Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week. I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only unreliable model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair it back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has anyone heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into installing a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!

rebecca g wrote:
Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week.
I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only unreliable
model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair it
back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has anyone
heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into installing
a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay
in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the
pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!



Most Corgis are just fitters. If the fault is obvious, and the part
readily available, they'll do it. Otherwise, they'll tell you the
boiler's too old and was a dog from the start.
See if you can find the local stockist of Ariston spares and ask them to
suggest an engineer.
If you go for a new one, shop around. Easy to check boiler prices on the
web. It's probably going to take 2 blokes half a day, so work out how
much you think they should be paid. The last Corgi I hired quoted £800
labour but eventually did the job for £350 so it's worth haggling.

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:26:33 +0000, Stuart Noble wrote:

rebecca g wrote:
Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week.
I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only unreliable
model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair it
back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has anyone
heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into installing
a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay
in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the
pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!



Most Corgis are just fitters. If the fault is obvious, and the part
readily available, they'll do it. Otherwise, they'll tell you the
boiler's too old and was a dog from the start.
See if you can find the local stockist of Ariston spares and ask them to
suggest an engineer.
If you go for a new one, shop around. Easy to check boiler prices on the
web. It's probably going to take 2 blokes half a day, so work out how
much you think they should be paid. The last Corgi I hired quoted £800
labour but eventually did the job for £350 so it's worth haggling.

I agree with most but not all of the above.
Firstly no boiler is unrepairable but as they get older they tend to
become beyond economic repair.

Often the manufacturers have a service division which whilst not cheap is
likely to be able to perform a diagnosis.

If you post the exact symptoms someone here is likely to make a good
educated guees as to which components have failed and what they likely
costs of replacement are.

It is true that Ariston are not in the upper half of the spectrum of
reliability.

As for the 1/2 day to fit. Yes is it possible to replace a combi boiler in
half a day. I.e. to remove the old unit and install something very similar.

However the going rate would be nearer two days work and three if the flue
was significantly different (often is)

This would entail the following (mandatory) 'extras'.

Flushing out the existing system pipes at least twice. (required by
manufacturers install instructions and best practice).
Fitting a modern condensing boiler and adding a drain for condensate.
(Manadatory by building regs to save energy).
Filling out all paperwork, log books, certificates, notifiying building
control (reguired by Manufacturers, Building regs and CORGI etc).
Adding/renewing TRVs if needed. (Building Regs)
Adding a wall mounted thermostat or programmable thermostat (Building regs).
Disposing of old boiler.

This would be £1300 - £2000 depending on the boiler model. So £800 for
fitting is about right.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:26:33 +0000, Stuart Noble wrote:

rebecca g wrote:
Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week.
I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only unreliable
model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair it
back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has anyone
heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into installing
a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay
in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the
pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!



Most Corgis are just fitters. If the fault is obvious, and the part
readily available, they'll do it. Otherwise, they'll tell you the
boiler's too old and was a dog from the start.
See if you can find the local stockist of Ariston spares and ask them to
suggest an engineer.
If you go for a new one, shop around. Easy to check boiler prices on the
web. It's probably going to take 2 blokes half a day, so work out how
much you think they should be paid. The last Corgi I hired quoted £800
labour but eventually did the job for £350 so it's worth haggling.

I agree with most but not all of the above.
Firstly no boiler is unrepairable but as they get older they tend to
become beyond economic repair.

Often the manufacturers have a service division which whilst not cheap is
likely to be able to perform a diagnosis.

If you post the exact symptoms someone here is likely to make a good
educated guees as to which components have failed and what they likely
costs of replacement are.

It is true that Ariston are not in the upper half of the spectrum of
reliability.

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and is
very reliable. 2 yr guarantee and 5 on the plate heat exchanger. Everything
is easy to access inside. I bought it as it was at the time the smallest
sized, in casing, combi available. Well specced too.

The early Aristons were not that reliable, but the new generation are much
superior and they now give 5 years guarantee across the board to many
models. Alpha are doing the same.

"Doctor Drivel" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:26:33 +0000, Stuart Noble wrote:

rebecca g wrote:
Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week.
I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only
unreliable
model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair it
back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has
anyone
heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into
installing
a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay
in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the
pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!



Most Corgis are just fitters. If the fault is obvious, and the part
readily available, they'll do it. Otherwise, they'll tell you the
boiler's too old and was a dog from the start.
See if you can find the local stockist of Ariston spares and ask them
to
suggest an engineer.
If you go for a new one, shop around. Easy to check boiler prices on
the
web. It's probably going to take 2 blokes half a day, so work out how
much you think they should be paid. The last Corgi I hired quoted £800
labour but eventually did the job for £350 so it's worth haggling.

I agree with most but not all of the above.
Firstly no boiler is unrepairable but as they get older they tend to
become beyond economic repair.

