How to avoid scary breakdown prices

Coming into the autumn and winter, there is nothing more frustrating than your boiler breaking down (especially during a cold snap).

When you’re looking for an engineer to fix your boiler, you may be looking at anything from £100 to £300 (and that may not be including labour).

According to a survey conducted by Which? in 2018, replacement boiler parts can cost up to £259. If you want to avoid paying high prices for boiler repairs, there are a few things you can do to diagnose the issue, including looking at your boiler’s manual or a quick search online for boiler fault codes (if your boiler has a display).

In this article, we will take you through a few examples of boiler issues, their costs, and the steps you can take to diagnose them.

• No heat or hot water – You may experience a lack of heat or hot water due to a long list of issues. First of all, check the pilot light in your gas boiler to see that it is burning blue. If your pilot light isn’t burning properly, you will need an engineer visit (a replacement fan for combustion can cost £229). If your boiler continues to not switch on, check your thermostat and the timer settings for your boiler. The fix may be as quick as resetting your thermostat.
• Losing pressure – A common way to find this out is by checking the pressure gauge on your boiler, and if it is fluctuating above and below the 1 bar mark. To top up your boiler’s pressure, take a look at the filling loop on the pipework and open both valves to allow cold mains water to fill your boiler until the gauge reads 1.5 bar. If the water pump in your boiler is faulty, you could be looking at £211 to replace it!
• Frozen condensate pipe – During the cold winter months, there’s always a chance that your pipework may freeze (especially if they are poorly insulated). You can solve this problem by applying warm water or a warm towel to the frozen pipe.
• Radiators not getting hot – Radiators can stop working for a number of reasons, including sludge stuck in your central heating system, or trapped air in your radiators. You can release trapped air in radiators by “bleeding” them with a radiator key. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you will need an engineer to perform a flush of your system to get rid of the sludge and debris.
• Boiler keeps switching itself off – If your boiler is switching itself off at random, this could be due to dropping water pressure or a problem with your thermostat, as well as a whole host of other issues. Take a quick look at the condensate pipe to see if it’s frozen, the pressure gauge, and your thermostat. If your boiler is overheating, or water isn’t flowing property, you could be looking at £198 for a new diverter valve, or £101 for a new internal thermostat that regulates the boiler’s temperature.

If you require further help and want to avoid paying scary breakdown prices for boiler repairs, Hometree’s qualified engineers are on-hand to help.

Choose Hometree

Having that extra peace of mind over the winter months can be a godsend, just take a look at Hometree’s comprehensive boiler, heating and home care plans. Hometree offer plans for both homeowners and landlords (including all gas safety certification), with an annual boiler service and a whole host of other great features including:

A “no price hike promise”, no claims, no price hikes

• 24-hour emergency helpline
• 90% of emergency call-outs within 24 hours
• Landlord Gas Safety Record (for landlords only)

Hometree is also rated “Excellent” on Trustpilot!

ADVERTORIAL