Derek in this video carries out a full strip down service on an ideal vogue combination boiler and asks how much should engineers charge and how much are customers willing to pay in 2024. Put in the comments what you think.
£100 labour plus parts. I always ask customer to send me picture of boiler with GC no. so I can download MIs to see if gasket replacements are required etc. Also If boiler is over 5 years old I give them option to replace electrodes.....especially if its a worcester greenstar.
enjoy your videos and your 'no-nonsense' presentation, very refreshing in a world where everyone around us is going mad, common sense seems to be very much in short supply.
I carry out the same procedure as on the video and charge £90 plus vat. Remember the vat is the governments not mine, still have to have the corrected tools and calibration certificate for my analyser and also need to drive to the job using my van and diesel. 90 quid is fair in my opinion.
Hi Derek, Not the answer I was expecting that customer tell you how much to charge? In 2000 I charged £80 + £20 if just out of town, Installers coming to me in 2020 charged £60 because they are frightened to upset of loose customers. I had a reputation in Bedford as the best boiler engineer and the most expensive in town. Boiler change was 1 month delay 33% deposit cash or card, repairs 1 week delay. If anyone haggled a lower price I walk out or they pay cash in advance. That's how to run a very successful PROFITABLE business, God bless you and Merry Christmas to all. 🥰👍
Hi Steve, only Gas Safe installers want to charge LESS and be UNDER PAID because they are frightened and want customers to dictate my wages, can you imagine us telling them how must to earn? Thanks for comment, George @@steveholloway1963
Dear Ian, Thanks for the comment, the problem is in 2000 I was charging £80 for a service or boiler check, what was the cost of petrol diesel gas and electric then and today 2023/4? Far far too many are charging £60 or even £80 WHY are we so cheap??? We have loads of brilliant engineers who UNDER value their skill level. I got rid of bad payers to the opposition who stayed poor and kept the best payers. I sold expertness friendly local reliable, my customers liked that. Now you know, take care. Charge at least £100 you will feel better, Remember YOU run a business!🤩👍 @@lemmykilmister450
This is the answer. It’s not a country wide same price. You charge 2x your hourly rate plus parts with 25% mark up. Standard service x 1 hour. Obviously you can strip it in 1 hour but you’ve had to pick up parts and need to earn money! Always check water quality and price for cleaning and inhibitor, even if just quotes for further works. Check radiators for leaks, uneven heating ect and quote for further works. Check for things like cwst being lagged. Things up to current standards. If not put in a quote! Explain the 2 types of services and why they’re important, Offer to range rate the boiler and balance system to reduce fuel bills!! System upgrades ect. New smart stat. Ask what they’d like then supply it. Go earn your money!!!
They call them safety checks not services, and are not concerned with manufacturers warranty, as they want to charge a monthly fee for peace of mind. Basically rouge traders, yet they get all the government support and hood wink gassafe.
No need to open the boiler prv once you know the ev pressure is higher than the system pressure as no water will be displaced. Great video again getting conversation flowing.
My one year old Vogue had its first full service with a strip down by a manufacturer accredited engineer to keep the extended warranty going.. £96 inc VAT. Took about an hour including cleaning out the heat exchanger and photographing it but he didn’t check the inhibitor strength. I did it afterwards and it was under strength so I then added more.
Ive been charging £95 but depends on boiler make. Had a lot of issues with ecotecs so now adding prv and pressure sensor on top as they are always worth replacing…..not every year of course 👍🏼😄
just one point.... nip outside & check the warning pipe aint dripping after fiddling with the prv. (remove the head & clean & grease the seating if so) lots of recalls based on simple stuff like that.
What would you charge for that service Derek? That’s very thorough and definitely not what every gas engineer would cover. A lot do the bare minimum and charge around £50. In out and onto the next.
You were right to open the PRV in my opinion. It is a safety device and should be tested during the service. That’s the reason it has a manual way of opening it. They can fail to open.
Why you stripping a 1 year old burner ? You have to every year on that boiler? I usually do when figures are poor or if is clear hasn't been done in a long time.
