The Servicing Of A Gas Boiler

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Cervelo

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It's come to my attention in the last couple of years that gas boiler services are not what I thought they were
Before I replaced my boiler in 2008 a guy used to come out strip down the boiler service/clean it and reassemble
Since 2009 my boiler apart from breakdowns has been serviced every year but only ever been disassembled once in 2024 for a service
And it was only disassembled in 2024 because the service guy was old school

Got my boiler serviced yesterday, took about 20 mins in total and all he did was inspect and test the boiler with his Flue gas analyser
Talking to a friend of mine in the trade and he said "Yeap that's the boiler service you get today, if the analyser says your boiler is working within certain parameters,
then there's no need to open the boiler but if it's outside those parameters then they have to open the boiler and service

I know it's small money at the end of the day, €130 for the "inspection service" but last year I didn't get my boiler serviced
And this year it passed with an Eff net HE of 105.4% which is apparently great and the boiler has never been below 98% since it was installed

So I'm wondering do modern gas boilers need to be serviced every year or is every second or third year okay??
 
I got a new boiler a few years ago and the 7 year warranty is dependent on annual servicing - once I get past the 7 years I will probably do it once every 2 years or so tbh
 
Cervelo said:
So I'm wondering do modern gas boilers need to be serviced every year or is every second or third year okay??
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Manufacturers now recommend they not be stripped and cleaned unless their condition demands it, they typically burn cleaner than old ones. Modern boilers don't last as long regardless as consumers tend to choose on price rather than lifespan so parts aren't built to last and regular dismantling for cleaning can shorten the life as much as the cleaning would prolong it.
 
Leo said:
Manufacturers now recommend they not be stripped and cleaned unless their condition demands it, they typically burn cleaner than old ones.
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I've been ignoring my gas boiler for the last 20 years and never got it serviced. At this stage I'm afraid to even think about it and have gone full Ostrich on it :oops:. Its been working away ok and I'm paranoid that servicing it or interfering with it in any way may cause it to give up the ghost o_O (especially when I heard that the current services are minimal).

Would you recommend that I get it serviced in light of above and seemingly ok performance? If its not broken, don't fix it?
 
Redzer said:
Would you recommend that I get it serviced in light of above and seemingly ok performance? If its not broken, don't fix it?
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I would probably chance one service anyway and see. Mine is 35 yrs old this year and has had the sum total of 3 services in it's lifetime and the last two are probably in last 5 yrs, I left it alone mainly before that other than a free service Calor offered at one stage!

At both last services engineer said it was in great shape and so good in fact that if a part went that could be replaced he would try that rather than suggesting a new boiler so all hope is not lost! I was fairly worried too about it's 30 yr service!
 
Redzer said:
Would you recommend that I get it serviced in light of above and seemingly ok performance? If its not broken, don't fix it?
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Depending on the model you might find it difficult to get someone to service it if parts are no longer available. I didn't use a lot of gas in my old place so just let the old one die in time before replacing. If I'd used more, an earlier replacement might have been the cheaper option.
 
Des Pondent said:
It’s worth considering.
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I knew someone would be back to tell me either change it or switch to oil altogether as gas is much dearer! :D

I have been more than happy over the years with gas and don't find it expensive really, my annual spend is give or take €1,300 and I also have a gas hob. Even saving 30% of that wouldn't entice me to chance a change until it's necessary. I will let this one last as long as it will not least because all the gas piping from tank has to be changed from metal to plastic of some sort, new regs etc. That is a messy job involving digging under the path and then clipping the new stuff onto the back of the house as they won't be burying it again other than from tank to house. I could be wrong now I'm no plumber but I *think* all new boilers are different to the old ones and the system has to be pressurised, don't fancy that until needed either, putting old pipes under pressure without it being essential is hardly a great plan if correct!
 
I get mine serviced most years. It’s 33 now so I know it’s not as efficient as it might be.
I’ll change it next year when I retire and take a lump sum from my pension.
 
Cervelo said:
How much do you think we should be paying for a gas boiler service/check??
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Lets be clear, it is simply a check, not a service as they are not doing anything other than running a test... Say they are travelling 5km each way, and then 20 mins, all in all about 40 mins max - would be reasonable for say about half that 65 - 70 euro! €130 is definitely way off...

Please explain why you think 130 is small money or reasonable for such a small task that took such little time? Bearing in mind the minimum wage is 14.15 per hour in Ireland ATM (So 9 times the minimum wage for a simple task?) working in Tesco would be alot more difficult!

Edit: Actually closer to 14 times the minimum wage... as the 130 is just for 40 mins, not an hour!
 
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Colin4444 said:
Lets be clear, it is simply a check, not a service as they are not doing anything other than running a test...
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RGI and others say the inspection and test take 45 to 60 minutes. Add travel time to that and then add on all the costs like insurance, vehicle, tools and equipment, etc. Then add in the employer's costs and tax deductions. This is probably one of the few areas where rates in Ireland are lower than most of Western Europe, fancy paying €300 in Luxembourg?

If you think you can do it for €70 and still make a decent living you should get yourself a Level 6 and do the RGI training and go for it. Of course, once you had the Level 6 you'd find plenty of other work that pays more that didn't require the RGI.
 
Leo said:
RGI and others say the inspection and test take 45 to 60 minutes. Add travel time to that and then add on all the costs like insurance, vehicle, tools and equipment, etc. Then add in the employer's costs and tax deductions. This is probably one of the few areas where rates in Ireland are lower than most of Western Europe, fancy paying €300 in Luxembourg?

If you think you can do it for €70 and still make a decent living you should get yourself a Level 6 and do the RGI training and go for it. Of course, once you had the Level 6 you'd find plenty of other work that pays more that didn't require the RGI.
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This is always said when ppl try and justify prices:

45 to 60 minutes - the OP stated 20 mins, so nowhere near that time. unless this includes travel aswell (but I already included that in the 40 mins, please re-read my post). what RGI says and reality seem to be different, maybe trying to justify the high prices?

Insurance, vehicle, tools and equipment, etc. Then add in the employer's costs and tax deductions - this one is always quoted for some reason, but how much do these cost individually for each job? take insurance for example, if they pay say 1000 per year, work 8 hrs per day, 5 days a week for say 40 weeks per year = 1600 hours, so 1 hour costs 62.5 cent in insurance

Similar calculations could be made for all the other expenses you mentioned, so easy just to mention things without actually breaking it down to see if it is reasonable...

If you think you can do it for €70 and still make a decent living - how many tests could you do in a day, even if it was just 1 every 2 hours - thats still 280 per day, 1400 per week, 5,600 per month - minus all the expenses would still be a decent wage I think? I understand 4 tests per day is not going to happen, just illustration purposes, but with the qualifications you can do plenty of other work.

So really I do think that 130 for 1 hour (including travel, and thats being generous) is alot, and in the grand scheme of things NOT "small money"

And another thing, what do you classify as a decent living? This is very subjective.. Maybe you think these guys should be earning 100k per year?
 
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Sue Ellen said:
€225.00 for heat pump service would give anyone a lot to justify too
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Yeah, I was quoted I think 170 or so for a water treatment service... the mind boggles how they justify it.. people outline all the expenses, but never break it down per hour to see how much it is actually costing them for this job.. I doubt that much, the majority of the quote is profit (greed to some extent)...
 
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