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Picklepea

Morning peeps,
At my wits end and BG Home Service have been no help. We had a Worcester Greenstar 28i junior fitted about 12 years after our previous boiler was condemned when we moved in.
We have a 3 bed detached. We have no kids and no garden but our average water rates are double all our friends who have both. We dont use our dishwasher & try to be water smart!
The pressure is awful everywhere (upstairs and down) and we have one general mixer shower in our bathroom which never holds the same temperature and swings from hot to stone cold (as if someone is using a hot tap/toilet which isnt the case) and again pressure is very bad and this sits backed onto the airing cupboard that houses the boiler.
I am not sure if it is our pipework which stops the hot water flow but recent baths have been cold too.
I know there is an issue with limescale in this area and the water is very hard.
We have looked for leaks but non found which could cause our high rates.
So with poor pressure, lack of hot water etc I need advice as to whether its a plumbing/pipe issue with limescale, a crappy boiler that needs replacing (despite yearly BG boiler checks), someone sharing the same water line as us as we are footing the bill (not sure if this is possible?).
Sorry for the length of the post but once I have some idea of whats up I can get the right person in to help :)
Thanks so much!
 
The BG annual Service will involve putting an analyser in the flue, if the ratio is 0.0040 or less then they will do a Tightness test and that's it ... personally I'm not a fan of insurance for boilers, better off putting that money into a savings account each month and finding a local Accredited engineer ( in this case a worcester bosch one from their website) and using the money in that fund to pay for service and repairs, if it doesn't break then you're saving for your next boiler ... as for your issue you have two options in my opinion, either get worcester to come and do a one off charged repair for around £300, they will replace whatever is needed if the boiler is in a servicable condition, or you bite the bullet and replace the boiler, sounds like you could have a split heat exchanger leaking through the condensate, do you have to keep adding pressure to the heating system through the filling loop? ... with regards to your water running hot and cold, you say you are in a hard water area, your plate heat exchanger is most likely scaled up, do you have scale protection? ... personally with a 12 year old boiler with those issues I wouldn't waste any money on it, get an Accredited installer to check what flow rate you have into the property, this may need up rating and price you for a new boiler with a 10 year warranty, no insurance needed then, if you're on a water meter whilst the engineer is pricing your job he can see if your meter is turning with all outlets off in the property, indicating an issue with the water going somewhere it shouldn't and can investigate.... long post requires long reply
 
This is the kind of advice I was after - thank you so much! No need to apologise for lengthy reply..the OH was always keen to keep the homecare service but I dont think we have benefitted much from it TBH.
I have read that a 28i may not have been decent enough for our home.
I do top up the cold water in the tank fairly regularly too.
In all honesty I want my radiators replacing too as we have the old single panelled variety with 20 coats of paint..when you buy your 1st home its a long time to get things sorted!
Thanks again :) - will find a local accredited engineer for a quote!
 
Sounds like you may have a Leak outside (if the water meter is outside). As above, get someone to turn internal stop tap off and leave external one open. If the meter is still turning, you may have a leak/burst underground.
 
Thanks! Our meter is inside by the downstairs loo..Severn Trent don't believe there is a leak but TBH they have been really unhelpful- they agree we pay way above the odds but are still happy to take our cash!
 
Thanks! Our meter is inside by the downstairs loo..Severn Trent don't believe there is a leak but TBH they have been really unhelpful- they agree we pay way above the odds but are still happy to take our cash!

Well that kind of rules out the theory then!
Have you had them check that the meter is reading correctly.
Or even check it yourself by drawing off a measured amount of water.
 
We have not tried the measured amount of water theory actually - will give that a go - thanks :)
 
We have not tried the measured amount of water theory actually - will give that a go - thanks :)

I'd tackle the water consumption and low pressure first, deal with the boiler once that's resolved.

First check for a metered leak by not using any water for half an hour. Then read the water meter. Is it turning? If not, go out for a few hours and re-read it when you get back. Repeat over a period when neighbours are likely to be using water to ensure you are not paying for them.

You say you don't use your dishwasher but, surprisingly, washing-up by hand uses more water than a typical modern dishwasher! Whether everybody in the house is out at work all day or not makes a significant difference. So, try a water consumption calculator:

How much water do you use? | How you can help | Environment | Anglian Water

and compare this estimate with what you actually use.

Meanwhile, for the 'low pressure' issue, get a plumber to measure the 'flow-rate and static and dynamic pressure' for your house.
 
Overwhelmed by everyone's great responses - truly appreciated - thank you.

We don't create many dirty pots and only wash up once a day..but its hard to tell I am sure!

Will do the metered leak this evening and get a plumber sorted - thanks :)
 
Another thought while chomping my lunch-time sandwich... Have you checked that the meter readings on your bill actually match the numbers on your meter? It is not unknown for water companies to get the pairing between meter and property wrong. It's not that common either, but when you have a mystery you need to check all the assumptions...
 
Some good advice from the guys picklepea it seems you are going to have to do a bit of fault finding for yourself i agree with the guys the water consumption problem need addressing first , whether its your boiler at fault or a external leak by isolating the stopcock and monitoring the meter reading it may give you some indication of where the problem is then you will need to contact a engineer to sort the problem best of luck kop
 
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