Am I being ripped off?

[kirstiii]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick (I hope) question! I have a Protherm 80E boiler in a flat which I have just moved into. I'm told this is not a very good make! Anyway, the heating works fine but we have no hot water at all, no matter what setting we put it on. A plumber has just been round to look at it and he says the diverter valve/hydraulic block has gone and will need to be replaced. He says the part is £327 plus about 2 hours labour, and thinks it would be better for us to replace the boiler at £2100. I am absolutely skint as I work for the NHS so am reluctant to replace it if I don't need to! ALso I looked up the part on the internet and it seems to be for sale at £125. Advice from someone experienced would really be appreciated!! Thanks,
Kirsty

[uug197h]

i have found one on the net for less than £113 + vat
Spares | THANET GAS SPARES
so the price of £327 plus labour is a little high as the diverter is on the water side and not gas any plumber should be able to fit it so that would bring the price down for the labour. it all depends where you are to the cost of the labour in yorkshire it would be around £70 for the labour and you could supply your own part.

[kirstiii]

Thanks so much for the advice, I think I'll do that! Hopefully I won't need to replace it then

[mjandrew]

You have probabley got all this sorted now but in case you have any other boiler problems (I have had problems at this time of year with every boiler I have ever had!), then one of the cheapest and most helpful plumbing and heating suppliers I have found is <admin removed link>

Good luck!

[Agile]

Be aware that A professional heating engineer has to get the part the same or next day from stock at spares merchants. They are often more expensive than internet prices which are usually only delivering in about five days time!

This is my first posting and I suspect it may well be my last!

Tony

Originally Posted by uug197h

i have found one on the net for less than £113 + vat
Spares | THANET GAS SPARES
so the price of £327 plus labour is a little high as the diverter is on the water side and not gas any plumber should be able to fit it so that would bring the price down for the labour. it all depends where you are to the cost of the labour in yorkshire it would be around £70 for the labour and you could supply your own part.

I dont know what work or experience Ugg has but I dont expect that any CORGI boiler engineer would be fitting what has been listed for just £70 when the part is supplied by the customer.

As for a basic "plumber" fitting a boiler part when he is not CORGI registered then he would be unlikely to have experience of working on boilers unless he does that illegally whilst not CORGI registered.

Of course the reality is that the hydraulic block does NOT need to be replaced and a simple diverter valve repair is possible for which we would charge £106 inclusive in the London area.

Tony