I have same inhibitor test kit which dose seem to read alot of inhibitors, but not all and I belive we should send away cost of £75 to test other inhibitors?last installations was 11 years old I recommended a cleaner and flush out and new inhibitor. Turning any valve has risk of leaking so I prefer to monitor pressure during combustion test, last time I have caused leak on boiler flow, return valve I had to buy set of 6 cost £150, out of warrenty boilers use care on valves
Got the Adey kit. It failed a brand new system I did, so I did it again ( app, photo etc), with a brand new strip which I didn't even use, it failed even worse. It's a bit of a con, £150 for a kit that giving me incorrect results 😑
@elwittinio2865 we have had the same issue with the Adey kits. Fails a system and then re-tested it in a brighter light and it passed? Not sure it's worth the money but we still use it
I paid £150 inc VAT for a full strip down service of a 12 year old Remeha Avanta Plus boiler. It’s had this treatment every 3 years and interim basic services. I recon it will last until I insulate the walls and put a heat pump in 😂
Nice thorough service. up in Lancashire I charge £100 for one of these. More often than not these days I’m also picking up a magnacleanse flush out of it too thanks to previous Les Incompétents. At 24.45 when you put the gas test screw back, just isolate the gas valve on those ideals and it’ll stop the gas coming out of the test point to keep the heart rate down
Was always told to never use the prv when charging expansion vessels etc. Fair chance you disturb them and they don't re-seat correctly. Bad practice. Also I wouldn't be disturbing burner seals on a new-ish boiler with the FGA readings all within range. Making things harder for yourself and probably having to pass the time/cost of doing such things on to the customer. Which when you consider this is probably a service to maintain the warranty the customer was probably not long out of pocket for getting the thing fitted and would appreciate the lower cost over the strip down service that wasn't really required.
If you want to strip out burners on 1 year old boilers that are analysing correctly with no issues and disturb their prv's then crack on but (imo) you're a mug my friend but each to their own.
@LT-nd3ov so I'm a mug because I service boilers correctly? Servicing is about maintaining boiler cleanliness and performance, your not supposed to wait till the burner needs cleaning, your job is make sure it doesn't get to that point in the first place.
Condensate forms in the last stage of the heat exchanger and in the flue. By that stage the products of combustion have cooled enough that the water vapour (a product of combustion) reverts to liquid.
@@anjamkhan1737I Aren't incorrect but + - 10% flexible after all everything comes to averages for Application developers don't really matter the Penny you going to lose or save monthly / yearly 🤔
As a home owner I would never have a boiler installed anywhere that I can’t get easy visibility of it. It’s part of my routine to check the boiler is ok every day and to have it hidden in a loft is just plain and simple stupid!
Seems like I might be a bit on the higher end. My costs would be for a full service like in the video, which would be £125 for labour, including VAT, plus service kit no markup on gear. It's not a race for me. I believe in quality over speed, so I allocate one hour for a standard service and two hours for a full service. Proudly serving Leeds
The system drain valve is an option but you'd probably have to let out a litre first to purge the pipe. There is also a drain cock, underneath, on some boilers.
A torque wrench is for tightening up not undoing, Its to make sure all nuts on said item are tightened to the correct pressure so its even all the way around/ to stop leaks. They are used in the motor trade on head gaskets and blocks that all need the correct pressure to stop oil leaks. Most boiler manufactures Mi's say 11nm of torque. But no gas engineer seems to use a torque wrench. I wanted to know why. As i'd think gas can leak more than oil or the same from an incorrectly installed item.eg combustion chamber seals.@@josue_kay
This is the most thorough boiler service ive ever seen if thats a standard annual service. Ive not seen any service engineers do this especially the ones who work on behalf of monthly payed service contracts.most dont even clean out condenser traps or dont touch the magnetic filter Cost of this is priceless charge what you deserve..
check the bottom of the boiler too maybe on co sweep test where you disconected the condensate trap anything you could have moved stick the probe into the airway to test the seal on the flue? now tell me what the allowances are for ideal logice alloy heat exchanger are allowed as tollerance. you profesional pro.
I would use a proper work mat/sheet that waterproof. Also folding water bucket & water spray bottle that you hand pump to pressurise. Safety boots. Very in-depth video and great learning material.👍👍
What has safety boots got to do with a boiler service. At the end of the day, you can wear whatever you want on your feet. Regs don’t care what you are wearing. Just do a proper job.
@@SD-Plumbing-Heating more on an electrical safety side, but they do protect your feet and sure it's easier than keep changing your footwear for what ever job your doing .👍Hope that answers your question. Not sure on your proper Job comment.
£125 plus parts includes a gas cert and all checks. includung water quality checks. i will even screw co alarms to ceiling as per recomendation more than 1 meter and within 3 meter. as long as is not asbestos. you know the ones you see hanging around the room. customer tests the alarm.
Another reason - it may make the boiler quieter. As far as I know a modulating boiler will start up slow, build up speed - up to max speed until the return water gets hot enough to start throttling it down. In a small flat with the boiler in the living / kitchen area that can be a lot of extra noise. Another reason is that the boiler is likely to do more condensing if it is running at a reduced rate. Saving gas and electricity and wear and tear on the fan and pump.
