How much does a boiler service cost, and what should be included?

Boiler servicing is one of those jobs where the price differences between firms usually reflect real differences in what gets done. This page explains what a proper service includes, so you can tell which one you are being quoted for.

What a full service should involve

A service is not a visual inspection and a sticker. Done properly it includes:

• Checking gas rate and burner pressure against the manufacturer's data plate

• A flue gas analysis, measuring the ratio of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide to confirm combustion is correct

• Removing and cleaning the burner, heat exchanger and condensate trap

• Checking the seals on the combustion chamber

• Testing safety devices, including the flame supervision and overheat protection

• Checking system pressure and the expansion vessel charge

• Checking the flue internally and externally for integrity and correct termination

• Cleaning the magnetic filter if one is fitted

The flue gas analysis is the part that separates a real service from a quick look. It is the only way to know whether the boiler is burning safely and efficiently, and the readings should be recorded.

What moves the price

Whether it is a service or just a check. A gas safety check confirms an appliance is not dangerous. A service is the cleaning and testing that keeps it working properly and keeps the warranty valid. See our CP12 guide for why landlords often need both.

How many appliances. A boiler alone, or a boiler plus a gas hob and a gas fire, are different visits.

Access. A boiler in a loft or behind fitted units takes longer than one on a kitchen wall.

Condition. A boiler serviced every year is quick. One that has not been touched in five years takes longer and often needs parts.

Whether parts are needed. A service is labour and inspection. Anything found faulty is a separate repair, and should be quoted separately rather than added silently to the bill.

Why the annual service is not optional in practice

It keeps the manufacturer warranty valid. Nearly every manufacturer requires an annual service by a Gas Safe registered engineer, recorded properly. Miss one and a ten year warranty can be worth nothing at the moment you need it.

It is a carbon monoxide check. Carbon monoxide has no smell, no colour and no taste. Combustion analysis and a flue integrity check are how you find a problem before it finds you. A CO alarm is a good backstop and not a substitute.

It catches the cheap faults early. Most winter breakdowns we attend are things a service would have found: a condensate trap furring up, a seal starting to perish, an expansion vessel losing charge, a filter that has never been cleaned. Our page on boilers that keep cutting out is largely a list of things an annual service prevents.

When to book it

Late summer or early autumn. Every heating engineer in Greater Manchester is busiest during the first cold snap, and that is exactly when you least want to be waiting for a breakdown slot.

If your boiler has been off all summer, a service before you need it beats finding out in November.

What you should get afterwards

A service record showing what was checked and the readings taken. If you get a sticker and nothing written down, you have no evidence for the manufacturer if you later need to claim on the warranty.

Booking a service

We service every make we install, record the readings, and tell you about anything found rather than fixing it silently and invoicing you afterwards.

See our boiler service page for what the visit involves, and landlord gas safety and CP12 if you let the property. We cover Manchester, Salford, Stockport and the surrounding towns.

Ring 0161 515 9977 with the make of your boiler and roughly how old it is.