I’ve noticed recently there have been some gas safe companies offering ridiculously low prices for their Boiler Service. Apart from causing an un sustainable race for the bottom for the industry this could be a deceitful tactic.

One tactic used by companies is to offer a low price on a well needed service or product in order to get “their foot in the door”. Once said company has your custom confirmed they will hope you would buy additional products or services from them. In this case the Gas Engineer could very easily make out your gas appliance or gas installation needs additional work in order to be safe. As a human being that is not up to speed with the most current Gas Safe regulations it could be considered foolish to ignore the advice given from the competent person. 

Charging landlords a cheap price for a Gas Safe Certificate could be a recipe for disaster.

There was a court case in London a few years ago where a tenant was injured due to an unsafe gas installation. Even though the landlord had the annual gas safety checks carried out by a gas safe engineer, the landlord was prosecuted and sentenced to jail time as well as the Gas Safe engineer for the harm caused by the unsafe gas installation. The Judge said the words “what do you expect for £45?“  when he handed the landlord the sentence. The gas engineer in question was filling out a form rather than actually doing the required checks. 

Pavlou Plumbers the rates below for their gas work. This ensures the work is completed without the need to upsell. 

Boiler service is now £90inc VAT.(not including any parts that may be required to complete the service). 

Gas Safe Certificate £78inc VAT.

Boiler service and gas safe certificate £108inc VAT (not including gas fires or any parts that may be required to complete the boiler service).

It has come to my attention that there is a plumber who has Italian origins, works in the same area as Pavlou Plumbers and his first name is Pavlou (or similar). This plumber does NOT work for or has any association with Pavlou Plumbers.

My first name is Stelios and my parents come from Cyprus.

Pavlou Plumbers will not be taking any calls from 24th December till 5th January.  Please email info@pavlouplumbers.com for any enquiries.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you

Here are some pictures of work completed by Pavlou Plumbers

Boiler and unvented cylinder installation by Pavlou Plumbers

Combi boiler installation by Pavlou Plumbers

Combi boiler installation by Pavlou Plumbers

Pavlou Plumbers bathroom installation

Combi boiler installation by Pavlou Plumbers

Pavlou Plumbers bathroom installation

Bath installation by Pavlou Plumbers in a rental property.

Pavlou Plumbers bathroom installation

WC installation by Pavlou Plumbers

Installation of a shower cubicle by Pavlou Plumbers

Installation of an Intergas boiler by Pavlou Plumbers

The D2 pipe is responsible for getting rid of any water should any safety devices that are apart of an unvented hot water cylinder fail. If it’s fitted incorrectly water could escape causing damage. The scenario in the video below is to common in new builds. As this pipe would only ever be used years after the installation has been completed the home buyer would never question it.

This video also shows an issue with the filling loop.

As key workers we are still safely serving the community following the government guidelines which are listed below:-

• Keep more than 2 meter away from customers.
• Wash / sanitise hands or wear new gloves before entering the property. 
• Avoid payments by cash or chip and pin. 
• Avoid asking for signatures. 

Payments can still be made by card either on-line, by phone and in person. 

If you are safe isolating and would like to do a bit of plumbing but would like some guidance on what parts you’ll need and how to go about it, I’ll be more than happy to receive a video call through WhatsApp. There would be no charge for this service but be aware I would not be available to everyone all the time. If I do miss your call I’ll get back to asap as usual.  My telephone number on WhatsApp is my mobile number 07813920661.

If you do not have WhatsApp you can download the App from the links below.

Android

Apple

Wondows or Mac

Stay safe.

During a boiler service there are a number of parts that are checked in order to keep the boiler operating safely.

This 1st image is of a set of electrodes that are in a Worcester CDi Classic boiler. These electrodes are constantly in the flame when the main burner is on. The electrode on the left helps detect flame. If this electrode is to short and is not in contact with the flame the boiler will think there is a fault and cut off the gas supply to the boiler.  The 2 electrodes on the right create the spark to ignite the flame. It’s important that the distance between them are as stated in the manufacturers instructions in order to operate correctly.

Old and New electrodes

This next image is of a seal for a Glowworm boiler. The seal was attached to the flue which is responsible for getting rid of the emissions of the boiler. This caused products of combustion mixing with the air being sucked into the boiler from outside. In turn this meant the boiler was noisy and not performing properly at the cost of the customer.

Seal for a glowworm flue sump

If the seals in the picture above and below where left in the boiler they would become hard, brittle, and stop protecting the boiler by keeping the heat in the correct place. This gasket can be found in many Worcester boilers.

Old and New Worcester gasket

These parts do not always require changing every year. A lot depends on the level of use of the appliance and the quality of the parts. As can be expected the parts that are in the more expensive boilers tend to last longer.

To arrange a boiler service with Pavlou Plumbers please either call on 01244 888801 or email info@pavlouplumbers.com

This time of year, when the weather starts getting colder is when I get more new customers asking for boiler services. A few of these new customers canceled their British Gas or Homeserve or other larger company service contracts mainly because they feel they are not getting value for money. Not because the cost of the contracts are high but because the service provided is not sufficient.

It’s all about money

The one sentence or phrase I hear time and time again after, or during a boiler service is something along the lines of “No one has ever spent this much time servicing our boiler” or  “No one has ever stripped the boiler down like that before”.  I was servicing a gas fire the other day and the customer mentioned the fire hadn’t been stripped down in 20yrs even though it had been “serviced” regularly. That did explain why that customer had black marks above the fire which would indicate products of combustion were entering the room, which is immediately dangerous. The last time I checked British Gas charge a similar amount than Pavlou Plumbers for their boiler service. The reason why they rarely actually service the boiler is because British Gas and other larger companies have much higher running costs

Not servicing a gas fire properly is lazy and dangerous however not actually servicing a modern boiler may not be. This is because manufacturers have designed their boilers in such a way that they will still work if they are not serviced, and they specify in the manufacturers instructions that if the emissions, and the gas pressure / fan pressure fall with in certain parameters then a service is not actually required. However I say why let it get that bad. Also if you do not strip the boiler down you can not check the condition of certain seals or electrodes. If your boiler is less than 3 or 4 years old then it’s unlikley that any seals or electrodes require replacing however every house is different. Some boilers get used more than others so the only way to be certain is to actually check the parts by stripping the boiler.

As long as the manufacturers instructions for the gas appliance is available then Pavlou Plumbers can service the appliance, properly.

Take a look for yourself

Have a look at our YouTube channel to see some time lapse videos of boiler services performed by Pavlou Plumbers.

Here are some videos of what to expect when you get a boiler service from Pavlou Plumbers. 

This is the Intergas Boiler

With only 4 moving parts Intergas boilers are innovative and built to last. They are the most efficient boilers and non of their heat exchanges have ever had a mechanical failure. Intergas is a Dutch company with over 50yrs in the industry that have saturated the market in the Netherlands. Mainly because any of their boilers can be fitted to any type of heating system. Whether it’s a combi system, a system with an unvented hot water cylinder or an old gravity system any Intergas boiler can fit into it, and what’s even better is the boiler can change into a combi boiler or a system boiler or even just a water heater if need be. The intergas boiler really is revolutionary.  

Have a look at this YouTube video.