New PCB for boiler

[itsfreezinghere]

Hello,
I've had a string of seemingly random faults, including a leak, since a new PCB was fitted to my old boiler. The 'expert engineer' insists they're not his fault but also claims that the new PCB will put more stress on the boiler and pipework and therefore cause problems to occur. Can that possibly be right?
Thanks.

 

[Aquarius]

Ok, I do doubt that a new pcb will have caused any leaks, but you’d have to tell us what boiler it’s been replaced on for a start. What type of system is it?

 

[itsfreezinghere]

Ok, I do doubt that a new pcb will have caused any leaks, but you’d have to tell us what boiler it’s been replaced on for a start. What type of system is it?

I didn't think it would matter, but it's an old Lynx 2 combi boiler. The leak was in the boiler.

 

[Chuck]

It's not uncommon for leaks in boilers to cause water damage to PCBs and other electical components. I can't think of any scenario where a new PCB would cause a leak in an otherwise sound system.

Taken literally, "new PCB will put more stress on the boiler and pipework and therefore cause problems to occur" seems incorrect to me as long as it's the correct PCB and is installed / setup in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. My guess is that the engineer was feeling bullied by a customer who was accusing him of damaging parts of the system that he'd not touched and was trying to shut down the conversation without being impolite.

Repairs to old boilers are always a bit of a lottery. If you want certainty and a warranty get a new boiler installed. If you want to limit your risk get a fixed price repair from the manufacturer's service network.

 

[Gasmk1]

ok here goes your boiler is over 25 years old leaks and problems can occur at any time changing a pcb on a lynx should not cause any problems/leaks If i had attended I would have advised to get boiler changed, due to age

 

[Scott_D]

Im surprised you found anyone willing to repair the boiler, and im sure he now regrets touching it.

 

[itsfreezinghere]

It was covered by BG and they said it only looked five years old. It's only had 3 or 4 faults in 25 years but has had six different and seemingly unrelated ones since they first looked at it. I think the trick is not to fiddle with it while servicing - it has never been serviced and only once had a pro* touch it before this series of faults. They don't regret it, they just say they are brilliant and incapable of making mistakes. What hacked my off was that they left it not working and shortly afterwards emailed me to take out more cover saying that their "expert engineers" had fixed it and it was now working perfectly, so the cowboy who left it - didn't even put the cover back - must have reported that he'd completed the job.
* I watched that "pro" bend a lead out of sight and claim that the fan it should have been attached to needed replacing and tried to charge me hundreds of pounds when there was no actual fault.

 

[itsfreezinghere]

Im surprised you found anyone willing to repair the boiler, and im sure he now regrets touching it.

It was covered by BG and they said it only looked five years old. It's only had 3 or 4 faults in 25 years but has had six different and seemingly unrelated ones since they first looked at it - a matter of weeks. I think the trick is not to fiddle with it while servicing - it has never been serviced and only once had a pro* touch it before this series of faults. They don't regret it, they just say they are brilliant and incapable of making mistakes. What hacked me off was that they left it not working but shortly afterwards emailed me to take out more cover saying that their "expert engineers" had fixed it and it was now working perfectly, so the cowboy who left it - didn't even put the cover back - must have reported that he'd completed the job.

* I watched that "pro" bend a lead out of sight and claim that the fan it should have been attached to needed replacing and tried to charge me hundreds of pounds when there was no actual fault.

 

[Gasmk1]

A BG engineer would not leave the case of the boiler even if it was not working, if it was covered by BG then they have to inspect before they take it on. And then if they do which It Would have Been serviced

 

[gmartine]

BG wouldn't go near it without any service history let alone the age of the thing. "They said it looked five years old" LoL, they'd know it wasn't let alone finding parts for the thing. BG start panicking with eight year old boilers, this enquiry stinks like a DIY effort gone wrong or perhaps more likely somebody was employed who wasn't qualified.

 

[Ric2013]

BG wouldn't go near it without any service history let alone the age of the thing. "They said it looked five years old" LoL, they'd know it wasn't let alone finding parts for the thing. BG start panicking with eight year old boilers, this enquiry stinks like a DIY effort gone wrong or perhaps more likely somebody was employed who wasn't qualified.

Trying to bring peace between various parties on this thread, who knows which cover wasn't replaced. In fairness, BG hasn't always been above criticism, so we'll never really know, but sometimes faults do seem to come in strings.

It is of course possible that whatever caused the old PCP to fail has also strained other components, or that the PCB failed in a mode that did so. Unfortunately, the good advice that can be given on this forum already has been, as we cannot start discussing boiler repair techniques on an open forum.

Best I can suggest is that the OP finds another Gas Safe registered installer for a second opinion if she or he is unhappy with the service BG has provided. If the OP gives the location, there may be someone on here who may be local to them.

 

[gmartine]

The OP already came to the forum with an attitude concerning the so called "expert" engineer with a twenty five year old boiler that had never been serviced and by his own admission the previous repairs had not been done by a "pro". The fact that the OP then came here instead of as you recommend going back to BG just confirms my suspicions, chances are if he did get cover after all these years why do it now?

