Gas boiler service do I have to ??

amlostforwords

You know that winter is coming when youstart to get the constant phone calls for bord gais about getting the boilerserviced. What I would like to know is is there a legal obligation on me to getthe gas boiler serviced every year. Or can I tell them to feck off I will getit serviced when Im ready. any advice would be great. Thanks

wytch

There is no legal obligation. Be as nice to them as they are to you, arrange for them to call out whilst there is no one home, they dont seem to mind wasting your time however they probably will mind wasting their own.

Outkast_IRE

wytch wrote: »

There is no legal obligation. Be as nice to them as they are to you, arrange for them to call out whilst there is no one home, they dont seem to mind wasting your time however they probably will mind wasting their own.

Dont be giving people bad advice on the forum, the guy calling out doing the service isnt the same one phoning you with offers etc.

Nothings worse than nobody home when doing a callout.

To the OPs question, theres no legal obligation it is a recomendation in terms of safe operation of the boiler and it working at full efficency.

mark17j

got mine done 79 euro... only took bout 10 -15 mins..
got a free energy reader also, didn't take it out of the box yet

aujopimur

Do what most people do, wait till it breaks down.

sullzz

mark17j wrote: »

got mine done 79 euro ... only took bout 10 -15 mins..

No you didnt get yours serviced, you paid 79 euro for someone to call to you house , itd take longer than that to get the tools out of the van .

mark17j

How long should it take, the the guy last year took about 30mins..

Villaines

Ridiculous that these companies are doing this. No regulation enforced leading to ripping off of the householder. Proper information campaign should be undertaken by sei/rgi.

The main reason it's not done is fear being ripped off and lack of cost-benefit analysis.

Mutha

Takes me hour to hour/half.

anuprising

wytch wrote: »

There is no legal obligation. Be as nice to them as they are to you, arrange for them to call out whilst there is no one home, they dont seem to mind wasting your time however they probably will mind wasting their own.

if your not there when they call ,within the agreed timeframe , €30 is added to your bill .

DGOBS

Would agree that 45mins to 90mins would be a complete service and gas safety check, 10-15 minutes checks next to nothing, you'd be better (and IMHO safer) not to have bothered!

mark17j

mark17j wrote: »

got mine done 79 euro .. only took bout 10 -15 mins..
got a free energy reader also, didn't take it out of the box yet

It takes that long to check your gas pipes aren't leaking, you have just added to Air****itys profits and you have not had a service:mad:

JohnnieK

gary71 wrote: »

It takes that long to check your gas pipes aren't leaking, you have just added to Air****itys profits and you have not had a service:mad:

Or if you want it serviced properly and your system flushed go to Groupon :D:D:pac::pac::pac::pac:

marvsins

Got mine service last month took about 80min. Personally i'd avoid using supplier companies, the guys calling out are being pushed to get as many jobs as they can per day. TV show Undercover Boss had one of the UK suppliers featured few years ago, 45 min per job max :rolleyes:

paddy147

aujopimur wrote: »

Do what most people do, wait till it breaks down.

To me,thats very bad advice.:(

An annual service/inspection is very important and should be done regardless.

I get our gas boiler serviced every 12 months...because I think myself and my families lives,health and safety are worth it.

ted1

Do any of them carry out a flu analysis?

amlostforwords

Thanks folks for all that info, will get it serviced but not by the suppliers and only when i,m ready.

Doop

JohnnieK wrote: »

Or if you want it serviced properly and your system flushed go to Groupon :D:D:pac::pac::pac::pac:

well...

I got a 'service' from a company on groupon and they were probably here for 10mins MAX, i was suspicious of how quick it was and from reading the other posts here it doesnt sound like a proper service.

Can anyone recommend where you would go to find a company to do a full proper service and how much should one pay for it?

shane0007

You will need to post what area you are in to receive a recommendation for that area.

K.Flyer

Doop wrote: »

JohnnieK wrote: »

Or if you want it serviced properly and your system flushed go to Groupon :D:D:pac::pac::pac::pac:

well...

I got a 'service' from a company on groupon and they were probably here for 10mins MAX, i was suspicious of how quick it was and from reading the other posts here it doesnt sound like a proper service.