Often the manufacturers have a service division which whilst not cheap is
likely to be able to perform a diagnosis.

If you post the exact symptoms someone here is likely to make a good
educated guees as to which components have failed and what they likely
costs of replacement are.

It is true that Ariston are not in the upper half of the spectrum of
reliability.

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and is
very reliable. 2 yr guarantee and 5 on the plate heat exchanger.
Everything
is easy to access inside. I bought it as it was at the time the smallest
sized, in casing, combi available. Well specced too.

The early Aristons were not that reliable, but the new generation are much
superior and they now give 5 years guarantee across the board to many
models. Alpha are doing the same.


Is yours the Microgenus 23MFFI? We had ours installed in July 2003. The
installer told us that it had a one year warranty but the Ariston web site
indicated that all of their Combi's had a two year warranty. The warranty in
the box was for one year with the option to extend it by a further three
years. I queried this with Ariston and they said that it must have been an
old in stock boiler that had been supplied and they sent me a two year
warranty form. I filled that in and took out the extended three year
warranty with Domestic and General. In December of last year a fault
developed the day after the
boiler had its annual service by the local service agent. They came back and
replaced the pressure relief valve and added the cost of the item to charge
for the annual service.
The service agent said that the boiler only had a one year warranty and that
I should claim the cost of the item back on the extended warranty. I phoned
Ariston who maintained that the Microgenus 23MFFI is the only Ariston Combi
with a one year guarantee. I phoned Domestic and General who said that as
the original warranty was for one year that my extended warranty was
invalid.
I waited until the two year warranty was up and wrote to D&G and explained
the situation to them. Fortunately they accepted that my warranty is valid
until 2008.
Ben.

"Ben" wrote in message
...

"Doctor Drivel" wrote in message
reenews.net...

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 10:26:33 +0000, Stuart Noble wrote:

rebecca g wrote:
Hi, I've got an ariston combi boiler that decided to die last week.
I've had a plumber round who has told me it's Ariston's only
unreliable
model that caused major headaches for everyone who tried to repair
it
back in the day (mine looks like it was installed in 1992). Has
anyone
heard of a similar ariston problem or am I being conned into
installing
a new one? Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to
pay
in London to get a new boiler installed, including flushing the
pipes/radiators etc?
Thanks!



Most Corgis are just fitters. If the fault is obvious, and the part
readily available, they'll do it. Otherwise, they'll tell you the
boiler's too old and was a dog from the start.
See if you can find the local stockist of Ariston spares and ask them
to
suggest an engineer.
If you go for a new one, shop around. Easy to check boiler prices on
the
web. It's probably going to take 2 blokes half a day, so work out how
much you think they should be paid. The last Corgi I hired quoted
£800
labour but eventually did the job for £350 so it's worth haggling.

I agree with most but not all of the above.
Firstly no boiler is unrepairable but as they get older they tend to
become beyond economic repair.

Often the manufacturers have a service division which whilst not cheap
is
likely to be able to perform a diagnosis.

If you post the exact symptoms someone here is likely to make a good
educated guees as to which components have failed and what they likely
costs of replacement are.

It is true that Ariston are not in the upper half of the spectrum of
reliability.

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and
is
very reliable. 2 yr guarantee and 5 on the plate heat exchanger.
Everything
is easy to access inside. I bought it as it was at the time the
smallest
sized, in casing, combi available. Well specced too.

The early Aristons were not that reliable, but the new generation are
much
superior and they now give 5 years guarantee across the board to many
models. Alpha are doing the same.

Is yours the Microgenus 23MFFI?

No. 27 something

We had ours installed in July 2003. The
installer told us that it had a one year warranty but the Ariston web site
indicated that all of their Combi's had a two year warranty.

Mine was 2 years for the boiler, 5 years for the plate heat exchanger.

In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and
is very reliable.

Not capable of re-plumbing it onto the mains? Lost your hacksaw?

--
*Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Ben wrote:



Is yours the Microgenus 23MFFI? We had ours installed in July 2003. The
installer told us that it had a one year warranty but the Ariston web site
indicated that all of their Combi's had a two year warranty. The warranty in
the box was for one year with the option to extend it by a further three
years. I queried this with Ariston and they said that it must have been an
old in stock boiler that had been supplied and they sent me a two year
warranty form. I filled that in and took out the extended three year
warranty with Domestic and General. In December of last year a fault
developed the day after the
boiler had its annual service by the local service agent. They came back and
replaced the pressure relief valve and added the cost of the item to charge
for the annual service.

Why is it that so many boilers go wrong after 'servicing'?
The discharge valves sometimes don't seat properly after being turned.
I suspect the guy servicing it turned it and caused the problem in the
first place. It can normally be sorted by just turning a few times,
IME.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and
is very reliable.

