One visit, two services. The Vitodens was stripped down and its heat exchanger cleaned, then the Tempest unvented cylinder we installed last year had its annual service. The boiler is showing its age, and we said so: not a replacement today, but time to start planning one.
A customer in Edgbaston booked a full strip-down service on their Viessmann Vitodens 100 system boiler, and while we were there we carried out the annual service on the Tempest unvented cylinder we had installed for them the year before. The Vitodens was stripped down, its burner and heat exchanger cleaned, seals and gaskets renewed and combustion checked on the analyser. The cylinder had its safety valves, expansion vessel and controls checked and tested. The boiler is starting to show its age. It passed its service and runs safely, and we told the customer plainly that it would be wise to start thinking about a replacement over the coming years rather than being caught out by a breakdown.
Boiler and cylinder both due a service?
We do them on the same visit, and the cylinder service is cheaper when it is bundled with the boiler. Leave a number and we will ring you back — usually within the hour during office hours.
A returning customer in Edgbaston. Last year we installed a Tempest unvented cylinder for them, fed by their existing Viessmann Vitodens 100 system boiler in the garage. This year they booked a full strip-down service on the boiler, and because an unvented cylinder needs an annual service too, we did both on the same visit.
The Vitodens came apart in the usual way: case off, burner door and fan assembly out, and the heat exchanger open. The third photo shows why a strip-down is worth doing on a boiler of this age. Deposits had built up in the coils of the heat exchanger and the face of the block was discoloured, and a burner firing into that runs hotter, dirtier and less efficiently than it should. We cleaned the heat exchanger and the burner, fitted new seals and gaskets, reassembled, and checked combustion on the flue gas analyser before signing it off. The fourth photo is the same heat exchanger afterwards.
An unvented cylinder stores hot water at mains pressure, so its safety devices need checking every year: the temperature and pressure relief valve, the expansion relief valve, the pressure reducing valve and the expansion vessel charge, along with the thermostat and immersion heater. All checked and tested, and the tundish and discharge pipework inspected. Because it was done alongside the boiler, the customer paid the bundled cylinder rate rather than a separate visit.
The boiler passed its service and is running safely. It is also starting to show its age, which you can see in the staining on the heat exchanger even after cleaning. We did not tell the customer they need a new boiler now, because they do not. We told them it would be wise to start looking at a replacement over the coming years, so the decision is made on their terms rather than in a cold week when it finally lets go. Our Solihull Greenstar Ri is what the other end of that road looks like.
A full strip-down service is £185, including gaskets, seals and an inhibitor top-up. An unvented cylinder service is £120 on its own or £90 when bundled with a boiler service on the same visit. Details on the boiler servicing page and the unvented cylinders page.
NoneYes. It stores water at mains pressure and relies on safety valves and an expansion vessel to stay safe, and manufacturers require an annual service to keep the guarantee. We check and test the relief valves, the pressure reducing valve, the expansion vessel charge, the thermostat and immersion, and the discharge pipework.
One visit instead of two, and the cylinder service is £90 bundled rather than £120 on its own. Both are due annually, so the dates line up naturally after the first year.
By what the service finds, not by age alone. This Vitodens passed and runs safely, so it stays. What we look at is the condition of the heat exchanger, the parts already replaced, how it burns on the analyser and whether parts are still available. When those start pointing the same way we say so early, so the replacement is planned rather than an emergency.
Yes. Viessmann Vitodens 050, 100 and 200 boilers are common on our patch. A full strip-down every few years is worth it on the Vitodens, because the heat exchanger design holds deposits in its coils and cleaning it makes a visible difference to combustion.
Job attended and photographed by our engineers, September 2026. Written up by Saeed Iqbal, the engineer who leads Synergy Gas & Plumbing (Gas Safe registered 594385). More recent jobs in the area are on our Edgbaston page, and every job we write up is on the case studies index.
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Pick a slot online insteadA London landlord booked online for a tenant with no hot water. The pressure independent control valve was sticking and the strainer behind it was seized and packed with dirt. Freed, stripped, cleaned and refitted; a new valve booked for a return visit.
Read the case studyThe main heat exchanger had failed on a boiler that had done 17 years, so the numbers pointed one way. Like-for-like swap into the same cupboard, Worcester magnetic filter fitted, system dosed, guarantee registered.
Read the case studyA routine Complete service that found dark system water and no inhibitor. The customer was shown the water, agreed to the fix, and the system was dosed before we left. A five-star review followed the same day.
Read the case studyA full strip-down is £185 and the cylinder service is £90 when we do them together. Book one visit.