I suspect we all know the answer, if I am wrong about his motives well God speed to him as he now knows what his options are and it didnt cost a penny.

 

[itsfreezinghere]

The OP already came to the forum with an attitude concerning the so called "expert" engineer with a twenty five year old boiler that had never been serviced and by his own admission the previous repairs had not been done by a "pro". The fact that the OP then came here instead of as you recommend going back to BG just confirms my suspicions, chances are if he did get cover after all these years why do it now?

I suspect we all know the answer, if I am wrong about his motives well God speed to him as he now knows what his options are and it didnt cost a penny.

[Not just replying to this particular comment] It's amazing how you all know more about me and my boiler than I do! The "expert engineer" quote was because, as I said, BG used that phrase when trying to sell me more cover after they failed to fix it in three attempts. The cover was the 'box' that covers the whole thing. The second engineer said he had to put it back even though the boiler wasn't working, the third just left it off. He also told me I "would save at least £200" a year with a new boiler, even though I don't spend that much on gas in the first place - including the standing charge. BG never once asked whether it had any service record nor asked to inspect it before giving me cover or attempting to fix it. As is clear from my original post, I did go back to BG but they came up with some lame excuses that I wanted to check were at least unlikely on here, and before you all got defensive, your members did indeed suggest they were highly improbable. BG's attitude has been appalling throughout. And my attitude is better shown by my experience of the other chap trying to fleece me when I just asked for time to decide whether to pay for a new fan or replace the boiler and reconnected the lead when he'd gone and got on with it. I think that was pretty generous of me! The other fixes were so minor they didn't need an expert. Of course they knew the boiler was old and I never said they didn't nor pretended it wasn't, but one of them did indeed say it only looked five years old, probably because it's only been used as much as the average five year old boiler. Why did I get cover now? It came free with BG's cheapest tariff. And some of the parts that have played up since the first visit were more than 'touched' by the engineers. Any more questions or insinuations?

 

[Ric2013]

Can someone please explain why this thread seems to have become an argument?

 

[Gasmk1]

No argument from me but the average gas usage for a uk property is £600 per year so this is where his quote comes from, if you you less than this then you obviously very seldom use the boiler, and would not benefit from a new Boiler by much saving but I think you have had your moneys worth out of that lynx,

The Potterton International Heating Lynx 2 has a SAP seasonal efficiency rating of 70.0%. The Lynx 2 is a Non-Condensing Combi boiler with a maximum power output of 23.45kw that uses Gas as its fuel source.
A new A rated boiler will be 92 to 94% efficient so you would have a saving on gas usage.

 

[itsfreezinghere]

No argument from me but the average gas usage for a uk property is £600 per year so this is where his quote comes from, if you you less than this then you obviously very seldom use the boiler, and would not benefit from a new Boiler by much saving but I think you have had your moneys worth out of that lynx,

The Potterton International Heating Lynx 2 has a SAP seasonal efficiency rating of 70.0%. The Lynx 2 is a Non-Condensing Combi boiler with a maximum power output of 23.45kw that uses Gas as its fuel source.
A new A rated boiler will be 92 to 94% efficient so you would have a saving on gas usage.

All very true, but as I only spend about £60 on gas a year I'd save about £20, so a £2.5k boiler would take 125 years to pay for itself, plus I expect it would be so much more complicated it really would need an annual service, though I know it's only a matter of time before this one dies. The fella should never have tried such a hard sell as "You will save at least", but perhaps, you might save up to... He spent quite some time punching numbers into his tablet as if he were getting me a personalised quote, though he asked no questions about the house, household or gas usage, nor qualified his figure.
I was thinking about an electric boiler as I'd save the gas standing charge, but showering with an electric combi boiler doesn't get rave reviews and, of course, if you only have one fuel the supplier bumps up the charges for the other one.

 

[Ric2013]

I was thinking about an electric boiler as I'd save the gas standing charge, but showering with an electric combi boiler doesn't get rave reviews and, of course, if you only have one fuel the supplier bumps up the charges for the other one.

If you only use it for showering, there are plenty of options if you genuinely are considering switching to electric. From small cylinders to a 10.5kW electric shower. A lot depends on what you might consider to be an acceptable shower, but if it's your house you get to call the shots on this.

Not normally an approach I'd go for, but there are cases where the theoretical cheapness of gas doesn't really add up.

 

[itsfreezinghere]

If you only use it for showering, there are plenty of options if you genuinely are considering switching to electric. From small cylinders to a 10.5kW electric shower. A lot depends on what you might consider to be an acceptable shower, but if it's your house you get to call the shots on this.

Not normally an approach I'd go for, but there are cases where the theoretical cheapness of gas doesn't really add up.

Thanks. Yes, it doesn't seem a popular solution for anything other than a small flat and I guess it would need significant changes to my wiring. It's not just the shower, my CH is gas at present. Before I looked, I assumed an electric combi boiler could provide enough heat for instant showering just like a gas one. Still not really sure why it seems it can't if lower powered instant electric showers can do the job. I wonder whether the price of gas will go up a lot compared to electricity as they wean us off carbon fuels and green electricity gets cheaper, so the higher price of electricity won't be such a factor in a few years' time.