Not

** snip senile idiotic rambings **

Such an idiot. Sad but true.

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 19:45:55 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:


"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW and
is very reliable.

Not

** snip senile idiotic rambings **

Such an idiot. Sad but true.


Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?


--

..andy

wrote in message
ps.com...

Ben wrote:



Is yours the Microgenus 23MFFI? We had ours installed in July 2003. The
installer told us that it had a one year warranty but the Ariston web
site
indicated that all of their Combi's had a two year warranty. The warranty
in
the box was for one year with the option to extend it by a further three
years. I queried this with Ariston and they said that it must have been
an
old in stock boiler that had been supplied and they sent me a two year
warranty form. I filled that in and took out the extended three year
warranty with Domestic and General. In December of last year a fault
developed the day after the
boiler had its annual service by the local service agent. They came back
and
replaced the pressure relief valve and added the cost of the item to
charge
for the annual service.

Why is it that so many boilers go wrong after 'servicing'?
The discharge valves sometimes don't seat properly after being turned.
I suspect the guy servicing it turned it and caused the problem in the
first place. It can normally be sorted by just turning a few times,
IME.

The earlier boiler went wrong shortly after its last three annual checks, I
don't have a suspicious mind but............ .
Ben.

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
...

Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure. Works
well.

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:36:35 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .

Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure. Works
well.


Ah. 20 storeys maybe?


--

..andy

In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure.
Works well.

Interesting, isn't it Andy. This prick says to everyone else you can't
beat mains pressure hot water for a shower. Says to use water from the
combi to fill the kettle to save electricity. And has claimed to have 3
bar mains pressure. But at home in his one bed ex council flat has his own
system fed off a header tank. With the smallest boiler he could find. So
the high flow models he raves about are far too expensive for him...

Wonder how many other lies he's told?

--
*Plagiarism saves time *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:36:35 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .

Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for
DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure.
Works
well.


Ah. 20 storeys maybe?

Matt, so 1/5 bar is about 45 foot/ 45 /20 = 2.25 foot. Less one floor
between floors gives 1.25 foot. Son each floor would have room heights of
1.25 foot. Boy are you dumb.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for
DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure.
Works well.

Interesting, isn't it Andy.

It is, Richard?

This prick

Oh my God! If the warden could hear him.

** snip senility **

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 09:46:28 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:36:35 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .

Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for
DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure.
Works
well.


Ah. 20 storeys maybe?

Matt, so 1/5 bar is about 45 foot/ 45 /20 = 2.25 foot. Less one floor
between floors gives 1.25 foot. Son each floor would have room heights of
1.25 foot. Boy are you dumb.


20 floors would be over a bar of pressure. You didn't say how much
over one bar.

Your flat could be on the 14th floor for example

--

..andy

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 09:46:28 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:


"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:36:35 -0000, "Doctor Drivel"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" aka Matt wrote in message
.. .

Doctor Drivel wrote:

I have an Ariston Microgenus. It is fitted off a cold tank for
DHW
and
is very reliable.

Never mind about the diversion. Why isn't it connected to the
mains?

Because it is off a tank way, way above with over a bar of pressure.
Works
well.


Ah. 20 storeys maybe?

Matt, so 1.5 bar is about 45 foot/ 45 /20 = 2.25 foot. Less one floor
between floors gives 1.25 foot. Son each floor would have room heights
of
1.25 foot. Boy are you dumb.


20 floors would be over a bar of pressure. You didn't say how much
over one bar.

Matt, so, 20 floors. 1 foot betwen floors = 20 foot. then 8 foot ceilings
= 160 foot plus 20 foot = 180 foot. Divide by 30 (approx 1 bar) = 6 bar.
Yes Matt over 1 bar, you are right.

Your flat could be on the 14th floor for example

So 14th floor is 6 floors above. That will be 6 one foots between flo0rs = 6
foot. 6 x 8 foot = 48 + 6 = 54 foot. Plus the height of large tank = 54 +
6 = 60 foot, which is 2 bar. Matt. wrong again.

In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:
So 14th floor is 6 floors above. That will be 6 one foots between flo0rs
= 6 foot. 6 x 8 foot = 48 + 6 = 54 foot. Plus the height of large
tank = 54 + 6 = 60 foot, which is 2 bar. Matt. wrong again.

So 15th floor, then. Explains why you don't get out much and have to rely
on stupid websites for all your 'information'.

--
*If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" through a haze of senile
flatulence wrote in message ...
In article ews.net,
Doctor Drivel wrote:

So 14th floor is 6 floors above. That will be 6 one foots between flo0rs
= 6 foot. 6 x 8 foot = 48 + 6 = 54 foot. Plus the height of large
tank = 54 + 6 = 60 foot, which is 2 bar. Matt. wrong again.

So

** snip drivel and senility **

Sad but true. A shame isn't it?