Worcester Bosch Boiler Service & Maintenance
A Worcester Bosch boiler could safely and efficiently heat your home for 10-15 years but only if it receives regular care and maintenance.
An important part of this maintenance is arranging for the boiler to be serviced annually by a fully-qualified engineer. Not only is a boiler service important for safety and efficiency (keeping your bills low) reasons, they're a must to keep your warranty valid.
What is a boiler service?
A boiler service involves arranging for a heating engineer to visit your property to carry out a series of inspections and tests on the unit, to make sure that it's operating safely. Every boiler service should only be carried out by a fully-qualified engineer, this means that gas boilers should be serviced by a Gas Safe engineer and oil boilers by an OFTEC engineer.
Worcester Bosch manufacture both gas and oil boilers, so depending on the fuel the unit in your home uses, you could need either a Gas Safe or OFTEC engineer. Checking if an engineer has the appropriate qualifications is simple, just visit the website of the relevant certification. Not only should you do this, but it's also important to check the identification before allowing them to begin work.
Not taking into account any faults the engineer comes across, a boiler service should last around 30 minutes.
The importance of servicing your Worcester boiler
Not arranging an annual boiler service could put your unit at risk of developing dangerous faults, taking years off its life and losing its efficiency, which means higher heating bills.
Vital safety checks
There's nothing more important than safety when it comes to your home, an important reason for getting a boiler service. A boiler service will make a heating engineer aware of any existing or possible future faults that could be harmful to your home, such as a carbon monoxide leak. If you believe there's an issue with your boiler, don't wait for the next annual service to come around, contact a professional heating engineer right away.
Keep heating bills low
The lower your heating bills the better and a boiler service can help to keep them lower for longer. As boilers age, they will slowly lose their efficiency but a well maintained unit holds onto higher levels of energy efficiency to keep those heating bills down.
Prevent breakdowns
A small issue with your boiler might not seem like much but it could soon develop into a major problem. During a boiler service, the engineer will be able to spot the early signs of an issue and deal with it there and then, saving you from a large repair bill further down the line.
Warranty
As standard, Worcester Bosch boilers come with a 2 year warranty, however, Greenstar HE Gas-Fired Boilers: CDi, Ri, Si and i ranges are available with 5 years. Keeping your warranty valid for the full length of the agreed time requires the unit to be serviced once every 12 months by a fully-qualified Gas Safe or OFTEC engineer, depending whether you have a gas of oil boiler.
Boiler service checklist
Don't allow the engineer to get started on the boiler service until you've seen their Gas Safe or OFTEC ID. Only when you're happy will they begin a range of tests and checks on the boiler:
- First off, the engineer will look over the outside of the boiler. Here they're looking for any signs of corrosion, leaking and ensuring that the pilot light is a strong blue colour in a gas boiler.
- After checking the outside, they will take off the casing to inspect the inside of the boiler. Not only will the check interior parts such as the heat exchanger, burner, main injector, safety devices and spark probe, the engineer will clean them too.
- All seals and pipework will be looked over to make sure that they're intact and the flue terminals will be checked too as it's important that they're not blocked.
- Readings will be taken of the gas pressure and flow settings, ensuring they're both at the appropriate levels.
- After all the inspections, the engineer put fire up the boiler to look for any faults during operation. They will also be looking at the temperature controls to see if they're working as they should be.
If you have an oil boiler your oil storage tank also need to be checked for signs of water contamination, oil leaks or filter elements which may need cleaning or replacing.
At the end of the service, your engineer will leave you with a service report which includes details of everything they've done. This is your chance to ask any questions about the service or your boiler in general.
Worcester boiler service costs
You should expect to pay somewhere in the region of £60 – £120 for a boiler service but expect this to vary based on where you live, how old the boiler is and the engineer carrying out the service.
To get the best deal on your boiler service, we recommend arranging it during the summer rather than the winter because engineers tend to be less busy. You can also rest assured that your boiler is in the best possible condition before the temperature begins to drop.
It's worth noting that should the engineer come across any issues or faults, then repair costs will be in addition to the boiler service quote.
NEVER try to carry out a boiler service yourself – always find a Gas Safe or OFTEC registered boiler engineer.
Boiler service plans
Rather than facing a one-off payment for a boiler service, you might want to consider taking out a boiler service plan as you'll be making monthly payments instead.
You might only want to consider this option however, if your Worcester boiler is over 8 years of age and no longer under warranty because when you add up all the payments, it will likely end up costing over £100.
In the case that the guarantee on your Worcester Bosch boiler has come to an end, they offer the Worcester Maintenance and Support plan. During the length of the plan, you'll not only get an annual boiler service but also:
- Boiler repair up to £1,500 should a fault be found during the service
- Boiler replacement up to the value of £750 if the unit can't be repaired (minus installation costs)
- Access to Gas Safe engineers trained by Worcester
Boiler maintenance
An annual boiler service isn't the only way you can get the peace of mind that your boiler is running safely and efficiently, you can also carry out the following checks too.
Insulate the pipes
A frozen pipe can cause blockages in the system, leading to an increase in boiler pressure, leaking and, ultimately, the boiler breaking down. To keep the pipes from freezing, they can be insulated with lagging like mineral wool, glass wool, polyethylene or foam.
Keep an eye on the pressure
As time goes by, the boiler pressure will drop so it's a good idea to keep an eye on the pressure gauge. What you're looking for is a reading between 1 and 1.5 bar; any lower and the boiler won't be able to fire up. Follow the instructions in the manual that came with your boiler to repressurise the unit.
Keep the area around the boiler free of clutter
You’ll be helping out any heating engineers that turn up to carry out services, maintenance and repairs.
Insulate your home as much as possible
If heat is escaping your home then your boiler is having to work harder, adding to your heating bills.
Annual Servicing
So, now you know how to get the most out of your boiler all year round but remember, there's no substitute for an annual boiler service.
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