Pretty sure when i last had my Worcester combi boiler checked earlier this year the tech never did half of these checks. He charged me £75.00. He was here about 35 minutes.
You got the bear minimum done, Worcester them selfs will only do a full strip down service with new electrodes and gasket. If this is not done regularly the heat exchanger will become a mess. Should cost £150 plus
ideal vouge you buy the lpg kit swap the parts tell the boiler you are swapping it to lpg in the menu. now they arre available as both i belive. as lpg or natural gas.
@@MagicDoughnut my understanding is that Fernox strips can only detect Fernox inhibitors. The scalemaster iTest is the only available testing kit that detects most inhibitors regardless of the make. Check it out.
The fernox or sentinel tests look for molybednum content as this is in the inhibitor. Fernox state it works with all molybednum based inhibitors, so works with Fernox sentinel adey. @@jonathanalder1206
If you rock up to do a service and find the exhaust test point cap not fitted are you supposed to Riddor the previous engineer ? I wouldn’t if there had been no ill effects but wondered if it should be done if carrying out requirements to the letter ?
When doing. Gas service customers always kick off at engineers about wasting water I never fails …..you never checked the fuse type at the spur and I couldn’t see any bonding on the pipes below the boiler..👍
@@tomkatgastraining wasn’t that boiler next to a sink/ drainer…I would say that close call to wet zone oh I know I’m being picky but this is what all these regs do to people lol….great video man…..love watching them…👍👍🌲🌲
Hi Derek Could you help me with one question please? Why it is not possible to mix flues from different manufacturers? I tried to find the regulation that say so but could find anything. I know that one of the resons is cause manufacturer warranty, but why is considered ID ? Is it true that all boiler manufacturers have to follow same regulations like tolerances of materials and mesurments for coaxial flues 60/100? Cause in other countries in europe the coaxial flues are universal
The boiler is rigorous tested with its own flue ..not with other makers flues . That why the ferroli heat recovery unit got the red card . I removed one of these last year a very solid heavy thing connected to a shit boiler .I was tempted to pop onto my valiant combi for a test .but in the end was far to mutch faff
@@timeintheuk yeah now I get it different country different rules and what applies to UK doesn't have to apply somewhere else copy that Thanks for the comment and very true that italian boilers aren't the best option in the world Ferroli,Ariston, Fondital..
2 hrs lab and travel IMO + any parts would be fair. Problem is there are plenty round me doing "servicing" for £40 all in................ I test Thermo/electric like you, old grey button honeywell vlvs were favorite for doing as you said for letting by.
No, when you open the PRV you risk having dirt stuck and it not shutting properly. The PRV is a mechanical fitting which will open when the pressure in the system excess the PRV set pressure.
I have had my valiant boiler TURBOmax® VUW GB 282 E since 1995 I have fitted diverter valves twice gas valve once New ignition electrodes PCB BOARD PD switch new fan Re pressurise air tank Service it myself every August I have a gas alarm fitted in the area to the boiler I do all this myself quite easily as when i bought my house in 2005 I tried to get a boiler repair person come and fix a problem with my hot water I was informed by each by each boiler servicing company locally that my boiler was to old and it had never had a “gas safety certificate “ I was informed that for myself to get any service done on any gas appliances in my home I need to scrap my bomb proof boiler and pay to have a new boiler fitted I know that all your gas engineers will take a sharp intake of breath and tut but if I’m using my oxy and accetaylene bottles in my garage or my bottles of lpg or propane in heaters or cookers in my caravan or tent I don’t need certification from any parties I am now 63 years old and I know that when I die someone else will have to buy a new boiler to get “certificates”
💥🔥💥 maybe I could go and spend a few grand on a new boiler Uh oh ! but now the boiler fitter informs me I need new pipes and rads because my old rads aren’t strong enough for the new boiler And I’ll need it serviced every 12 months to get my home certification But it’s only useful if I get house insurance as well Ooooh no tut! 😂💥🔥💥😁👍
Struggling to find a job after qualifying in November this year. Can you do some videos on starting off as a sole trader and what costs should be considered.
@@E14Art Thanks for the info. Haven't got fires yet, so will have to do that once I am allowed to. Not sure if it 6 months or a year before getting it done with Unvented also.
the fact is that 1.5 drop does nothing to any appliance. id carry out combustion on the boiler and visuals on the other appliances,with the others on/off. i dont have a problem doing it that way.gas safe would only say ,that your the engineer ,you do whats right and leave back with you anyways @@S.Trades
£30 hr is plenty since gas safe came into being these spanner monkeys are taking the piss ! most of em would faint if they had to do a REAL days work for their money .. most jobs on a combi can be done in hr n half ...they think theyre brain surgeons 🙄
That was a real through service, pity all boiler services are not carried out that meticulously. I am not sure what the answer is? Probably in the £130 ball park? Just out of interest if you were carrying out that service for your next door neighbour where no travelling was involved would you charge the same price?
