Mike The Boilerman

read moreI specialise in mending boilers (central heating and hot water boilers that is, not steam engine boilers!) In particular I specialise in maintaining older, non-condensing boilers which these days people are beginning to see as 'vintage' or 'classic' boilers, well worth keeping due to their simplicity and general reliability compared to modern condensing boilers. These tend to be the boilers other technicians are prone to declaring "can't be fixed mate (or Luv), can't get the parts".

read moreI live in a small village near Hungerford, west Berkshire nowadays, but I have many close links with Reading, Berkshire, including many customers in the area. I have been in the building industry most of my life although I started off as mechanical and electrical engineer. I have four children who have all grown up and left home now. I started my own plumbing business in my early 20s and have been self-employed continuously since then. In the late 1980s I set up a bathroom shop where we designed and fitted luxury bathrooms working out of a showroom in Chobham, Surrey.

read moreLike most boilers from the 90s and 2000s, the Potterton Suprima is easily repaired should it suffer a breakdown. If you are having any difficulty getting yours fixed or have been told parts are hard to get, give me a call or send me a text on 07866 766364 for a chat about it. The Suprima is a strikingly small boiler. Neat and compact with the controls hidden behind an unusual vertical hinged panel on the right hand side and is small enough to fit inside a standard kitchen wall cabinet which is why many people are reluctant to replace theirs.

read moreI repair them and have even installed them occasionally in the distant past, but I don't particularly like them! A combi boiler combines in one single appliance the functions of an ordinary boiler, the hot water cylinder and cold tanks from the loft. It heats the house via radiators in the normal way but also provides hot water to the taps by passing fresh water through the boiler and heating it directly on its way to the tap. This removes the need for both the hot water cylinder and the cold water tanks, so combis let you get rid of the tanks in the loft and airing cupboard and regain the space.