Gas valve price

[John Cotton]

I have a Glow Worm 40FF, probably 20+yrs old, which wont light. Thermocouple already been renewed.
Plumber says could be gas valve, which would be around £100 parts plus labour.
He could fit new boiler for £1,300 - any advice on which way to go with this as boiler expensive but dont want to go for false economy and then have other problems ?

 

[Deleted member 261]

Dont fit a cheap boiler that needs replacing in 5 years time fit an ATAG, Vissemann or Remeha and honeywell TRV's It will be a lot more efficient than your old boiler as well, so in the long run you will save money as gas prices are going up. You will probably end up paying £250 for the gas valve with labour.

 

[John Cotton]

Would you not have the old one repaired then ?

 

[Deleted member 261]

at that age no. but its your money. I used to advise people to keep there old boiler if they are sound but gas prices are expected to double in the next 3 years so flushing your system and getting a more efficient boiler will pay off. you have to do a cost benifit analysis.

 

[REDSAW]

good advice susmil,
john, do you have a scrap-man collecting in your area?.
if you love your old boiler and want to 'keep it going' it will cost you, and may even pack up completly sooner or later. reliability and economy iis the key factor here.

 

[John Cotton]

Thanks chaps, I'll go with the new one.

 

[newbie1]

ime just a bit shocked at the statement of
it could be your gas valve from the plumber as by testing the valve he should be able to tell if its working or not is he a corgi engineer??

 

[migoplumber]

im also shocked by his comment of could be the gas valve? no reason in the world it could not of been proven, isolating from cct board and tested.

have i wouldnt sugest using this engineer to change your boiler

i agree a new boiler for long term cost saving, but you could get a bit more lifeout of this one yet!

if you do go for the new one, viesmanns are complicated, vaillant have a crap after sales technical help.
my personal preference is worcester

good luck
shaun

 

[Deleted member 2053]

If you decide on a new boiler then make sure that you use someone who explains clearly with the quote/estimate exactly what you are getting for your money. An old system will need a thorough powerflush, probably doesn't have the requisite number of thermostatic radiator valves, has a good chance of not currently having a room or HWC thermostat, and may need the programmer upgrading. All these issues are coverted by current building regs. If most if these need attending to then £1300 sounds a bit too good to be true.

 

[newbie1]

my guess is plumber is not corgi will get a cheap combi plonk it in and get a mate to sign it off with no powerflush..and not worry about boiler going up the shoot and no warranty due no powerflush done

 

[Deleted member 261]

Migoplumber you say Viessmann boilers are complicated but they are less complicated than Worcesters I take it you do not have much experience with boilers are you are recommending Worcesters, have you not heard about the problems with the heat exchangers? Let alone all the other problems.

 

[migoplumber]

you sound like a total expert susmil, so i accept your comment generously, the reason i quote viessmans as complicated is because of their external control components, if you wish them to run effiecently, then they require under manufacturers instructions to install external temp sensors, external and internal frost stats, once connected these sensors often cause problems requiring temporary removal to fault find on the boiler. read some other comments on the viessman.. nothing wrong with the boiler, just a ball ache with controls. you could not put the controls in, but then it wont be as effiecent.
as for the worchester, every plumber has a favorite and thats mine, the companies afters sales service is excellent, and speaking to the technicians is always enlightening, yes they have problems, as does every new product on the market.
shaun.

 

[leakylea]

going back a couple of posts !
why does not knowing if the gas valve is working or not working cast a shadow on your corgi registration?
Corgi is a governing body to promote registered gas installers,to show you have a competence with gas.
A cogri engineer who fits only fires and hobs and the odd boiler, may never come across the sort of controls that a boiler service engineer deals with on a daily basis, does that make him incompetent?
It seems that some people incorrectly and sadly see corgi as a qualification, if you did not know,then i will tell you, it is only compulsory enrolement in a safety scheme!
The qualification is your ACS, city and guilds and years of on the job learning the hard way
I am corgi registerd, i,ve got all the qualifications i,m a plumber i,m not a (corgi engineer) does any body knock on a door an introduce themsleves as a corgi engineer? how dare they associate themselves with me in that way
Your either a plumber, service enginer, gas fitter etc
i applaud the rise standards that have come in to the trade through corgi.
But i,m much more than they promote

 

[newbie1]

to work on the boiler he shld have his ccn1 and cen1 and to make a statement that a gas valve might not be working made me wonder if he was reg saying it might not be working and suggest a boiler replacement seems a bit of a rip off to me as even a novice should be able to tell if a gas valve is workin or not

 

[leakylea]

at no point in my acs did we have the time or the inclination to determine if a gas valve works or not, newbie i dont think you got the gist of my post. marching around shouting that you are corgi registered means nothing. do not put the fact that you have corgi registration in the same bracket of having experience, please tell me what section of ccn1 gives you an education in the workings of a gas valve i might of been out of the class at this time,
if finding fault with other peoples abilities is where your at then good luck!, positive critisism would benefit everyone,you do seem to have the hallmarks of a recently qualified? operative

 

[newbie1]

i wasnt saying corgi reg is proof of competence my point was that if the person who looked at this boiler cant tell if a gas valve is working or not and his best advise is i can do a new boiler for 1300 then that leads me to think
a/he knows whats what and is trying to flog the customer a boiler
b/he doesnt know what he is doing and is trying to flog the customer a boiler
either way testing of the gas valve using his circuit tester and manometer/or if lucky fga wld have told him if the valve was opening..not knocking anyones experience just saying it didnt sound a very comprehensive diagnosis
and you are 100 per cent correct experience is everything the bits of paper are for safety not diagnosis of faults

 

[leakylea]

newbie,sorry, apologies if i came over all huffy
its a sore point with me corgi etc....
i had an employer a few years back who helped me renew from acops to acs and thought i,d come back after the week as a fully time served boiler engineer!! what a plonker!

 

[newbie1]

no probs mate must say the new gas safe register doesnt seem any better
register then pay than wait 3 days for secret password to get card and marketing pack and tell me where is all the advertising promoting it
if i was to say to anyone gas safe register thay would say whats that then
i want a corgi registered fitter like most things in this country they regulate it and then let tail wag the dog

 

[migoplumber]

i know we have gone totally of topic here, but as newbie says we are almost now gas safe registered, as opposed to corgi reg. thats just a bit of law.. however i havnt seen one bit of advertising or promotion of "the gas safe register" to joe public
whats the government going to do come april 1st, maybe a big tv advert on for an hour saying "well corgi does not count anymore, now you have to be gas safe" yep.
good april fools.
the only thing my clients are interested in is their "corgi landlords certificate" just try explaining to them its not like that anymore!!
shaun