RGI have been told about these 10 - 15 minute special offer Gas Services that are not being done properly and I really hope they get the finger out and do something about it.
Regardless of what price you agree to do a job for, Safety Standards and Procedures should not suffer as a result of cut price offers.

spireland32

RGI..CER.. nobody wants to know... they just pass the book. That's nothing to do with us try the others. Round and round in circles you would better banging your head off a wall. What these guys are doing amounts to fraud.. plain and single. Taking money off people for doing NOTHING but wiping the boiler casing.

shane0007

To be fair, they are not the legislators.
Current legislation, IS813 does not specifically state that an annual boiler service must/shall include an Annexe E inspection/test.
What these companies are carrying out is an Annexe C inspection/test.

Under commercial legislation, IS820, an Annexe E inspection/test need only be carried out following the immediate aftermath of a reported abnormal situation or prior to re-supplying a premises with gas.

So from this we can see the background thoughts of the legislators. Whilst any decent RGI will as standard practice carry out a full and thorough Annexe E inspection/test on every service/breakdown/call out, I am afraid we have to deal with the cards that we are dealt with until the powers that be see sense!

spireland32

These companies are doing nothing.... annex nothing. . They are not even plumbers/heating contractors. They are not RGI. They know nothing about boilers or the industry. Because they don't take the cover off the boiler they are not breaking any "law". Ok there are others that are rgi, plumbers etc and just do a **** job.

And RGII should be policing the industry... they get enough money from us and a duty of care to the public. They also have 400, 000 cash in the bank... not bad for a company which was suppose to just cover costs..

Makes you wonder why we all pay tax, insurance and do everything above board.

shane0007

spireland32 wrote: »

These companies are doing nothing.... annex nothing. . They are not even plumbers/heating contractors. They are not RGI. They know nothing about boilers or the industry. Because they don't take the cover off the boiler they are not breaking any "law". Ok there are others that are rgi, plumbers etc and just do a **** job.

I don't know how true that statement is. If they are receiving a payment to service the boiler they are issuing an invoice stating that they have serviced the boiler. Whether they have taken off the cover or not they are stating in writing on their invoice that they worked on a gas appliance and they must by law be therefore RGII registered.

If you know of any company or installer who is working on a gas appliance and you know that they are not an RGI, then you should report them and they WILL be prosecuted.

Secondly, they MUST issue an RGII cert upon completion of the said service. Only RGI's have access to these certs.

apache

I bought 5 years ago and never got it serviced. I know i really should but i've heard of loads of cases where the boiler broke after it was fiddled with. It was fine before!

spireland32

They do nothing... no service...no invoice...no cert...they don't interfere with a gas pipe and in doing so break law relating to the gas industry so RGII and CER don't want to have anything to do with it. Some of things I could tell you... you would not believe me... it's sickening. Not doing so on a public forum as we are trying to get answers from higher powers.

It's very disheartening at times but we have to keep going. Although regular posters like yourself remind its not all bad with your knowledge, safety and passion for this game. Good night sir

shane0007

apache wrote: »

I bought 5 years ago and never got it serviced. I know i really should but i've heard of loads of cases where the boiler broke after it was fiddled with. It was fine before!

Would you buy a car and never open the bonnet within the first 5 years, never change the oil, filters, etc. Just run fuel through it. Would you expect it to be running at its optimum efficiency following this? Woukd it be using more fuel than it did when it came out of the factory?

If there is dirt/debris on the burner, which after 5 years there will most definitely be, will you have an altered/interfered combustion? Will the metals within the boiler be under unnecessary stresses due to lack of service and could they fail when now serviced? Perhaps but not due to tampering but due to lack of service for the past 5 years. At what point will your flue be compromised, as it will not last forever, so during what year or month will it fail? Do you know if a small gas leak has not surfaced anywhere on your installation pipework? Is there traces of carbon monoxide leaking into your property?

Without inspection from a trained and competent RGI, how could you answer any of the above questions?

shane0007

shane0007 wrote: »

Secondly, they MUST issue an RGII cert upon completion of the said service.

I have commonly come across some larger institutions not leaving certs.

apache

Well shane i don't know too much about it but i must get it sorted soon. Anyone know anyone good around the finglas area? Someone that does the job properly. How much is the average cost?

shane0007

JohnnieK is not far from you. You could try sending him a PM. A good lad by all accounts.

apache

Thanks for that. Will try and sort it out.