@njt That sounds a good deal and at least he appeared to service the heat pump, not just the heating circuit indoors which is what many do.

I am about to get my Mitsubishi 14kW Zubadan serviced by an independent heating engineer.  In the event of a warranty claim, what evidence do the manufacturers require that the unit has been correctly and regularly serviced?  Is an invoice sufficient or does the service need to be registered in some way?

I expect that this will be vary with each manufacturer, but has anyone made a claim and been required to produce the service history?

@dgclimatecontrol Indeed they do! We had exactly that experience (as I related some months ago) eventually after interrogating Daikin as to what was carried out at the first and second annual service, then comparing their reports to what actually occurred, we took a stronger line with Daikin. Result: we had a free ‘special service’ carried out, in which the Daikin monobloc blinked when its’ covers were removed for the first time and fully cleaned inside and out. A laptop was connected to the unit after all electrical circuits had been checked and tightened and a test was run to determine performance etc. The one thing that had been checked and cleaned at the regular servicing was the Magna Clean which is in the comfort of the airing cupboard (where all the rest of the engineer’s attention had been applied on those first and second annual services.) The ‘special service’ took approximately an hour and a half. Would I go back to Daikin to have my Daikin ASHP service? What do you think?! Regards, Toodles.

Mmm.  I have a service package with Mitsubishi which is pricey but provides a wrap around feeling of protection!  Recently the service engineer has not been interested in filling out the paper service history saying that all of the service history is maintained electronically by Mitsubishi.  I have never had to claim for any repair but I did have to provide a full service history when I was audited by the Department of what ever in Westminster when I was selected for both desk and onsite audit.   Glad I had the paper copy then!

Posted by: @abernyte

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I have a service package with Mitsubishi which is pricey but provides a wrap around feeling of protection! 

I paid around £300 to my Mitsi installer last September but very little seemed to be done apart from opening the covers and washing down the outside.  I think a water sample was taken as well.

Anyway a few months later the unit failed because of a poor electrical connection in the power supply cable using inadequate screw connectors that completely melted the cables.  See picture.  This was not picked up as an issue by maintenance engineer, even though it was right at the front of the machine and the first thing you see when the casing is removed.

Not impressed.

So what happens if you forget ASHP maintenance altogether and put that £300 in the piggy bank?

1  what is the real chance of a failure? The technology is mature and installed in tens (hundreds?) of millions of aircon units worldwide, whose operating conditions are far harsher than the UK.

2  £300 p.a. + inflation over a 10 year warranty period goes a long way to buying a replacement machine.  

3  if there is a failure, someone will repair it and I can't believe the cost will be any more than £750 or so.

We all happily take the maintenance risk on cars out of warranty, where repair bills seem to start at £500 these days.  Why is everyone so risk averse when it comes to heat pumps? 

@downfield Just a thought… With a heating failure, you have a cold home and probably no hot water either! With a family (and of course, the risk of incurring the wrath of your partner!), several children possibly … do you want this problem? Might it just be ‘wiser’ to shell out for the ‘cosy feeling’? Just a thought, Toodles.

@downfield I tend to agree.

We have 2 heat pumps (my house and son) and having complete lack of faith in what would be done in a service have done nothing other than self-service until this year. Installed 5 years ago.installer did reasonable job but I discovered actually sub-contracted. Setup without weather compensation.

Self-service:

• clean internal filter/strainer
• Clean mag-filter
• Clean exterior
• Blow out leaves & wash down coils/fins
• Check pressure/re-pressurise
• Visual check

This year there were no particular issues. But found a specialist LG heat pump engineer so was inclined to give him a go. Cost £300 each inc travel. 

He did a decent job... stripping down and cleaning more thoroughly than I did - but not sure if it makes any real difference!

So a cost of £300 over 5 years seems fine. Recognising that warranty will be invalid. Savings to date already likely to cover a significant repair.

I don't plan to have a service engineer in coming years... perhaps 4 or 5 years later..

Posted by: @toodles

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With a heating failure, you have a cold home and probably no hot water either!

That's a valid point, of course nobody wants the inconvenience.

But the maintenance contract doesn't stop breakdowns, as I found out - it still took 24 hours to get someone to come out and fix the wiring.  I could have done it myself but the installer told me to wait for their electrician.

And gas boilers break down all the time and leave people without heating - usually on a bank holiday weekend!

Another discussion topic - which are more reliable - gas boilers or heat pumps?  

Last week, I received an email from Ofgem - as, I’m sure, did everyone else still receiving payments under the old RHI scheme. The email was basically reminding us all of our obligations under the scheme and suggesting a random selection of people will be audited.

One of those obligations, of course, is that we keep our heat pump in good working order. I must admit that it is rather reassuring knowing I can demonstrate our compliance simply by forwarding some maintenance history.

Of course, as I have mentioned in other threads, it helps that our maintenance contract was cheap enough not to feel like a rip-off, especially when the company actually demonstrably does stuff on a visit rather than metaphorically just kick the tyres.

Posted by: @downfield

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Another discussion topic - which are more reliable - gas boilers or heat pumps?  

I think either can be highly reliable or highly unreliable.

We once lived in a new build and the gas boiler had numerous call outs over a 3 year period, after which it may work for 1 hour or one week, but never reliably. Shortly before we sold the house, a different engineer visited and said it's a known fault, and could not believe we'd had multiple call outs and no one had recognised or fixed the fault. He swapped out the main circuit board and it worked perfectly after that. I'm sure there are equally horror stories of heat pump unreliability and those that run for years unattended.

@majordennisbloodnok 

I too have received the email from Ofgem re the RHI. It clearly states within the email that it's for information only and no action is required at this time. A week later, I get a text message reminding me that they had sent the email and suggesting I check my spam folder. This had me concerned that I had misread the email and that action is required. I didn't misread, and it isn't so........ oh well.

@downfield We charge £177 for the heat pump service which is competitive. It does help keep running costs at their lowest and can reduce chances of an expensive breakdown. For £750 repairs would include one pcb replaced or one fan motor, a compressor would be £2000+, normally a failed fan takes out the pcb too. the A2W heat exchanger if it fails internally will be £2500 and could write of the heat pump. Most A2W heat pumps cost upwards of £2500 to buy whereas an A2A unit around £400.