That's what ours was doing, Losing pressure so it would switch off, we'd turn the tap then close it to build it up a bit again, and it would work fine. had a bit of water come down the wall and not really used it since. till these guy's come to be told the system's constantly filling up. Had I not noticed that the tap was still "open" I would have believed them, Not really sure what to do now as my mum is just happy to give these guys £1900 for a new boiler, we were gonna get someone else to look at it, but since I turned it on and saw steam blowing out I'm guessing it is gone now.

I don't think I'd be willing to give them the job.
When I lived in London, I had an ever-so-slightly leaky cylinder and to this day, I'm convinced that the guy who came to look at it fecked it good and proper so that it leaked in a constant stream.
It's a long story with a few twists and turns ... and I ended up needing a new cylinder but I didn't trust him at all and didn't give him the job.
If she's happy to get a new boiler, I'd shop around and get a reputable company such as the boiler manufacturer's own people (e.g. Vaillant) to do it ... but, please, not British Gas.

I've said all this to my mum and she " just wants hot water and heating"

I'm not happy about it all and don't like seeing her get robbed blind but If I confront them I'm not really sure what will come of it, the boiler is about 10 years old, not sure what the lifespan of a boiler should generally be though.and shes of the opinion that once something starts going on it, it's only gonna get worse. I'll be checking what they charge for the boiler anyway to see if they are adding anything to the value of it. Which I expect they will.

Oh, and just to add, she's now on the way to the bank to draw out the money as she want's to pay cash... (maybe they've asked for cash I don;t know)

I've literally pleaded with her to not give them cash in hand and she isn't listening, I'll be the first point of contact when they turn up on Wednesday , but ultimately it's not my decision.

Just one note of caution: we've just had fun and games with our boiler (17 and a half years old).

It was cutting out in terms of heating, and then overflowing outside with boiling water.

First plumber who came and looked at it squeaked in amazement that it had no 'thermal expansion tank' and we started to arrange to put one it.

Company sent around another plumber the next morning to do a 'quality control check'.Apparently this model of boiler was one of the first to actually have one built in.

Never thought I'd hear it mentioned again so shortly after first hearing of it.

Anyhow, a whole new boiler was required, as there was one element and one thermostat gone, but the tanks and everything inside were clarted up (as one might expect) with 17 and a half year's of limescale, so any repair would only have been a temporary solution.

Just spoke to my mum and they requested cash payment, Thankfully she'd decided to fob them off and now I'm having to look for a fitter



If we need a new boiler so be it, but I just didn't want those 2 cowboys fitting it as I'm not happy to see my mum handing over nearly 2k in cash.

Just had a new fan put in my Buderus Boiler.
Gimme some flannel about how difficult it was to get hold of them (only 6 years old).
Visit, ordered new fan, revisited and fitted new fan.

£400, probably got seen right off, but I couldn't be d and needed heating and hot water.

Thankfully your mum seems to have come to her senses



Had our combi boiler changed in November, fortunately I had a contact at a high level at a national company (who advertise on tv) and they did a good deal for me, we had an Ariston boiler and the engineer told me that ten years was about average for them to pack up, they've fitted a Worcester boiler which has a ten year warranty with it.

If its combi for combi swap even if its a Worcester or Vailant (best ones on market) with all whistles and bells ( programmer, TRVs) should cost no more than £1500 all in, I would charge about £1200 to £1400.

Also, does the pressure rise when the boiler is off?

Where does this steam come from?

When the boiler is off the pressure is fine. when we have it on just for heating tap water the pressure is fine, it's only when the heating is switched on that problems seem to start happening. the problems wasn't the pressure raising though , it was still working we just noticed a a bi of water coming down the wall downstairs under where the boiler is and soacking through the wallpaper, the trickle only appeared when the heating was on. Turn the heating off and just have the boiler on for heating tap water and it was fine. I think it was just a corroded pipe or something as we did notice a small drip coming from under the boiler when the heating was on.

The steam came from underneath at the bottom of the boiler, that happened after they'd gone and had never happened before, I turned it on to see if anything had changed, the blue tap was loose so I tightened it to how it should be. started hearing a funny noise as the temperature started to go up and heat the water, then steam just blew out the bottom and I turned it off straight away.


We've got in touch with someone else who just fit boilers and they are coming tomorrow to have a look, over the phone they gave my mum a few options starting at around £1000 going upto £1600 which seems a bit fairer, that wasn't cash in hand either and comes with a 7 year warranty.


I'm convinced these guys have purposely opened the tap to keep the pressure rising to blow something.

Is it a condensing boiler which is in? Does a 22mm/ 3/4inch white plastic pipe come from underneath the boiler either to outside or to a nearby drain?

