Aaaaaaahhhhhhh - boiler problems - guests broke boiler flue!

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
calliganc
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Aaaaaaahhhhhhh - boiler problems - guests broke boiler flue!

Post by calliganc »

Sorry, just need to have a bit of a rant!!! We had guests cancel at the last minute for the Xmas week, as one of the guests went into labour 6 weeks early. I offered them a replacement holiday offpeak, as I wasn't able to find a replacement booking at such short notice, and they have been staying from last week until today.

They were very high maintenance from the moment they arrived, and then I got the dreaded call on Friday evening to say they had no heating or hot water. I got our handyperson to go around Friday evening and he said he couldn't get the boiler to fire up, so I arranged for our plumber to go and have a look on Saturday. He said the flue was broken (he thought wear and tear) and that I should get Worcester Bosch out to repair it (we have boiler emergency repair and annual service cover). Worcester Bosch went out today and said they can't repair it, as they don't make flues for my boiler anymore. They also said the flue damage wasn't wear and tear and said it looked like the flue had been bashed with something. It's really annoying if the guests did break the flue, which I have no way of proving, and my being kind as turned out to be very expensive :-(

Sorry just needed somewhere to have a moan, I know there is no solution other than buy a new boiler (and no I won't be buying a Worcester Bosch boiler again). I've emailed the guests due to stay for the weekend and asked if they want to cancel or reschedule, as the heating is only working intermittently. :-(
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

A couple of thoughts, Worcester bosch may not have a flue but they have a vested in selling new boilers. Other boiler spares Co's may have one though. If it's that old you may still be better off with a new boiler and there were some incentives to trade in. Worcester bosch aren't bad boilers.

On the guests side, are you sure it couldn't have been broken by someone else, it seems such a funny thing for someone to do.
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Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

How very frustrating, you have my sympathies especially if it has been damaged. It's even more frustrating if the guests knew what the problem was, yet let you call out several different tradesmen to try to solve it. Is it in a location where it could have been accidentally bashed?
calliganc
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Post by calliganc »

The flue is at the back of the house, there is decking running along the back of the house. The flue doesn't stick out very much. I can't prove it was the guests, but they did have 6 children, so I'm guessing it was possibly overexcited children messing around and hit it with something.

The guests were in touch several times a day asking questions (where things were, how the oven worked etc, all of which is covered in the visitors info) and when I let them know the boiler wasn't working because the flue was broken, I didn't hear from them again, even when I emailed questions to check if the house was warm enough and to let them know that I had arranged for extra logs to be brought around for the woodburner.

The boiler is 13 years old, we had it serviced last month and the engineer said it had a good 10 years left in it. It was one of the first oil condensing boilers to become commercially available, and we were one of the first customers to have one installed. The engineer said today that they only made our model for 6 months, which I wasn't aware of before, so I think that is probably why it isn't possible to get a new flue for it. He also said there were only a handful of others installed in Wales and we should be able to sell it for spares, as other than the flue it is in full working order.
SandyBeaches
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Post by SandyBeaches »

I find it incredible that Worcester Bosch doesn't have spare parts - oil boilers can go on for 25-30 years. I used to work for an oil boiler company, and seem to remember that legally they should carry spares for a certain number of years, but I can't remember what that was or find it anywhere online. But sorry I know that doesn't help you much.

It sounds as if it's possibly the flue terminal that's been damaged if it's the outside bit? I can't believe that Worcester Bosch only made one particular type of terminal (or flue) for one particular boiler. They have hundreds of models in their range and would usually try to make parts across the range standard ie they would all use the same flue parts.

I wouldn't give up yet - call Worcester Bosch technical support at head office with your model/serial number and/or email them a photo of the damage.

If it was the flue terminal that was damaged then it really should have a metal cage around it to protect it. And also to stop small children from sticking their fingers in it.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

+1 for Sandy beaches. and get yourself a flue guard, standard fitting where a flue and people can meet.

Image

I agree, them going quiet when boiler was mentioned, highly suspicious.
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rammy100
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Post by rammy100 »

If you can sell your boiler for spare parts then maybe someone else is already doing that and has a flue that they are trying to get rid of.

Just google the boiler model number and add "spares" or "second hand" or "parts" and you may find what you are looking for. A quick search listed a few possible sites for me although I don't know exactly what you are looking for.
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bessie
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Post by bessie »

I put my properties on landlord home care 400, with British gas it covers boiler repairs,safety cert ,drains,plumbing and electrics.It costs but I am not chasing repairs.
calliganc
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Post by calliganc »

Worcester Bosch technical department were really unhelpful. My husband spent a lot of time on the phone to them yesterday and they wouldn't even give him the part number! They said they only have to stock replacement parts for 10 years after a product is launched.

My husband spent ages on the phone to different plumbers merchants and between him and the plumber they have managed to find a suitable flue pipe, which has been fitted and fingers crossed it is working okay :-)

Yes we should have had a flue guard, we have learnt a lesson from that and my husband is going to the house to fit one at the weekend.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

bessie wrote:I put my properties on landlord home care 400, with British gas it covers boiler repairs,safety cert ,drains,plumbing and electrics.It costs but I am not chasing repairs.
Ha ha, but when the BG can't get spares they will offer a new boiler at £3500 with a few hundred off for the promotion blah blah.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

calliganc wrote:Worcester Bosch technical department were really unhelpful. My husband spent a lot of time on the phone to them yesterday and they wouldn't even give him the part number! They said they only have to stock replacement parts for 10 years after a product is launched.

My husband spent ages on the phone to different plumbers merchants and between him and the plumber they have managed to find a suitable flue pipe, which has been fitted and fingers crossed it is working okay :-)

Yes we should have had a flue guard, we have learnt a lesson from that and my husband is going to the house to fit one at the weekend.
Good result!!! :) Manufacturers are more than happy to get rid of all spares asap so they can sell the new product but they sell off a job lot of spares to someone, finding that someone is the trick.
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SandyBeaches
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Post by SandyBeaches »

calliganc wrote:Worcester Bosch technical department were really unhelpful. My husband spent a lot of time on the phone to them yesterday and they wouldn't even give him the part number! They said they only have to stock replacement parts for 10 years after a product is launched.

My husband spent ages on the phone to different plumbers merchants and between him and the plumber they have managed to find a suitable flue pipe, which has been fitted and fingers crossed it is working okay :-)

Yes we should have had a flue guard, we have learnt a lesson from that and my husband is going to the house to fit one at the weekend.
Pleased to hear that you've got it all sorted!
Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

What a relief, but I've no doubt you are a few pennies poorer with no means of recovery. At least it is sorted so stress over with.
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teapot
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Post by teapot »

Bunny wrote:What a relief, but I've no doubt you are a few pennies poorer with no means of recovery. At least it is sorted so stress over with.
They paid the rent so income gained but just a little less income at the end, lessons learnt though the flue will be protected, not a bad outcome really. Don't want to lose sight of the upside.
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