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Grand Designs?

In an occasional ‘comment’ post, I want to warn my blog readers about the perils of ‘research’ on the internet. Earlier this year we were approached by an insolvency company looking for a quote to fit 20 electrical fan heaters into a development of 2 year old ‘eco houses’ in the UK. I could tell you the whole story but I don’t want to get into trouble so I am going to have to be vague about where they are. Their email said that these 20 fan heaters would be put into the eco home development, which seemed incongruous, as […]


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Greenstar 8000 LPG 70Kw Boiler Cascade in listed building

Our customer bought a large house near Ashford Kent, in a rural setting. They knew the property needed a lot of work, the previous owner had dedicated his life to refurbishing it, and to be frank, there was an awful lot still to be done when he handed over the keys. This was a refreshing refurbishment to be asked to get involved with; our customer had read this blog from time to time, and we were on his list for this project before we knew about it. Unlike some customers, who would buy a large property, have it completely remodelled […]


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Game changing oil boiler installation in Leatherhead, Surrey, 10 year warranty.

Oil boilers are considered to be rather outdated now, what with the UK Government pledging* to have us all driving around in electric cars and heating our homes with hydrogen. While not saying where the electricity, or the hydrogen, will be coming from, of course. *Sensibly, these promises are being made with a timescale of at least 15 years away, meaning they are worthless. Amidst these pontifications, a boiler manufacturer has quietly beavered away and come up with a very low Nox (Nitrous Oxide) oil boiler; in fact, it is billed as the least polluting oil boiler you can install […]


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Johnson & Starley warm air replaced by Worcester Bosch boiler and EasyControl

This case study begins in a terraced house in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. A kitchen renewal has a short while ago necessitated the warm air heater being relocated into the garage. Our customer had some concerns over the way this part of the work had been carried out, and it turned out they were right to be worried. Generally speaking, moving a warm air unit is not easy… there’s ductwork deep under the floors, which are usually concrete, and most older warm air units have a vertical ‘open’ flue, akin to a fireplace. So moving the box itself isn’t difficult, it […]


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1960s Potterton Diplomat full of soot

Our customer in Twickenham was the proud owner of this Potterton Diplomat. We’ve scrapped a few of these recently; whilst frighteningly inefficient by modern standards, when one looks at the whole life cost, the fact that it has lasted at least as long as three contemporary boilers; perhaps it has helped save the planet by comparison with so called ‘green’ boilers?? What it nearly didn’t do, was save the owner of the house, who is partially sighted and aged well into his 80s.  The boiler was completely sooted up, so much so that flames had started appearing up the front […]


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Only one a year?

Recently, Gas Safe Register published some data saying that the average Gas Safe technician may see one dangerous gas appliance a year. In my experience, it is more like one a month.  Here are a few examples of things I’ve seen in the last 12 weeks; Example 1: We were asked to install an Evohome multi zone system to a house in Tonbridge, Kent.  While we were there, our customer asked us to service their boiler, which was a 6yr old Vaillant ecoTEC+ 831. The boiler was in a little boy’s bedroom, and our customer was mindful that the boiler […]


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Another howler

Using the Harry Potter term, this ‘rogue’s gallery’ picture set is taken from a property in the Greater London area.  Asked to simply provide a quotation to upgrade the existing boiler system to Honeywell Evohome zoned control, I stumbled upon this. What we have here is a 50Kw Evinox condensing boiler, installed by a contractor on behalf of the previous owner around 12 years ago. The current owner had concerns about the unusual flue termination and had arranged different contractors to carry out the annual boiler service over the last 8 years.  None had mentioned any problems with the external […]


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Beware approved trader websites

My brother in law lives in Nantwich, having just moved into a rural property.  He needed a new oil boiler, but as we are 200 miles away, it wasn’t practical to travel up to do the work. He asked me how he should find a good contractor; I suggested he should find an OFTEC registered installer (OFTEC are the trade technical body for oil fired heating) and also select someone who was a Worcester Bosch Accredited Installer. So far so good, he got a couple of quotes and the chap that impressed him most got the job.  This particular contractor […]


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Cooking on gas

I went to a house in the Crawley, Sussex, area to provide a quote for a new boiler.  The owner has already used us to replace his boiler in his main residence. While I’m measuring up inside for a new boiler, the tenant said, ‘ Are you going to remove the saucepan?’ I get asked a lot of strange questions when doing a quote visit, but this one had me stumped.  Why would I change a saucepan?  The tenant had appeared perfectly sane up until that point, so I asked what she meant and was directed outside to look at […]


