My Mother-in-Law recently got in touch to say she'd had her central
heating replaced. The old system was gravity-fed consisting of an
ageing beast of a boiler (at least 30 years old) and a dozen or so
radiators (no TRVs) and rather poor control system. It worked but not
particularly effectively/efficiently.

Anyway, the reason for her call was that she was having some problems
with it…

1. The controller didn't seem to work
2. The shower leaked

I called round (I say that, she's 150 miles away) to take a look. I
first see a neatly-installed combi (Baxi Eco 30 I think) in the
garage, then TRVs on all the radiators and finally a Honeywell
wireless receiver on the wall. So far so good. She then handed me the
programmer… made by Tower. It was then that I realised the programmer
was heavily scratched - and that the receiver had a hole in the side
where presumably it had been fitted in another installation. Okay,
second hand, probably got it cheap (oh no - charged £100 for this
setup apparently). But that wasn't the issue - the real problem that
we had a mismatched pair here - there was no way the Tower programmer
was going to work with the Honeywell receiver. It's no wonder she had
problems with it, and indeed it would also explain why he failed to
get it working too!

The next problem was a leaking shower. Up we went to find a Mira
Event… *power* shower. This was now connected to the hot water supply
from the combi… i.e. mains fed. I guessed that's it was leaking - it's
obviously not designed to be fitted to a high pressure supply. More to
the point, it shouldn't be fitted to the mains at all!

I'm trying to remain calm about how to sort this out - partly for her
benefit as the last thing she needs right now is stress from all of
this - and would appreciate any suggestions as to the best way
forward. Unfortunately she's already paid in full (£1900 I believe).
The programmer issue is relatively straightforward - get him back out
to fit a working pair (preferably new given the £100 bill item). It's
the shower that's going to be the problem I think. I am assuming the
only resolution is to replace the power shower with a standard mixer?
Do you think he's liable for the cost (parts and labour)? He suggested
the combi, he fitted it, he connected the power shower to the mains
after all…

It doesn't help that I'm so far away as I can only assist at arms
length. Also, the MIL's brother has already been speaking to the
plumber (it was apparently him who recommended him!) about the
programmer and so I am fighting the temptation to get in stuck in
myself as I'm sure if the plumber feels ganged up on we may never see
him again.

Grateful for your thoughts…

Mathew

On Oct 28, 3:09 pm, Mathew Newton wrote:
My Mother-in-Law recently got in touch to say she'd had her central
heating replaced. The old system was gravity-fed consisting of an
ageing beast of a boiler (at least 30 years old) and a dozen or so
radiators (no TRVs) and rather poor control system. It worked but not
particularly effectively/efficiently.

Anyway, the reason for her call was that she was having some problems
with it…

1. The controller didn't seem to work
2. The shower leaked

I called round (I say that, she's 150 miles away) to take a look. I
first see a neatly-installed combi (Baxi Eco 30 I think) in the
garage, then TRVs on all the radiators and finally a Honeywell
wireless receiver on the wall. So far so good. She then handed me the
programmer… made by Tower. It was then that I realised the programmer
was heavily scratched - and that the receiver had a hole in the side
where presumably it had been fitted in another installation. Okay,
second hand, probably got it cheap (oh no - charged £100 for this
setup apparently). But that wasn't the issue - the real problem that
we had a mismatched pair here - there was no way the Tower programmer
was going to work with the Honeywell receiver. It's no wonder she had
problems with it, and indeed it would also explain why he failed to
get it working too!

The next problem was a leaking shower. Up we went to find a Mira
Event… *power* shower. This was now connected to the hot water supply
from the combi… i.e. mains fed. I guessed that's it was leaking - it's
obviously not designed to be fitted to a high pressure supply. More to
the point, it shouldn't be fitted to the mains at all!

I'm trying to remain calm about how to sort this out - partly for her
benefit as the last thing she needs right now is stress from all of
this - and would appreciate any suggestions as to the best way
forward. Unfortunately she's already paid in full (£1900 I believe).
The programmer issue is relatively straightforward - get him back out
to fit a working pair (preferably new given the £100 bill item). It's
the shower that's going to be the problem I think. I am assuming the
only resolution is to replace the power shower with a standard mixer?
Do you think he's liable for the cost (parts and labour)? He suggested
the combi, he fitted it, he connected the power shower to the mains
after all…

It doesn't help that I'm so far away as I can only assist at arms
length. Also, the MIL's brother has already been speaking to the
plumber (it was apparently him who recommended him!) about the
programmer and so I am fighting the temptation to get in stuck in
myself as I'm sure if the plumber feels ganged up on we may never see
him again.

Grateful for your thoughts…

Mathew

trading standards? solicitor? obviously a right cowboy.... thought my
last lot were bad..... hope you get some redress somehow

JimK

Mathew Newton wrote:
My Mother-in-Law recently got in touch to say she'd had her central
heating replaced. The old system was gravity-fed consisting of an
ageing beast of a boiler (at least 30 years old) and a dozen or so
radiators (no TRVs) and rather poor control system. It worked but not
particularly effectively/efficiently.

