Replacing combi boiler central heating pump - fair cost

[Pagw]

Hello, recently my central heating stopped working and an engineer diagnosed the problem as being that the electrical connection point on the heating pump has partially melted, presumably due to the connection being poor. The pump is inside the boiler body. He recommended replacing the pump and wire that connects to it. He's given me a quote to do the repair that seems rather on the high side, and I was wondering does anyone here have an idea of whether it's reasonable?

The labour costs quote is £180-250+VAT (~2-3 hours' worth) for changing the pump, plus £180+VAT (a bit over 2 hours) for draining and refilling the whole central heating system (which he says is necessary because on my make of boiler, the boiler isolator valves are unreliable). This is quite a lot more than other people I know have been charged for a pump replacement, though I know it can depend on the boiler. I've read that draining the system can be done in ~20 mins, but I've not been able to find out how long it should take to refill it. (The engineer estimated the system volume to be ~50l.) Do you have insights into any of this?

Also, should it be a concern that the connection got hot enough to melt in the first place, or would replacing the parts really be likely to correct any problem there?

Thanks very much for any help.

 

[SJB060685]

Its entirely possible the motor had seized which could pull too much current and melt the connection, of course a dodgy connection can also cause the same through arcing. The problem with combi boilers and one of the many reasons why I personally don't like them is draining down can be done in next to no time, however refilling and getting rid of all the air can take much, much longer. With regards to the pump valves they are a common problem, a number of engineers take the repacking route, we personally just replaced the valve/valves, its swings and roundabouts.
What the engineer charges per hour depends largely on your location, someone living in the centre of London will pay a lot more for the same type of job as someone in my neck of the woods.

 

[Murdoch]

Get more quotes, if you can find GSRs who have time

 

[gmartine]

This is quite a lot more than other people I know have been charged for a pump replacement, though I know it can depend on the boiler.

Get a quote from their engineers or contact the manufacturer, you may be able to get a fixed price repair for less.
What is the make and model?

 

[Pagw]

Thanks. I did try some other engineers and one gave a lower price and the others weren't interested or didn't get back to me. The original guy removed the extra charge for draining and refilling the system, about matching the second quote I received, so I decided to just go with him to get it done. I didn't think about contacting the manufacturer (Ferroli) - perhaps I'll try it and see if it would make a difference.