British Gas & Power Flush

[Jaz1]

Hi,

 

Can you tell me how much a power flush and a new combi boiler should cost please? I seem to keep getting bamboozled by the cost and work companies say they will do and at roughly what cost!

 

Thanks

[Trundles Trick]

Hi,

 

Can you tell me how much a power flush and a new combi boiler should cost please? I seem to keep getting bamboozled by the cost and work companies say they will do and at roughly what cost!

 

Thanks

 

 

Impossible to say without surveying job and allowing for general charges in your area.

 

 

A rough example for exchanging an existing combi for a new condensing combi in same site could well be around the £1400 to £1600 mark plus extras if T/static valves and room stat req and dependent on quality of boiler used

 

If changing over from a traditional boiler system including site change and extras, a fair bit more.

 

 

 

A powerflush from a genuine local trader about £300 (less if chucked in as part of new boiler installation)

 

 

 

Always get a British Gas quote to make yourself feel better when paying a local independent installer for work.

 

 

 

Double or treble the quote for most work if using 'Fair Trade champions' British Gas

[owlpen]

I feel very depressed - I received a vist from BG this week in response to the failure of my radiators to warm up properly - they warm up mid way to the top and that's it - not all the raiators do this though. called out bg, a nice young man came and before he even looked at the system he decided on his course of treatment! he then looked in linen cupboard - tut tut he said, followed by a sigh and deep intake of air

 

ah he said my problem was clear - the pipes had been plumbed in wrong, and that I also had a dose of sludge!! he proceeded to sit on his toolbox, laptop in hand and give me a quote of approx £740.00 to correct the problem

 

several boxes of tissues later on my part - I qeuried the poor plumbing and why it had only just come to lght as it had only been accepted onto the homecare 200 scheme 4 years earlier and during that time had recived a new pump plumbed into the said poorly plumbed pipes.

 

he said it was down to t & c's and had I not read the conditions, he also said that the water was spilling out in the loft - real panic on my part, why had that not been picked up on it's recent service - ah... he said again that's down to 'ealth and safety' - whilst he was ok in the lorft he could nat say the same about one of the older wobbly engineers - after all they could have fallen orf one my joists!

 

oh that I wished I had not offered him that nice cup of tea... that was it tears flowed, I asked why had I bothered to pay vast amounts of money into the BG scheme only to be told what I could not have my system rectified without spending the £740.00 pounds - But when I said I could not afford the high amount I would just have to add a few more jumpers another hot water bottle to keep me warm (wheelchair user) he did say that he could giove me the details of someone cheaper!! then he got up from box, jeans part way down hips, stipped boxer shorts on view, he said he would come back a few days later to test the water, which he did, he spent ages in the lorft (brave man - remember the joists) and came down with a bottle which had a small amount of brown powder in the bottom and when I say a small amount I meant a small amount - it was all I could do to keep myself from persuading my assistance dogs to show him the way out. I now have to wait a week for the test results -

[patrickq1]

i paid for the powerflush liquids one bottle of flush and one bottle of inhibitor 30 quid all you need do is undo the top fitting of one rad and put in the flush liquid fire up boiler then let system run for a couple of weeks the drain system next when drained enter the inhibitor and thats it ,b and q have some combis for 400 quid or their abouts

patrickq1

[smartpicture]

BG tring to get me to have a powerflush (including magnaclean) at £695, reduced to £468 after they've made too many cockups to mention which meant I had no heating or hot water for 2 weeks. Not sure if I'm benefitting from £227 compensation or being conned, but either way I'm expected to cough up nearly £500 when the sole reason for paying for HomeCover was to prevent unexpected large bills.

 

How can I tell if I need the powerflush or not? The central heating system is 10 years old, but they've replaced virtually every part in the boiler now, including pump, main heat exchanger and secondary heat exchanger. Some of the radiators have cold bits near the bottom. He showed me some tiny black bits in some of the parts he removed which he said was sludge.

 

For the last 4 years, the boiler has been fine for months, then gradually started losing water pressure so I have to top it up manually, when it got to every couple of days I'd call them out, they'd solve it (by pumping air in??) then the process would start again. Should BG have identified this sludge problem earlier from that? They never added any inhibitor even though I was toppping up the water regularly, has this led to the problems I've got now?