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Dodgy gas installations

From time to time (about once a month at the moment) we find some examples of lethal work carried out by others.  Usually this is when we’re quoting for replacements or upgrades, because generally we’re busy enough not to get involved with servicing and repairing stuff we haven’t originally fitted.  These two examples were spotted in May 2012.   This is a boiler in a house extension in Croydon, South London, that a builder has ‘moved’ so he can finish a customer’s extension.  The builder, a Chinese gentleman who refused to give his name but vehemently assured us and his […]


Customer Testimonials

Excellent Work

Excellent work , the workers were very efficient, considerate and tidy. They worked with the least disruption possible for an elderly lady. Any unexpected problem was dealt with safely and professionally. The finished heating is to a high standard. K.T. Kent

Jennie 05/05/2017

Very good job

The job was very professionally undertaken on time and budget with no adverse issues raised. Customer satisfaction appeared to be a high priority.

Martin, Kent 25/04/2017

Excellent

Truly excellent, as much technically as aesthetic: clean, prompt, going well beyond expectations.

Nicholas, Kent 14/04/2017

Commercial plumbing

A small to medium sized company capable of installing & maintaining a highly technical modernisation of our heating & h/w systems. The planning, execution & result was truly ‘excellent’.

A J, Surrey 04/04/2017

Very knowledgeable

We needed a replacement boiler & Simon talked us through the options, which manufacturer & what size to go for & saw through the installation, not leaving until he was satisfied that all was in order. All in all very, competent and professional.

Stephen, Kent 16/02/2017

Highly recommended

Not the cheapest but very knowledgeable which gave me confidence that the job would be well done and correctly done. I was not disappointed.

Geoffrey, Kent 06/02/2017

Good standard of work with an ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction

This firm installed a 12 zone Honeywell Evohome central heating and hot water control system for us in October 2014. The quotation was clear and detailed, and the price reasonable. The installation work was personally overseen by the boss, Simon, who also set the rather complex (but powerful) wireless control system to work and gave clear advice on how to get the best from it. He had in-depth knowledge and experience of the control system that is probably second to none. The firm also installed and connected to our boiler a plinth fan heater nicely hidden under a kitchen cupboard Read more…

Mike 28/11/2016

Employed this trader many times

Started and finished on time. Workmanship as good as ever. prices reasonable.

Peter, Surrey 24/05/2016

Smart solution, neatly implemented

Great technical solution to the tricky replacement of a 1980’s warm air unit. Starting with a clear and comprehensive quotation. Careful and tidy installation with minimal disruption. Excellent communication throughout the work.

Martin, Surrey 21/03/2016

Clean + tidy

HWCH installed our boiler a few years ago and have looked after it ever since so I was happy to leave them in the house unaccompanied. We came home to find the installation complete and no mess or trace they had been.

Bryan, London 15/12/2015

Prompt and efficient. Very professional.

My son recommended this firm as I was very apprehensive about having a new boiler. Mr Davies was very clean and helpful and explained everything. The two men who did must of the work were efficient, polite , clean and considerate to me . As far as I can tell I have an efficient job carried out in one long day which helped me.

Jean, Surrey 19/11/2015

Very good job – as always

We have used the company for many years for 2 rental properties & our family home. We cannot fault them.

Stephen, Kent 19/06/2015

Knowledgeable, friendly and efficient

HW and CH knowledgeable, friendly and efficient company we would certainly recommend them.

John, Kent 01/06/2015

Reliable & professional company

Hot Water & Central Heating responded very promptly & installed a new boiler in a quite awkward location. Very helpful

Jerry, London 27/05/2015

Professional & efficient

I have known HW & CH for several years. They installed two large boilers in a church and hall and maintain them annually. I gave recently used them at my home where they did a very clean, neat and efficient job. Supplied excellent product and were very professional.

David, Kent 16/01/2015

Diligent & Efficient

Simon of HWCH takes his job very seriously but is a pleasure to deal with. He assessed our (complicated) situation carefully, recommended the right solution and carried it out promptly and efficiently.

Jay, London 15/01/2015

Expert & professional installation

An intimate knowledge of a rather complex Honeywell Evohome heating control product, combined with an excellent installation crew on the day resulted in a very satisfactory installation. Some tricky rerouting of underfloor pipework was accomplished without fuss, mess or extra charge, highly recommended.

Richard, East Sussex 04/07/2014

Very impressed

Very impressed with work rate and efficiency. Would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Neville, West Sussex 16/03/2014