Baxi Bermuda 51/5 Back Boiler

[heatseeker]

It is about 15 years old.

Recently I had a problem with the boiler when it wouldn't fire up using the timer, but we were able to fire it up manually using the boiler thermostat control. Then boiler wouldn't fire up manually either.

An engineerfrom a company I had used previously said it would cost £400+ vat to fit a new PCB, he told me that the PCB was £200.00. I !checked it out and found that I could get one for £78.00!

I got a heating engineer via Rated People. He came out and checked the boiler over. He checked the PCB, using a meter, he said the PCB had a loose connection. He also found the gas pressure was low. He sorted out these problems and fired the boiler up.

The boiler didn't fire up on the timer again the next day and we couldn't fire up the boiler manually either. The engineer returned and fitted a new PCB and this time did another test with the wall thermostat set at maximum and minimum. The boiler worked for a few days and then wouldn't fire up again on the timer or manually.

The engineer charged me for fitting a new PCB and sorting out the gas pressure, he didn't charge me for the second visit. Cost was £194.00

I have now been informed that I need a new Gas Valve and a Thermostat Control.

Can anyone please advise me on what is happening with my boiler, and if the engineer should have been able to diagnose all the faults listed on his first or second visit. He wants to charge £225.00 plus vat this time.

I checked up on the internet and ebay and the gas valve is about £77.00 and a thermostat sensor is about £22.00. Should I pay for fitting these? He has offered to repay me the £100 labour charge if I do not use him.

Would I be better off going for a repair contract with Baxi or British Gas? these cover the initial repair and all parts and labour plus any call outs after that for a monthly fee of around £20.00. This is a 15 year old unit, so it is likely to go wrong again I assume. I have never had a problem with it for 15 years. I just had my kitchen re-done so a new combi boiler is out of the running.

If one of you helpful people would be good enough to list the sort of things I should keep an eye out for, something like a fault finding list would be useful.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rob Sale]

Remember he is a Business like any other business they have mark ups just like a mechanic does and charges labour.

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Remember he is a Business like any other business they have mark ups just like a mechanic does and charges labour.

I think sometimes people forget that we go to work to make money at the end of the day just like everyone else does and of course there are some rouges but most guys are honest fair and hard working. It may seem to the cust that we are making a lot of money out of them but once you remove the parts, VAT and other costs we are only making a reasonable living for what is a skilled job and hard work a lot of the time. We also fork out a lot of money for various training, registations and insurance that say a plasterer or tiler doesn't have to and its only us and the sparkys that run the risk of making a mistake that can lead to fatalities if we get it wrong

 

[Rob Sale]

If your after a new boiler Baxi do a new condensing back boiler which would be almost a straight swap.

 

[heatseeker]

Remember he is a Business like any other business they have mark ups just like a mechanic does and charges labour.

I have no problem with paying anyone for a fair job.

What I asked was " Should he have been able to diagnose the problem when he first came out"

I gave him the diagnostic manual and there is a full diagnostic check list there to see if the valve is faulty.

 

[heatseeker]

I think sometimes people forget that we go to work to make money at the end of the day just like everyone else does and of course there are some rouges but most guys are honest fair and hard working. It may seem to the cust that we are making a lot of money out of them but once you remove the parts, VAT and other costs we are only making a reasonable living for what is a skilled job and hard work a lot of the time. We also fork out a lot of money for various training, registations and insurance that say a plasterer or tiler doesn't have to and its only us and the sparkys that run the risk of making a mistake that can lead to fatalities if we get it wrong

If you have forked out money for training course etc, doesn't that mean you should be able to diagnose problems?

 

[heatseeker]

I managed to fire up the boiler manually, and it worked for 3 days on the timer, so what is going on with this?

 

[tom609]

If you have forked out money for training course etc, doesn't that mean you should be able to diagnose problems?

intermittent problems are more difficult to diagnose if you are getting power to a part and it aint working then you know its faulty but if the board is also faulty you cant check any thing until thats replaced

 

[heatseeker]

intermittent problems are more difficult to diagnose if you are getting power to a part and it aint working then you know its faulty but if the board is also faulty you cant check any thing until thats replaced

Thanks Tom for actually answering the question, that makes sense.

I have heard of someone who replaced PCB,(I have a new One Now), Thermistor, and valve and still had problems after that lot.

I should have probably got Baxi in to do the work and got one of their Service/Cover Plans, probably would have worked out less expensive in the long run.

