What a full strip-down actually involves on a Viessmann, photographed as we went, plus the ten minutes at the end that most services skip.
A full strip-down service on a Viessmann boiler in a Sutton Coldfield kitchen. We took the fan and burner assembly out, cleaned the burner door and its insulation, cleaned the inside of the heat exchanger, replaced the gaskets and seals, checked the electrodes and the condensate trap, reassembled and checked the combustion on the analyser. Then we walked the property and bled every radiator, so the customer got a clean boiler and a balanced, air-free system rather than one or the other.
Tell us the make, age and when it was last serviced and we will tell you which level you need. Leave a number and we will ring you back — usually within the hour during office hours.
The customer booked a full strip-down service on their Viessmann. It is a well-made boiler with a stainless steel heat exchanger, but well-made does not mean maintenance-free, and a strip-down every few years is what keeps one running cleanly for twenty. The photos above are the job as it happened, on a dust sheet on the kitchen worktop.
A service is about the boiler, but the boiler is only half the system. Before we left we walked the property and bled every radiator. Air collects at the top of radiators over a year, especially upstairs, and it leaves cold patches, noisy pipes and a boiler that is working harder than it needs to. Ten minutes with a bleed key on the way out, and a pressure top-up afterwards, is one of the cheapest improvements a heating system ever gets. We do it as a matter of course.
A basic service is right for a newer boiler that is serviced every year and has never had a problem. An intermediate service adds draining, recharging the expansion vessel and cleaning the electrodes, and we suggest it every three years once a boiler is past three years old. A full strip-down, like this one, is the one that takes the burner off and cleans the heat exchanger, and we recommend it every five to eight years on most boilers, or every year on models whose heat exchangers foul quickly. If you are not sure, tell us the make, age and service history and we will say which one you need rather than sell you the dearest.
A full strip-down service is £185, including gaskets, seals and an inhibitor top-up. A basic service is £95 and an intermediate service £125. Bleeding the radiators is part of the visit, not an extra. The full breakdown is on our boiler servicing page, and September and October are the months to book, before the first cold week fills the diary with breakdowns.
Annually, like every gas boiler, to keep the warranty valid and the combustion checked. On top of that we suggest an intermediate service every three years once it is past three years old, and a full strip-down every five to eight years. Viessmann heat exchangers hold up well, but they still collect debris, and the strip-down is what clears it.
Yes. On a service visit we walk the property and bleed every radiator, then top the system pressure back up. It takes ten minutes and it makes a real difference to how the system heats, so we do it as a matter of course rather than as an extra.
That is exactly when to do it. A strip-down on a boiler that is running well keeps it running well, and it catches the debris, worn seals and tired electrodes before they cause a breakdown in January. Waiting until it fails means paying for a repair as well as a service.
Everything in the basic and intermediate services, plus removing and cleaning the burner and heat exchanger, new gaskets and seals for everything we disturb, and a central heating inhibitor top-up. Radiator bleeding and a written service report are part of the visit. The only extra would be a part we find worn and agree with you to replace.
Job attended and photographed by our engineers in Sutton Coldfield, April 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 Sutton Coldfield page, and every job we write up is on the case studies index.
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Pick a slot online insteadA previous engineer had reported a leak on the safety check. We found it at the condensate collector, whose seals had perished. Everything came out of the combustion box to replace it, and the boiler went back together burning cleanly.
Read the case studySeveral engineers and a shower pump had not fixed it. The gate valve on the vented cylinder had snapped inside, turning freely but barely open. A full-bore lever valve in its place, and the tenants had proper hot water pressure for the first time in over a year.
Read the case studyThe old cylinder was leaking through the ceiling below. We quoted a replacement, the customer accepted, and a new 150-litre stainless unvented cylinder went in to current standards with the pipework insulated. G3 work, done by G3 engineers.
Read the case studyBasic £95, intermediate £125, full strip-down £185. Radiators bled on every visit.
