# Is it essential to have a gas boiler serviced?



## STEINER (23 Nov 2009)

Hi,

Am in my new dwelling 3 years now. I have never had the new gas boiler serviced in the 3 years. Everything is working ok. Am I just postponing the inevitable and should I just get it serviced as soon as possible?

I might add that I never had any servicing experience in any rented properties prior to buying my own place, the gas or oil boilers were not serviced annually!


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## PetPal (23 Nov 2009)

I'm wondering the same thing.  I've had mine serviced annually by the Gas Co because it's "the right thing to do".  They've just made an appointment to come out and service it next week and I'm not convinced that it's necessary.  Even when they do service it, anything that I point out (that I'm not happy with) is not covered by the service!!  For example, the temp often goes too high (on the dial) and we have to turn off the heating for a while and then turn it on again.


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## gary71 (23 Nov 2009)

Modern gas boilers are very clean, so the day of dust sheets and Hoovers are pretty much over, the purpose of a service has moved away from scrubbing and towards safety, it's very important to have a boiler serviced to check all the safety components, any water leaks and correct boiler settings. If a small leak is left unrepaired on a boiler it can be very costly, but the most important reason is your household insurance, you would be unlikly to be able to make a claim against damage from your heating and hot water system if you couldn't prove proper maintenance of your boiler, Gary.


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## STEINER (23 Nov 2009)

yeah, I suppose 3 years is pushing it.  I hadn't thought about the insurance end of things, which if there was a problem, insurers would not pay out.  There is also the whole carbon monoxide issue as well. So, I might as well bite the bullet and get it serviced.


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## you're gas (23 Nov 2009)

There are plenty of reasons to service your boiler - from safety to fuel efficiency and everthing in between. And a ton of bodies/agencies/companies advising you of the same. The SEI advises of regular servicing for fuel efficiency and the environment, NSAI and the boiler manufacturer recommends you service for safety and prolonged life of the boiler and the likes of us service engineers, we recommend you service your boiler for all of the above.

There is a couple of issues however that new homeowners take for granted and probably assume the snagger has checked everthing including the installation of the boiler and veryfied the usage of their heating system. In the last week alone I've been to 3 relatively new houses (all less than 3 years old) and all assumed their installations were up to scratch.

The first, in Balbriggan had some metal stud work sitting on the boiler and then the plasterboard fixed on top, plastered and painted and a kitchen cabinet built around the boiler with limited access to the boiler but it was impossible to remove the loadbearing cover from the boiler without the aid of a panel saw and alot of patience - guess where the builder is now -gone.

The second, a very expensive duplex in Glasnevin, had a very common problem - as well as being extremelly tight in its discrete housing, it wasn't wired properly - no permenant supply to the boiler and external controls not interlocked with the boiler. Again, the builder was long gone with no chance of him returning to rectfy the issue.

The third, same scenario, new home etc. etc. This time in Finglas. This will be the most costly to rectify of the three. This time it's impossible to have hot water in the house without turning the domestic heating on because of the way the house is piped out and requiring a section to be repiped (and of course it's not accesible without taking up carpets floorboards etc). So again, no controls and yes, you've guessed it, no builder either.

This was all in one week and are all regular occurences in and around Dublin and I'm quite sure the rest of the country is the same. If I can empart a single piece of advice it's get your boiler serviced - sooner rather than later.


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## DGOBS (24 Nov 2009)

In total agreement with all the above, as for the poster who said
the gas co when servicing the boiler said the temp settings are not
covered, it's time you switched to an independant service co
who will advise, rectify and address any heating issues you require

a boiler services should check your system not just your boiler,
ans as Gary said safety, safety, safety

I always find it funny that people get hung up on boiler servicing, yet ignore
the gas fires, and other gas appliances that also require servicing
remembering that something like a flueless gas fire is even more
important to have checked!!!


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## Bronte (24 Nov 2009)

you're gas said:


> This was all in one week and are all regular occurences in and around Dublin and I'm quite sure the rest of the country is the same. If I can empart a single piece of advice it's get your boiler serviced - sooner rather than later.


 

How did these get signed off by a registered gas inspector.  Don't they have to be certified off as ok in new houses?



I agree that it's very important to get all appliances serviced annually.


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## gary71 (24 Nov 2009)

Most of the gas boilers i see are fitted outside of the manufactures instructions, this is because until now gas safety in Ireland has been a bit of a joke(and not a funny one) it's only now that you have to prove competents to work on gas, installers would have their boilers signed off and checked, the people doing the checking wouldn't always have the skills to do the work but nobody cared, the new regs will make dodgy installations a thing of the past thankfully, this will take time and few prosecutions but things can only get better, Gary


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## Towger (24 Nov 2009)

Bronte said:


> How did these get signed off by a registered gas inspector.  Don't they have to be certified off as ok in new houses?



Bronte, From my experience and from talking to someone who did some gas boiler servicing in training in FAS, the certificate most of these fellows have is not worth the paper it is written on.


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## gary71 (24 Nov 2009)

Any fruit loop can take and pass the paper, it's not about the paper it's about staying registered, it will take a bit of time to get things right and professional, the plonkers will get reported for the defects they leave behind them by proper gasmen, they will lose their RGII status and will not be able to work, getting your papers is one thing keeping your RGII id is another thing and who is going to want to work in a environment where people like me are itching to report their every bit of dodgy work, Gary.


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## DavyJones (24 Nov 2009)

From my experiance there are two types of people, those who look after and service the stuff they own, boilers, cars etc and those who only ask for a "service" when said thing, boiler, car etc breaks down.

The first group I visit in summer and the latter usually on a cold evening in winter.


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## sydthebeat (24 Nov 2009)

DavyJones said:


> From my experiance there are two types of people, those who look after and service the stuff they own, boilers, cars etc and those who only ask for a "service" when said thing, boiler, car etc breaks down.
> 
> The first group I visit in summer and the latter usually on a cold evening in winter.





i like it....


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