@britishgashelp British Gas - power flush

[robypr]

Hi

 

We are landlords of a property and have been paying out for landlords home care with BG for a long time now.

 

Since last year our boiler has been breaking down and

 

just before christmas we were told by BG we need a Power Flush and a magabooster (what ever that is).

 

We were told that if we did not get this done then any further breakdowns would cost us even though we pay monthly for our homecare cover.

 

We received a quote from BG for just under £800.

 

taking BG's advice and concerned about our tenant we had a power flush carried out by a 3rd party plumber which was much cheaper.

This didn't resolve the boiler breaking again and

 

this time we were told by BG that the power flush hasn't been carried out properly

and we now need to replace our secondary heat exchanger which they quoted £600 for.

 

We had the power flush carried out again and before we managed to change the heat exchanger

the boiler died again

 

this time not lighting the flame and has water leaking into the flame area.

 

BG stressed this is due to the secondary heat exchanger needing replacing

and again they do not think the power flush was done correctly.

 

The secondary heat exchanger has now been replaced by a 3rd party due to BG's prices but

 

when the 3rd party plumber went to fix this he noticed that

a) the secondary heat exchanger was clogged up and no powerflush would have cleaned this but also that

b) the primary heat exchanger is where the leak is coming from.

 

It seems to have a hole in it.

 

How does a heat exchanger produce a hole init??

 

We have done everything BG have asked for

which so far has cost us time and just under £700.

 

We are still no better off and have a tenant with no heating or hot water.

 

We have called up BG again to get them to check the problem

but are now concerned they will charge us for more bits

as we did not go for their power flush.

 

I am not sure where we stand with this

as they have been telling my tenant that the parts are breaking due to the power flush

which we are not convinced is the full problem.

 

any advise would be greatful

 

thanks

Edited February 22, 2013 by robypr

[MrHandyman]

Hi Robypr,

 

Unfortunately this is an all too common story with British Gas.

 

I suggest you contact their call centre and raise a complaint of poor advice against their engineer. Request a visit from the area Service Manager, and go to the property yourself to meet them.

 

When the Service Manager attends, they usually bring along one of their senior technicians and look over the whole situation.

 

Otherwise, you may end up with a never ending list of recommendations and advice, none of which actually resolve the issue.

 

Mr H

[magflush solutions]

Power flush doesn't always clean the main heat exchanger,

 

the way it's made if completely blocked it's gone,

 

it has to be replaced with a new one usually cost £500-£700.

 

a lot of people tend to change the boiler at this stage..

..still power flush the system so that the new boiler doesn't get blocked.

 

Power flush technically doesn't clean the secondary heat exchanger,

it has to be removed and descaled separately or changed for a new one.

 

protect it with a water softener or lime scale inhibitor...inline or electronic.

 

Power flush has to be done at least every 5 years before any of the heat exchangers get blocked.

 

also install a magnetic filter to keep the heating system clean the longest possible as corrosion inside the radiators will never stops taking place.

 

add corrosion inhibitor once a year

 

..fernox f1 or kamco system safe Dm .

..don't go for cheap brands from ebay.

 

protect your boiler rather then with BG or 3rd party plumber.