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News and Comment December 2022

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10 December (Part 2) - Frozen

I have learned the hard way what it means to be unable to afford to heat one’s house. Mine is currently at 11°C and it is becoming difficult to type.

About 18 months ago I succumbed to an offer from a company that offered to maintain my solar panels and all the associated equipment with new for old replacements where necessary. With an inverter approaching its predicted lifespan and the pigeon deterrents in need of repair it seemed like a good deal. I know that there are several other clients in Bexley so the following is written as a warning to them and anyone else who might be tempted by cowboy companies.

I had maintained my own gas boiler for 35 years but in the summer it developed a fault which was terminal so a new one was installed and the maintenance company agreed to add it to their cover.

The plumbing on a boiler is simple but the electrics were not in my case. 35 year old motorised valves require more wires than new ones and modern boilers do not give out the required signal. Because of that something was bodged to get the central heating working which was sort of OK as the solar panels were heating the water. However in Winter, solar generation may not be sufficient and the ‘central heating only’ bodge was overworking a noisy valve.

On 8th October I notified the maintenance company and was told an urgent visit had been scheduled for two days ahead. Nothing happened even though I offered to pay for a new valve. Several nags later culminated in a formal complaint on 2nd November and five scheduled visits came and went until two vans showed up yesterday. One plumber and one electrician. It was a little disappointing to see an unboxed valve lying in a tool box.

In position Insulated with parcel tape which melted against a hot water pipe Snipped earthwire Worn gearI reminded the electrician that a wire within the junction box would require reconnection to the right place and he said he had made the necessary change and the water would now heat up.

It did but not without problems becoming apparent after their departure.

I do not believe the junction box with the original connections inside was ever opened because when I looked later the old valve wire had been snipped off and externally connected to the new one.

The connection block was insulated with parcel tape which had instantly melted as it was lying unsecured over a hot pipe. I am seriously considering reporting the company to H&SE.

Worse is that although the water does now heat up the thermostat no longer intervenes to prevent boiling and the central heating does not work at all.

I took the lid off the valve to see if it was working. The motor is spinning constantly just like the old one, presumably because the compromise wiring has not been restored to normal. My suspicions that it was not a new valve were confirmed when I saw the earth wire had been snipped off internally. The gear wheels slip too.

So now I have no heating and no hot water either because of the danger the tank will boil while I am not looking.

Thanks in part to the threat of bad publicity the company has promised to return with a proper electrician on Monday. Meanwhile I am off to sit in the open watching a rugby match. It may be warmer there!

 

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