[emsgeorge]

Its not a combi, is it ?

 

Mine had the same 'loss of pressure' problem. It was the safety relief valve. Costs about £20 from screwfix to replace.

[Bigmac versus]

Hi smartpicture when you say pump in air that tells me you have had a problem with the Expansion vessel (big red\grey vessel usually on the back of the boiler. When this fails it may be simply requiring pumped up but if it happens a second time then the vessel itself should be exchanged as it is clearly faulty. By your own admission when you top up the boiler you are allowing fresh water to enter the system which will corrode the system quicker, how many times over how long have they pumped up the expansion vessel?

[Bigmac versus]

My 2p worth regarding powerflushes.

 

For quite some time now I have been called to jobs where the customer has been informed their system needs powerflushed and to be honest I would say that MOST of those were wrongly diagnosed. The engineers who diagnose these problems and get the customer to go ahead with them or system upgrades get bonus payments (or certainly did last time i spoke to one) this alone tells me there will be many more systems being diagnosed in this way than there should be. One of the biggest problems with heating systems is treatment of the water and the costs of the chemicals required to do this would be no more than £35 but I see many systems that are only a couple of years old that havent been treated when first installed which is crazy. I think the service BG provide in powerflushing is expensive and can be easily beaten by most gas engineers out there, it is the same when getting quotes for new boilers and you would be wise to have a second opinion on any work you are told the system requires before deciding to go ahead with.

[smartpicture]

It is a combi boiler, and it's happened every year for 4 years, and yes, Expansion Vessel does ring a bell, but as far as I know they just kept pumping it up.

 

Obviously I know now that adding water regularly like this can cause problems, but I'm not a plumbing engineer and I didn't know before this last set of problems - surely it was up to the BG engineers to tell me it needed inhibitors or whatever, or deal with this problem during the last 4 years before it became a big problem? Sludge and aggressive water don't mean anything to a non-technical person, not that they were even mentioned until my boiler stopped working completely recently.

 

BG say their power flush will cost more than anyone elses because it comes with a lifetime guarantee (although apparently there is no paperwork provided to show this), is this guarantee worth paying extra for, does anyone know?

[Bigmac versus]

You need a new expansion vessel and as you have said already that you have had to top up the pressure and surely BG should have said to you about the corrosive properties in fresh water causing furher damage. My question to BG would be why have you not renewed the expansion vessel as it is blatantly obvious it is faulty and furthermore this has led me to having further problems by topping up.

[IdaInFife]

Bigmac is correct but there also could be a small leak somewhere on the sytem causing the loss of pressure. Have they suggested adding a leak sealent?

 

 

Idax

[busybody]

I was recommended a powerflush to solve a cold radiator problem. I got another reputable company in to do it ,couldnt afford BG prices and the water ran clean. The next BG engineer showed me a tray of dirty water and told me it hadnt worked and BG could do it better. he then used a socket set to bleed the radiators and wrenched off one of the valves completly. Can I sue BG for a replacement radiator and non performance? I still have the cold radiator. I understand from BG that Engineers get enhanced pay for recommending powerflush. No suprise at how many are being carried out at the moment then!

[Chinatown]

I had the hard sell from Britsh Gas and gave in following 3 radiators not working. 2 power flushes later and the radiators still not working. System is 10 yeas old - now they say the only way to clear the blockage (I don't think they know for sure there is a blockage !! Incoming pipes hot but radiator still cold) is to rip up my flooring at my cost !!

 

So this could cost £3k + - what can I do ?

[Bigmac versus]

3K PLUS?

Sounds like a repipe but at that cost no way.

You could get a full heating system for that price.

[patrickq1]

tell em too pee of for a start

powerflush both bottle one flush one inhibitor 30 quid

ask a plumber do a pressure test to see if they can identify the blockage ?

patrickq1

[patrickq1]

your right big m full heating system plus a powershower and enclosure for that price ripp off gas typicle bg prices huh

patrickq1

[whereswilbur]

Ah, one of my fave jobs working for the gas board, fixing the problems after the DIYers bugger up their systems, or the standby call at 7pm when the water is pouring through the ceiling after the bleed plug is removed from a radiator! Enjoy!

