Material Costs:
If you've seen an advert or a flyer offering for a Full Strip-Down Boiler Service
and it's priced about £80.00 - £100.00, you may want to consider that as a red flag rather than a bargain. Why? . . . Because more often than not, the cost of the parts needed to carry out a 'Full Strip-Down Boiler Service' will exceed this price, as I will demonstrate below.
The slightly longer answer
There are essentially two types of Boiler Service.
Interim Service: Think of this as a minor service. It contains everything needed to validate the boiler warranty, but not much else.
Full Strip-Down Service: This is a major service where the boiler is dismantled into its individual components for a thorough clean, and then depending on the manufacturers specifications, re-assembled with new seals.
The Worcester 8000 is a popular boiler, so I will use this boiler for this example.
Below is a screenshot from the manufacturer's service guide for this boiler and as you can see, it says . . .
▶ Replace gaskets and seals when disturbing gas related components (e.g. burner, electrode assembly, etc.), after cleaning the heat exchanger.
▶ Do not attempt the cleaning proceedure unless new gaskets and seals are available.
In the video/screen recording below you can see that at the time of reording this video, the cost of a 'Service Kit for a Worcester 8000', was £104.40, meaning if a company is offering to carry out a 'Full Strip-Down Service' for less than £100.00, the parts alone already cost more than the entire job price - That's before labour and the rest of the materials used are factored in.
Personally I dont know any plumbers that go to work every day with the intent to make a financial loss, do you?
Additional Costs. . .
Contaminated Water:
Contaminated Water (The 'Black Sludge' that builds up in radiators and pipes) is a leading cause of boiler breakdowns, but also a very commmon reason for a boiler manufacturer to void your boiler warranty.
Think of the water in your heating system in the same way as the the oil in your car engine. — Over time the condition of the oil in the engine will deteriorate and when that happens, if it's not replaced, its going to place additional wear and tear on the engine. (This is why your car has an oil change as part of the service). If you choose not to have your car serviced, if the oil isn't changed and you continue to use it, you know it's only a matter of time until the engine siezes and you get a very expensive repair bill from the garage for a new engine. — Your heating system and boiler work in the same way. If you continue to operate it with contaminated water, you can expect a significant repair bill, and if it's left for too long, you could need a new boiler and heating system!
Testing the quality of the water can be done with something called a turbidity tube, which is a tube with a symbol in the bottom. (This is a very primitive method of testing the water and there are far better ways to do this) To use a turbidity tube, you fill the tube with water from the heating system and if you can see the symbol in the bottom clearly, its okay. If the water is slightly cloudy and you can't see the symbol clearly, or worse, you can't see it at all, you need to clean the system.
I personally use a test that combines the visual inspection and then tests the water to make sure it contains sufficient inhibitor, but these tests are an additional cost.
Inhibitor:
Inhibitor is a chemical additive that helps minimise the amount of corrosion in the heating system and prolongs the life of your boiler. The test mentioned above will tell us if we need to add more inhibitor to the system, or if the levels are sufficient. If you need more inhibitor, again, this is an additional cost.
Filter Cleaning:
Boiler manufacturers now state that your heating system should have a magnetic filter to collect the corrosion that develops in the system before it enters your boiler. In general, the seals on these filters are very good, but there are a couple of brands that are known for leaking and could require a replacement seal kit which, yet again could be an additional cost.
Faulty Components:
If, during the course of the boiler service a part inside the boiler is found to be faulty or leaking, the cost of the boiler service does not include any repairs. (A 'Boiler Service' and a 'Boiler Repair' are two very different services. Any 'Boiler Repairs' would be an additional cost, but such work would not proceed without your prior approval.)
Low Price = Red Flag!
Everyone likes to save money, especially in today's economic climate. But there comes a point where a low price should prompt an important questions rather than an immediate booking.
If a company advertises a 'Full Strip-Down Boiler Service' for less than the cost of the genuine replacement parts required to carry out that service, it's not un-reasonable to also ask:
How is that possible?
Is the full service really being carried out as advertised?
Are cheaper aftermarket parts being used instead of genuine manufacturer parts?
(Many Boiler Manufaturers will void a Boiler Warranty if it is found that cheaper, aftermarket parts have been used.)
Are some parts simply not being replaced?
Is the advertised service not quite what it appears to be?
and finally . . .
Can you trust this company to be honest with you about the work?
What's important to you?
At Exclusive Trades we will only install Genuine Manufactuer Parts. Whilst this does make us more expensive than some other companies, our prices are simply what it costs us to do the work correctly! It does also mean we lose out on work where someone only wants the cheapest option, but that's a trade-off we are willing to make.
(Personally, i'd rather not be responsible for the potential hospitalisation and possible permanent brain damage caused to you and/or your loved ones because a cheaper, aftermarket part failed. . . and I certainly don't want the deaths of you and your loved ones on my conscience either. . . Remember: Carbon Monoxide has no smell, it cannot be seen and it can be fatal!)
At Exclusive Trades, a boiler service is £187 plus any materials required, the cost of which will vary depending on the specific make and model of boiler that you have and if you have a 'Interim' or a 'Full Strip-Down Service'? — You can contact us using the button below and we'll confirm the curent price for your boiler with you before any work goes ahead.
We work across Eastbourne, covering Langney, Hampden Park, Willingdon Trees, Willingdon, Ratton and Meads. If your property is in those areas, we might be able to help? — But our availability to help you specifically, will depend on your willingness to allow Freddy to be in your home while the work takes place?
Freddy is a deaf boxer dog who comes to work with me every day because it would be cruel to leave him home alone all day. You can find out more about Freddy in the video below.