I'm not 100% positive on what type it is exactly, but it's a glow-worm 24ci, (the guy who my mum spoke to earlier said these are crap and they use better boilers) , it has a large white plastic pipe at the top of the boiler going through the attic and out on the roof I think.

Don't think there is any other plastic tubes that I can see, but when they had the pressure really high earlier they showed us a bit of water coming out of a pipe at the front of the house somewhere. which apparently confirmed that it's knackered, again the water had never come out of that pipe I don't think until they showed up. This was when the pressure was up to around 3.8 bar which I gather is much higher than it should ever be.

If a new boiler is needed, have a look on the various boiler manufacturers web sites...such as Ideal and Worcester Bosch. They'll recommend local fitters in your area, and you can then ring around them for the best deal.
Deffo don't pay cash up front, and only pay in full once you're satisfied with the work carried out.

I've found a decent looking company who do installations some family members have used before who are coming to look tomorrow.

They had a quick chat with my mum over the phone and it seemed that the dearest option was a Worcester boiler for around £1600 but there where some cheaper options aswell starting from £1000, I can't remember the boiler the chuckle brothers offered but not sure it was a top range one, and already there's a 300 quid shortfall..

Vaillant or Worcester are the best, I prefer Vaillant as I could fit one with my eyes closed.

Next in line are the mid range boilers Baxi, Potterton or Main - All the same boiler and parts are cheap, usually around £600 plus, I used to fit these as a cheap option.

Glowworm are good also (made by Vaillant) and Ideal were crap but now apparantly are ok, anything else is bobbins especially Ferrolli, Vokera, Heatline and any others.

If I were you I'd get someone to have a look at it, you prob will only need an expansion vessel and maybe a leak fixing, maybe a rubber washer on the heat exchanger, get it done for less than £200 easy.

Thanks. I've been given the number of a local plumber who is meant to be good by a friend, so I'll let my mum know to consider letting him have a look before agreeing to have a new boiler fitted, I just hope that all the steam that blew out of the bottom after I last turned it on wasn't a sign that it has gone alltogether,

My mate is a plumbing & heating engineer, based in Bury and is definitely not a rip-off merchant. He's done boiler servicing for me & fitted a new boiler for my mum at reasonable prices and I can vouch for the quality of his work. I have no idea how busy he is but you can PM me if you want his number.

Well my mums decided to just get a new one fitted and chosen the cheaper option of an "ideal" boiler which is around £1150, would have been cheaper but We have a different type of floo or something so it's a bit more for that and we need a thermostat too apparently.

The boiler was 10 years old so maybe getting a new one is for the best, I'm just glad to not be seeing her hand over nearly 2 grand in cash to the chuckle brothers, asked the guy who came today what he thought n he agreed that it sound's like they've been trying to have us on. I've a good mind to report them.

I fitted plenty ideals but I'd have gone for a baxi, main or potterton which is around the same price but you don't get as long a warranty

our worcester bosch junior has been playing up for the last month or so(fortunately weather has been mild and we ve got a gas fire and a power shower, but prefer baths in winter and showers in summer)sometimes we had hot water, sometimes we didnt, same as heating. it was 8 1/2 years old. we had a new vaillant fitted yesterday. our plumber did it for 1600 supply and fit. not too bad a price and it had to be done but could have done without that cost.still, hot water and heat is essential especially for someone like me who feels the cold these days.
the saying goes you get what you pay for and to the OP your mam might be better off getting a better quality boilerfor a few hundred quid extra. might work out cheaper in the long run.hope she gets her water/heating sorted soon though.

The warranty on this is 2 years whereas the Worcester one they offered had a 7 year warranty but that would have come to £1900 anyway by the time we paid for a new floo and stuff, she's having to get a loan out so needed to be the cheapest option unfortunately.

Someone mentioned to me that they have a home care plan with british gas and that it saved her a fortune for about £20 a month. I'm a bit sceptical but anyone with better knowledge than me know if they are good value?

You need to be sceptical, some of those contracts will repair while it suits them but do not include complete replacement, so they'll stand in front of your ten year old boiler and one day tell you its obsolete and they'll get their sales people to ring you - BG are very good at writing contracts, so much so that when I had my own company I based my maintenance agreements on their contract terms

You'd be better off going with the Ideal Logic+ combi which has a 5 year guarantee for a couple of hundred quid extra.

Boiler was installed yesterday , Turned out to be a pro combi exclusive 30 by ideal. Lot better than our last boiler by the looks of it, and certainly has a much more powerful flow from the taps. Unfortunately cash was very tight so couldn't be stretched to accommodate a pricier boiler but she paid £1190 for the boiler with a vertical floo and a thermostat and 2 year warranty.

Thanks for all the advice! glad to finally have some hot water and heating!