[Bigmac versus]

I was at a customers house today after booking them in 2 weeks ago for apparently odds and ends needing done.

After arriving he preceded to tell me BG are removing him from the contract unless he gets the system powerflushed.

The system boiler is 8 years old and has two inhibitor stickers on it dated 2000 and again 2005 he has no probs with rads heating or airing only wanted a radiator moved to another wall.

I cant find an explanation for the ultimatum from the BG engineer.

[amiabgengineer?]

I agree with whereswilbur you see some amazingly cr*p DIY jobs out there, a lot of boilers we replace are the £400 B&Q jobs someone mentioned earlier lol, customers just can't seem to understand that you pay for what you get with boilers, yes sir that worcester bosch will cost twice as much but it will last 20 years not 20 weeks!

 

Also cleaner will remove some debris if left running round the system then drained off and re-filled but if you say have cold spots on your rads because its so bunged up then you do need to powerflush, the only cheep alternative would be to cold mains flush but this is only possible on a sealed system and you still have to know what your doing.

[Bigmac versus]

Yes granted there are many bad installations out there and nothing will change that until Corgis notification scheme changes. This was to improve safety and is nothing more than a money making exercise. A huge amount of customers still arent aware you need a certificate for renewal of gas appliances yet Corgi do NOTHING to bring this into the public eye and this is why bad engineers are still out there.

 

 

So would you say that BG give value for money? (with a straight face)

 

Also do BG carry out all these works? or do they sub contract work out whilst charging the customer a substantial amount more than they are paying the sub contractor.

 

And finally regarding Worcester yes they are a decent boiler and expensive but by removing the name and replacing with BG dosent justify them pricing the way they do.

 

Unfortunately some of BG's customers are subject to this practice after parting with an obscene amount of money believing they are getting the best they can when in fact they are paying through the nose for a system that could easily be got from many local firms for around 40% less on average.

 

In reality BG engineers (not all but a huge amount) sell services to customers by way of alarming them into believing their systems are in a bad state. I have seen this sort of practice many times and issuing incorrect warning labels only highlights how bonuses take priority over honesty or utter confusion. Either way it isnt good then again BG also have engineers who have never served their time in respect of a trade and after a very short training time are let out with laptops to assist them well you cant beat experience over an apprenticeship and by using this method is it any wonder so many people are upset by their service or lack of it.

[busybody]

After not repairing my system and ruining one radiator. I had a visit from a very nice man from BG as a response to my complaint who replaced the radiator and refunded £138.00 for a repair I paid for privatly. Not with BG anymore and my boiler is working fine thanks. The problem was mainly that the engineers went straight to selling powerflush without even trying to solve the boiler problem. A second opinion certainly helped. The powerflush cost £200 and the reapaire in the end cost me nothing but I could have paid more than £700 for a powerflush when this would not have solved the problem.

[Bigmac versus]

Well I had another customer come to me after BG told them their boilers flue was too close to the window, for those of you that know the regs it was 850mm from the openable part. Isnt much you can say to that really.

 

 

Pensioners again, easier prey.

[Dantes13]

Hi,

My elderly and sick mum has been quoted a crazy amount by BG to fix her heating... £1100!

 

She has a 12 year old boiler and a larger than normal pump on it (so they say) a UPS25-80180, as the flat is long and thin. Heating went off a couple of weeks ago. BG guy said that pump had packed up cos of sludge, would need to do a powerflush, and take all the 13 rads off (!) at a cost of £1100 + VAT. Another engineer came and said that they would do powerflush and supply and fit new pump for £650 + VAT.

 

Obviously this is much better as its almost half the cost of the BG one, but I just wanted to know if this was the case, as reading on here that often they diagnose power flushes when none is needed...

 

Thanks for any help

[tiglet]

They do indeed - I have had a similar problem a few years ago. Would not pay the BG price and so got another company to do it for me. When he had finished, he told me it probably would not have needed doing for another 20 years! (thanks, could have told me that before).

[ArealEngineer]

Patrick

 

Thinking that a 30 pound bottle of chemicals will solve sludge in a central heating system shows that you know nothing about this problem or whats required to solve it!