New gas boiler

A question about : New gas boiler

Can anyone help. Just has a new viessmann 26kw boiler installed in an 18 radiator house. Heating and hot water worked perfect before but since installation there is very limited hot water and the radiators are luke warm at the bottom and slightly hotter at the top. When I queried this, I was told by him that his job was to install the boiler and that the radiators probably were not working beforehand. His quote also included chemically flushing out the radiators, I did not see him do this so how would I know if its been done? He also nstalled the boiler wonky and in general the work is shoddy at best.

Best answers:

• Who specified the boiler. There is nothing wrong with the make by the way, but who specified it, who bought it and what measures were taken to ensure it would be suitable.
  Is it a combi or a system or a heat only boiler (Does it have a hot water cylinder or not). Did he add up the total heat capacity of all 18 radiators. Viessmans sometimes need to be properly commissioned before they work properly. Some Viessmans which use Hot Water cylinders can be piped up as "four pipe" systems. If this is so then the hot water needs to turn on an hour before you need heating or you can end up with tepid everything
  You need to provide a lot more information please before we can advise properly on this one. If those were the installers comments it doesn't sound encouraging.
  Come back to us when you have all the info together.
• How is the boiler 'wonky'? if you were not happy with the work then why did you sign off the commissioning paperwork? Have you received the Benchmark paperwork properly completed?
  'Limited hot water' sounds like a combi, which may be quite unsuitable for what is presumably a large property with two or more bathrooms. What system did you have before?
  Finally and crucially, is the installer Gas Safe Registered?
  PS: if it all worked 'perfect' before, then why fit a new boiler?
• Thanks for your replies. Boiler was replaced as the old one was over 20 years old. It is a wall mounted gas condensing boiler which he recommended to replace the potterton that I had.
  I said its wonky because if you put a spirit level on top it's not level.
  Yes he s gas safe registered but didn't give me any paperwork or invoice, just the instruction manual, I did not sign anything.
  Yes I have a hot water tank in my airing cupboard,
• Have you paid the installer yet?
• So, its either a heat only or a system boiler....now we really could do with the model number when you get a chance to tell us. Also, is there a cylinder thermostat with a dial on your cylinder, or just a sensor stuck attached to the cylinder. Is it just the boiler that was changed or a new cylinder as well. If you turn the hot water off does the heating work.
  It sounds like you have a system boiler but we need to know more information than you are giving us to try and point you in the right direction. Ultimately if he will not come back and explain it you will have to call Viessmann in under warranty and they will do their best I assure you, but they are not there to do work your installer should do.
  I would be preparing a letter outlining your dissatisfaction and the faults and sending it recorded delivery or registered to the installer if he is provign unhelpful. You need to do this NOW as you will need evidence that you have tried to put things right if you end up taking him to small claims court
• Hi, the boiler is a Viesmann vitodens 100w 26 kW high efficiency gas condensing boiler, there is a wall thermostat in the hallway which has always been there. The payment to him was via cheque, but this has been stopped. He told me that the radiators would take a few days to work properly, but they are not working any better.
  I was not given any paperwork or invoice, just an instruction manual for the boiler.
• Don't get me wrong, I like Viessmann boilers and installed a few and they are generally good quality, but I stopped for a couple of reasons. One is the price of spares, and the other is the comparative complication of the instruction manual at times (They are better than they used to be). In my old job I came across a block of flats with eight Viessmann combi boilers I had never seen before and none of them worked properly. The residents were ex-prisoners with many difficulties and none had complained as they did not want trouble. I telephoned Viessmann and it turned out after them talking me through some checks that none of the boilers had been properly commissioned (The installing company had gone bust). They took me through the process and we got virtually all working fine within about four hours.
  I suspect your boiler has not been taken through the commissioning process on P27 of the manual I have just looked at. This 'instructs' the boiler what sort of system it is dealing with and then the electronics can take over from there. Most boilers we install are virtually 'plug and play' these days but Viessmanns require a bit more initial adjustment. I must say I am only guessing and could be wrong, but given the way you have been treated it sounds like it has been installed, switched on and nothing else done.
  I'd give Viessmann a ring and tell them whats happened. If they have an engineer anywhere near they may well send him to set it up correctly. They should not have to of course, but it won't be the first time its happened. They may just refer you to the installer of course, but I suspect not.
  As far as I know all the ones I installed are still running just fine, so that should be some small encouragement to you. Viessmann is still a very traditional, though modern heirarchical German family company and they do things 'their way or no way' and sometimes this makes them an odd fit in the way we do things in the UK.
• Can anyone tell if the Benchmark gas commissioning paperwork is a legal requirement or not as I did not sign or see any paperwork except the boiler instructions. Someone mentioned that without this document, the boiler warranty is not valid.
• Thank you for all your detailed replies. I have found the Benchmark paperwork this morning, my name and address have not been filled in, the section that says Domestic Hot Water Mode he has put a line through with something written that looks like NH?
  I have not signed the form.
  I did speak with viessman this morning and they have said it could possibly be air in the radiators or not properly flushed through, therefore it's not a boiler problem. My boiler installer has said the lack of heat in the radiators is not his problem, his job was to install the boiler, therefore I am getting nowhere fast.
• Thanks for your reply. I asked 3 different gas safe registered installers over to quote, 2 of them suggested the Viessman and the other recommended and Ideal. I opted for the Viessmann as recommended by him and he supplied all materials including the boiler. I would like to send some photos of his work but don't think I can on here?