 

[lame plumber]

the diagnostic guide is ok if the boiler has one permanently broken bit. Doesnt work for intermittant problems or when theres more than one issue, then experience and knowledge come into play, and you cant get that cheap off the internet. For me if customers want to buy their own parts, I let them, wont fit them though. re your 15 year old boiler, try thinking of it as a car, you try telling your local garage to fit parts youve bought off the internet, good luck!

 

[tom609]

sometimes your household insurance covers it so maybe worth giving them a call

 

[heatseeker]

The parts are Baxi parts from the same address as Baxi, with full guarantees and Warranties. Good that your in Devon as I wouldn't use you. You are the kind of Heating Engineer that gives your trade a bad name!!

I have a 50 year old car that most people would kill to get their hands on, and it doesn't cost the earth to look after. If I need a mechanic I know a good one who isn't a shark and is happy to fit whatever bits I supply.

 

[heatseeker]

Thanks again Tom, good bit of information That I haven't looked into. You are able to read and actually answer a question without giving your opinion, which was never asked for. Appreciate your type of responses.

Seems like there a few "Double Glazing Salesman" types on these forums!! They would probably charge an arm and a leg for their opinions whilst fleecing someone blind!

 

[SimonG]

It is about 15 years old.

Recently I had a problem with the boiler when it wouldn't fire up using the timer, but we were able to fire it up manually using the boiler thermostat control. Then boiler wouldn't fire up manually either.

An engineerfrom a company I had used previously said it would cost £400+ vat to fit a new PCB, he told me that the PCB was £200.00. I !checked it out and found that I could get one for £78.00!

I got a heating engineer via Rated People. He came out and checked the boiler over. He checked the PCB, using a meter, he said the PCB had a loose connection. He also found the gas pressure was low. He sorted out these problems and fired the boiler up.

The boiler didn't fire up on the timer again the next day and we couldn't fire up the boiler manually either. The engineer returned and fitted a new PCB and this time did another test with the wall thermostat set at maximum and minimum. The boiler worked for a few days and then wouldn't fire up again on the timer or manually.

The engineer charged me for fitting a new PCB and sorting out the gas pressure, he didn't charge me for the second visit. Cost was £194.00

I have now been informed that I need a new Gas Valve and a Thermostat Control.

Can anyone please advise me on what is happening with my boiler, and if the engineer should have been able to diagnose all the faults listed on his first or second visit. He wants to charge £225.00 plus vat this time.

I checked up on the internet and ebay and the gas valve is about £77.00 and a thermostat sensor is about £22.00. Should I pay for fitting these? He has offered to repay me the £100 labour charge if I do not use him.

Would I be better off going for a repair contract with Baxi or British Gas? these cover the initial repair and all parts and labour plus any call outs after that for a monthly fee of around £20.00. This is a 15 year old unit, so it is likely to go wrong again I assume. I have never had a problem with it for 15 years. I just had my kitchen re-done so a new combi boiler is out of the running.

If one of you helpful people would be good enough to list the sort of things I should keep an eye out for, something like a fault finding list would be useful.

Thanks in advance.

You have a problem with your boiler, so what's the internet price of parts got to do with it?

 

[lame plumber]

by the way please refer to the header at the top of the page ref gas advice. ref your car, I'm happy you have someone like that and why would my not working for you if you buy parts give the trade a bad name, if you want a job warrantied and done properly let the guy doing it get on with it and make a profit, theres nothing worse than I can get that cheaper ringing in your ears. Hence why if thats what you want to do, I'm happy to let you get on with it but do not expect me to fit bits for you that you sourced from whatever unknown source out there on the net.

 

[Barry98]

Thanks Tom for actually answering the question, that makes sense.

I have heard of someone who replaced PCB,(I have a new One Now), Thermistor, and valve and still had problems after that lot.

I should have probably got Baxi in to do the work and got one of their Service/Cover Plans, probably would have worked out less expensive in the long run.

easy tiger

 

[heatseeker]

That is what I was asking for advice, not your opinion. Why should I pay double for a part that comes from the same factory, has a full manufactures guarantee and warranty?

If I worked according to your method I should have just paid £400.00 for a PCB and Fitting, That is the kind of thing that gives Heating Engineers a bad name, not making a reasonable profit, fleecing someone!

 

[heatseeker]

easy tiger

What's the problem with thanking someone for actually answering a question, without giving me an opinion I never asked for?

 

[lame plumber]

What's the problem with thanking someone for actually answering a question, without giving me an opinion I never asked for?

if you care to review your posts, you gave all of us an opinion first, which we didnt ask for either, so we only responded with our advice and opinions in return.

 

[SimonG]

Why should I pay double for a part that comes from the same factory, has a full manufactures guarantee and warranty?

You buy the part direct, it has to be fitted by a gsr engineer, 6 months later it breaks, you phone Baxi, yes they'll send you a new one once you have returned the old one. The duff part has to be removed by a gsr engineer who will charge you for the pleasure, you then receive the replacement that has to be fitted by a gsr who charges you again.

This is versus employing a gsr to fix your boiler, he fits a part and charges you. 6 months later he comes back and changes the defective part at no cost to you.

So just how cheap is this internet.

I hear statements like yours all the time. I go and fix a boiler using a part I have on the van. On that part I add a percentage to cover profit. Lets say the part was 100 and I charged it at 130. You would say I can get the part for 100. That's fine, there's my bill for today, phone me when the part comes (cos I know you're computers not smart enough to do that job), probably 2 days and I'll come back and charge for fitting it.

So as you see you've 'saved' £30 but paid for two visits and had no heating or hot water for 2 days. If the same part goes again within the first 12 months it will cost you again.

Now I don't fleece anybody and I don't trade like a shark. So if you don't want opinions on people making a honest living, then please when you come on asking for advice about what could be wrong with your boiler and the best way to get it fixed, don't start spouting prices.

 

[Plumb Ugly]

Since any advice/opinions you get on here you are getting for free I don't think you can complain too much if you aren't happy with what you get. I will fit parts if customers want to source them but I will charge for any time spent fitting and then having to remove any faulty component I haven't supplied myself. That's just my choice I can understand why some guys won't do this. With regard to paying for training its gas safety related training that we get that simply allows an operative to work safely it doesn't include detailed fault finding on individual appliances that comes from experience but I would agree with you that you should expect someone your paying to be able to diagnose a fault however its not always possible to this on a single visit especially if the fault is intermitent and the appliance is working properly on arrival as any tests done will show correct operation so your left to take an educated guess at the cause. In my experience intermitent faults are nearly always electronics but I'm not allowed to be any more specific

 

[Barry98]

What's the problem with thanking someone for actually answering a question, without giving me an opinion I never asked for?

The problem is your attitude towards respetcted members

 

[leethegasman]

It is about 15 years old.

Recently I had a problem with the boiler when it wouldn't fire up using the timer, but we were able to fire it up manually using the boiler thermostat control. Then boiler wouldn't fire up manually either.

An engineerfrom a company I had used previously said it would cost £400+ vat to fit a new PCB, he told me that the PCB was £200.00. I !checked it out and found that I could get one for £78.00!

I got a heating engineer via Rated People. He came out and checked the boiler over. He checked the PCB, using a meter, he said the PCB had a loose connection. He also found the gas pressure was low. He sorted out these problems and fired the boiler up.

The boiler didn't fire up on the timer again the next day and we couldn't fire up the boiler manually either. The engineer returned and fitted a new PCB and this time did another test with the wall thermostat set at maximum and minimum. The boiler worked for a few days and then wouldn't fire up again on the timer or manually.

The engineer charged me for fitting a new PCB and sorting out the gas pressure, he didn't charge me for the second visit. Cost was £194.00

I have now been informed that I need a new Gas Valve and a Thermostat Control.

Can anyone please advise me on what is happening with my boiler, and if the engineer should have been able to diagnose all the faults listed on his first or second visit. He wants to charge £225.00 plus vat this time.

I checked up on the internet and ebay and the gas valve is about £77.00 and a thermostat sensor is about £22.00. Should I pay for fitting these? He has offered to repay me the £100 labour charge if I do not use him.

Would I be better off going for a repair contract with Baxi or British Gas? these cover the initial repair and all parts and labour plus any call outs after that for a monthly fee of around £20.00. This is a 15 year old unit, so it is likely to go wrong again I assume. I have never had a problem with it for 15 years. I just had my kitchen re-done so a new combi boiler is out of the running.

If one of you helpful people would be good enough to list the sort of things I should keep an eye out for, something like a fault finding list would be useful.

Thanks in advance.

If you had a service contract from day one you would have paid thousands in to it. one off repairs are cheaper in the long run do the maths and keep your money in the bank.find yourself a local company to service your boiler yearly and supply and fit parts when needed.