Anyway, the reason for her call was that she was having some problems
with it…

1. The controller didn't seem to work
2. The shower leaked

I called round (I say that, she's 150 miles away) to take a look. I
first see a neatly-installed combi (Baxi Eco 30 I think) in the
garage, then TRVs on all the radiators and finally a Honeywell
wireless receiver on the wall. So far so good. She then handed me the
programmer… made by Tower. It was then that I realised the programmer
was heavily scratched - and that the receiver had a hole in the side
where presumably it had been fitted in another installation. Okay,
second hand, probably got it cheap (oh no - charged £100 for this
setup apparently). But that wasn't the issue - the real problem that
we had a mismatched pair here - there was no way the Tower programmer
was going to work with the Honeywell receiver. It's no wonder she had
problems with it, and indeed it would also explain why he failed to
get it working too!

The next problem was a leaking shower. Up we went to find a Mira
Event… *power* shower. This was now connected to the hot water supply
from the combi… i.e. mains fed. I guessed that's it was leaking - it's
obviously not designed to be fitted to a high pressure supply. More to
the point, it shouldn't be fitted to the mains at all!

I'm trying to remain calm about how to sort this out - partly for her
benefit as the last thing she needs right now is stress from all of
this - and would appreciate any suggestions as to the best way
forward. Unfortunately she's already paid in full (£1900 I believe).
The programmer issue is relatively straightforward - get him back out
to fit a working pair (preferably new given the £100 bill item). It's
the shower that's going to be the problem I think. I am assuming the
only resolution is to replace the power shower with a standard mixer?
Do you think he's liable for the cost (parts and labour)? He suggested
the combi, he fitted it, he connected the power shower to the mains
after all…

It doesn't help that I'm so far away as I can only assist at arms
length. Also, the MIL's brother has already been speaking to the
plumber (it was apparently him who recommended him!) about the
programmer and so I am fighting the temptation to get in stuck in
myself as I'm sure if the plumber feels ganged up on we may never see
him again.

Grateful for your thoughts…

Tell the plumber to go back and replace with a brand new programmer and to
make sure it's all working properly before he leaves. That's what was paid
for and that's what he's to supply. The fact he buggered off without it
working beggars belief! That, coupled with the shoddy 2nd hand one .... what
a cowboy.

Davey presented the following explanation :
Mathew Newton wrote:
My Mother-in-Law recently got in touch to say she'd had her central
heating replaced. The old system was gravity-fed consisting of an
ageing beast of a boiler (at least 30 years old) and a dozen or so
radiators (no TRVs) and rather poor control system. It worked but not
particularly effectively/efficiently.

Anyway, the reason for her call was that she was having some problems
with it€¦

1. The controller didn't seem to work
2. The shower leaked

I called round (I say that, she's 150 miles away) to take a look. I
first see a neatly-installed combi (Baxi Eco 30 I think) in the
garage, then TRVs on all the radiators and finally a Honeywell
wireless receiver on the wall. So far so good. She then handed me the
programmer€¦ made by Tower. It was then that I realised the programmer
was heavily scratched - and that the receiver had a hole in the side
where presumably it had been fitted in another installation. Okay,
second hand, probably got it cheap (oh no - charged £100 for this
setup apparently). But that wasn't the issue - the real problem that
we had a mismatched pair here - there was no way the Tower programmer
was going to work with the Honeywell receiver. It's no wonder she had
problems with it, and indeed it would also explain why he failed to
get it working too!

The next problem was a leaking shower. Up we went to find a Mira
Event€¦ *power* shower. This was now connected to the hot water supply
from the combi€¦ i.e. mains fed. I guessed that's it was leaking - it's
obviously not designed to be fitted to a high pressure supply. More to
the point, it shouldn't be fitted to the mains at all!

I'm trying to remain calm about how to sort this out - partly for her
benefit as the last thing she needs right now is stress from all of
this - and would appreciate any suggestions as to the best way
forward. Unfortunately she's already paid in full (£1900 I believe).
The programmer issue is relatively straightforward - get him back out
to fit a working pair (preferably new given the £100 bill item). It's
the shower that's going to be the problem I think. I am assuming the
only resolution is to replace the power shower with a standard mixer?
Do you think he's liable for the cost (parts and labour)? He suggested
the combi, he fitted it, he connected the power shower to the mains
after all€¦

It doesn't help that I'm so far away as I can only assist at arms
length. Also, the MIL's brother has already been speaking to the
plumber (it was apparently him who recommended him!) about the
programmer and so I am fighting the temptation to get in stuck in
myself as I'm sure if the plumber feels ganged up on we may never see
him again.

Grateful for your thoughts€¦

Tell the plumber to go back and replace with a brand new programmer and to
make sure it's all working properly before he leaves. That's what was paid
for and that's what he's to supply. The fact he buggered off without it
working beggars belief! That, coupled with the shoddy 2nd hand one .... what
a cowboy.

My main concern would be whether he was even qualified to install a
boiler.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk