhm and see what he can do

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I asked a mate of mine who does some work for British Gas...His advice was..(Don't quote me on this)

ask to speak to a service manager at British gas...( dont mention about 3rd party work.).....


Say you have reservations about the power flush due to the cost.... you can mention that you have read somewhere that you can "sonic clean" the main heat exchanger, (Bit like they do with fuel injection systems on some cars, rather than replace the injectors) which Will sort your problem.....
Apparently every patch has one, so it wont be too hard to arrange...
this wont be done for free as "sludge" isn't covered in your contract.. the arrangement will be that you have to have a magnabooster fitted on the return for the sonic to be done for free!! so its going to cost you £269 but it will/Should sort all your problems out and its guaranteed then for any work and parts...

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Verwood Handyman
I Know it says I'm On-line, but I might have just left myself logged in, whilst I'm out....

OP

You are being fed a massive load of BS

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Dave

www.drlgas.co.uk