I understand that but business expenses are very high these days. Just look into the cost of a lease van and you’ll get a picture of how much it costs to offer plumbing , heating and gas services. Remember, no sick pay, no holiday pay, no job security and you pay for any and all mistakes yourself.
@@RestlessBs3summed up perfectly. Most people have no idea how difficult being self employed is. My income has decreased this last two years counter acting the ridiculous increase in materials. Some one somewhere is getting rich but it's definitely not me
Even if you hadn't been passing the hob whilst servicing the boiler, the fact you've done a tightness test means you're liable to check every gas appliance in the property, to check for pilots and lids being up etc. Which also means you have to go and check the full chimney/flue of the fires etc too. This is why I avoid doing a tightness test on a service, it makes you liable to every appliance in the property once you've left, I've heard from a gas inspector a guy was caught out by a damaged flue in loft which he obviously didn't check as he was there only to service the boiler but did a tightness test. Be warned :)
Appendix 5 page 57-58, checking flue on appliances which are part of a tightness test. Also, if the gas fire is on when you go to do the tightness test, you would have to relight the appliance when then means you'd have to check it's safe. Not sure where I'm wrong? Genuinely curious @@tomkatgastraining
Yes a visual inspection, including the flueing, if they have a gas fire that's flued through the loft, you need to go in to their loft and visually inspect it otherwise how can you say it's safe? If you don't, and like the guy I gave an example of originally, and it's collapsed and vents in to the loft or there's obviously something wrong, you have to check for that, because of the tightness test. Otherwise you're liable, like he was. If he didn't do a tightness test, arguably it would come down to a, did he walk past the appliance to get to the boiler? That's my understanding of it.
@@connoraxelson1 you have either been given the wrong information or you are not reading it correctly also do you have the most updated version. Yes if I was installing a hob I would need to check the appliance and relight but under a service without letting air into the system I only do a visual inspection of appliances I encountered not all appliances in the house
@@elwittinio2865 think I’m dearer than that, bottom seal, burner gasket and electrodes, £230 I think. Not too bad to strip down, but he’s you’re right…there are easier ones out there
I think most customers won't notice a difference and wouldnt pay significantly more than a cheap service. You can charge more, yes, but you wont get much work.
That’s why these type of videos are god for the end consumer. I wouldn’t touch gas as DIYer so will always use gas safe engineer, but knowing what should be done effectively justifies the cost. Plus if you know about the work involved it should help you spot cowboys.
@@davideyres955 just so you are aware, I'm also gas qualified (previously registered), but that doesn't mean I have any gas experience, or that I know what I'm doing. Don't be fooled! GasSafe registered means simply that you've paid your registration fee for the year, to GasSafe. Of course, you'd also have to be qualified. That doesn't guarantee any level of experience.
@davideyres955 interesting. I always say it's £50 for a gas safe inspection on the boiler, if I find something, I show them and then add the additional cost. I'm always told I'm not the same as the last guy who "serviced". Let's be honest. A boiler MOT isn't a service. I then charge £70 excluding the cost for parts when I strip the boiler down. I'm in Belfast, NI. It's not too expensive and not too cheap
Hey Derek.... cracking video again.... can I just ask.....if you had gas rated in service mode(at max and min) for hot water and central heating .... would you have got closer to the actual heat input of the boiler? .....I think I'm just getting a little confused with some people saying for example ...."with a combi just gas rate with the hot water tap running??" What if someone has range rated the boiler? Then surely you wouldn't never get close to the Mi's ....? Many thanks again Derek
Regs say to take a working pressure on max rate or gas rate. You cannot range rate hot water on a combi. Max and min service modes will overide any range rating applied to the heating. Range rating will not always give a true reflection of gas consumption if the system is mucky and the boiler is full of it. Wont stay lit for 2 mins.
Thanks James. So in service mode the boiler will operate at its max and min gas rate and override any settings the customer may have done like... reduced the hot water temperature or reduced the CH temperature at the boiler... or even range rated a heat only/system boiler......so why doesn't everyone just range rate in service mode!!??cheers Steve
If they do exactly the same checks, as Derek does, then yep £150 which is a lot most folk in the uk. £99 would still be tough for lots of people in the uk.
do you know what is involved in time and cost in initialy becoming a plumber then a gas engineer. you do now the consequences if one gets the smallest little thing wrong you do know that if you get it wrong you can get life in jail, Thats why it costs