advice on boiler break downs and learning

[bob the plumber]

Hi guys,

Just qualified in my gas having been working in the trade for three years with someone. My installation work is very good however i would like to learn how to get into breakdowns or at least develope a good knowledge as i am getting numerous calls but how do i go about this? The timed served boss does not get involved in the breakdown side of things he will just give his registered friend a call who will either fix it or pass it back if the boiler is past it so i have no experience apart from the basic stuff you learn at college. The boss says he can get me on a number of free courses arranged by boiler manufacturers but do these really cut it or do you suggest spending time with a real time served breakdown engineer?

thanks for the advice

 

[andyg0507]

im in the same boat as you bob, i suppose the only way to learn is by getting hands on like you say, would be intrested in hearing other peoples thoughts.

 

[CES]

Some boiler manufacturer courses are good, some aren't. In my opinion experience is the key here, there are a lot of things they don't teach you in college that can only really be picked up on the job. If you get the chance get out with your boss' registered friend to get some pointers. You will never learn everything about every single boiler, there's just too many different makes out there with different quirks. There is also a good bunch of guys on here that collectively can usually solve most problems albeit after a lot of discussion (sometimes quite colourful too!).

 

[dontknowitall]

As CES says, experience is the key to this game.

A reasonable boiler course will give you the basics but then you're on your own. Also not all boiler faults are down to the boiler, for example, a room stat sited above a radiator might turn the heating off prematurely. This is where the experience bit comes in and it's not just looking under the bonnet.

 

[gaspastemania]

same boat as you guys ,
doing a few faults and its a headache at times , got few guys to phone reckon it takes about 2 years to get a half educated guess at faults

 

[moony]

get the combi fault finding book by john reginald

get a multi meter

learn how to use it

and your half way there

technical support can talk you through checks

and if all else fails tell the customer you will be back the next morning and come on here.

thats my process and im not too bad

90 per cent of time i know what the prob is, other 10 per cent i come on here and find it out

 

[aggis]

Experience iis the key, go on manufactures training courses especially the ones that are common in your area, but before you book it, tell them it's service & repair your interested in.
Some manu' just do their latest range, which you won't repair for a while esp if they've a 5 year warrenty, but a least you understand the sequence of operation. Worcester do training for their older ranges

 

[bob the plumber]

cheers lads, some good info

 

[stevetheplumber]

any boilers you remove take it to bits this will get you used to they way there built and you get the scrap cleaned

 

[gasmarc]

i have been doing breakdowns for over 15 years and am still learning , i would recommend hands on experience , no matter what you learn or courses you do you will still get caught out ,but the trick is not to pay for expensive parts that are not the fault,

 

[arran197]

Been on a Baxi Duo Tec course today, was very good. I would recommend anyone to go on it. They go through electrical fault finding, as well as faults specific to that boiler and how to over come or replace parts. I am going on a Worcester course at the beginning of October, hoping it is as good. I am still very new to the game, been teaching myself really, but the good thing about my job is that I have a load of other engineers to call if I am stuck and the boilers do tend to similar as I am working on social housing. The best thing to do I have found, is to spend a little bit of time and investigate every possible problem. You may spend a good while at the first boiler, but once you diagnose it, fit the part and it works, next time, if you come across the same problem, you will know what to check first.
Don't be afraid to call the manufacturer. They can tell you how to test things, resistance values etc. Also, if you can, print off some manufacturers instructions to keep in the van.

 

[dontknowitall]

If it's of help, I heard of someone who logged every single boiler he visited, every diagnosis and every part he replaced. After 10 years this must have been quite a document and by doing this he could just about tell a customer what was wrong with their boiler before the visit and could ensure he had the likely correct part to save him a second visit.

 

[gasmarc]

i have heard similar of engineers keeping a log book of breakdowns, something that is help full is a good merchants that when you ask which part is sold the most on particular boilers can be handy, EG on one of the vaillants when you change the gas valve it is advisable to change the lead to the gas valve other wise you may end up blowing the board OUCH

 

[Pssst]

The thing to do is not necessarily to learn individual boilers.

What you need to be able to do is understand basic core engineering,electrical and electronic principles and you can then adapt these to each individual appliance. You need to be able to use test equipment confidently and competently and also be able to understand functional flow/wiring diagrams etc.

Once you have grasped all that,then you can start to concentrate on the vagaries of individual appliances.

 

[Ryster]

Can I just ask a quick question here.

Im not meaning to sound like an arse or anything, but if you're doing boiler breakdowns and going inside the boiler without much knowledge then how do you know you have left it safe once you have sorted the problem.

An example, you change the pcb on an HE24 because its got wet from dodgy seals, you fire it up do a quick soundness test and you're happy. But how do you then know that you have left say, perhaps overheat/limit stats in the working order?
Do you know how to check them on that boiler or do you just leave it at the pcb has been changed it must be fine?


Again, Im not meaning to sound an arse, its just I started doing servicing and things this year and that was my biggest worry at the time - Not knowing for certain if I had to do boiler specific checks on things like that.

 

[jono44]

It won't hurt to go on as many of the mufacturers courses as you can - especially if boss is paying.

Baxi do a good introduction to electrics and multimeters plus a few others that are good to get you thinking.

If you are confident and have the appliance ACS accreditation and can safely follow the manufacturers guidelines on a service and know when to "At risk" and "Immediately dangerous" appliances then you should start putting youself in front of them and calling the help lines - They are usually very helpful.

The boiler manufacturers courses won't show you old boilers so you can only learn about them by seeing them.
It's a bit of a nightmare at times doing repairs but can be rewarding.

If you want to put yourself infront of lots of old boilers etc then you could go and contract for British gas doing service and breakdown - you would need to prove yourself first but its not too hard to get in. Its not great work but you will learn quickly if you want to make money.

As someone else said - you need to get your head around what makes a boiler tick and why it ticks that way and in that sequence and you definately need to understand using a multimeter and electrical safety. Otherwise play with boilers at your peril.

 

[metaldust9]

yep the manufactures courses are good,also the first place i ask if am unsure on a boiler fault is ring the manufactures they usually no the faults and will help saving you time and mistakes .plus an ohm,s meter to check for faults

 

[gasmarc]

yes good advice if you come across a bad one get them to get a BG or home serve contract can work out very well for your customer and cheap also

 

[armourer]

Can I just ask a quick question here.

Im not meaning to sound like an arse or anything, but if you're doing boiler breakdowns and going inside the boiler without much knowledge then how do you know you have left it safe once you have sorted the problem.

An example, you change the pcb on an HE24 because its got wet from dodgy seals, you fire it up do a quick soundness test and you're happy. But how do you then know that you have left say, perhaps overheat/limit stats in the working order?
Do you know how to check them on that boiler or do you just leave it at the pcb has been changed it must be fine?


Again, Im not meaning to sound an arse, its just I started doing servicing and things this year and that was my biggest worry at the time - Not knowing for certain if I had to do boiler specific checks on things like that.

When ever I arrive on a job and as I leave I do a complete control check. Only takes 10 minutes and the first stops the customer saying things like "well it was ok before you worked on it" and the final one tests operation.

In your example of changing a pcb I would also check jumper settings and carry out a max min gas check as I have had a few on older boilers that have come with the min pot turned fully down.

 

[gasmarc]

i always test heating first to check main components are working correctly,