Real jobs I've completed, written up properly — what the customer described, what I actually found, what I did about it, and how it ended. No stock photos, no invented testimonials.
Commercial AC Servicing — GoLocalise & SIPP, Stockwell SW9
One of the four systems mid-service — studio equipment sheeted over, Saturday morning
The problem, as described
GoLocalise, a localisation studio in Stockwell running voice-over and recording sessions, plus their coffee shop SIPP in the same building, needed a routine service on four existing air conditioning systems. All four were working — no repairs needed — but they wanted them properly maintained, and crucially they could not have engineers in during recording sessions or café trade.
What I found
Four complete systems, eight units in total: three Daikin ceiling cassettes, one Midea wall unit, and four outdoor condensers. All operating, but due a full clean and check.
What I did
A full service on each of the four systems, carried out on a Saturday morning so that studio sessions and café trade ran completely undisturbed. Filters, indoor and outdoor coils, condensate trays and drains, electrical connections, controls, and a full performance test in both cooling and heating on every system.
The result
No defects found on any of the four. A written condition report was issued per system for their records, and an annual maintenance agreement is now in place. Five-star Google review received.
Why they chose us: the Saturday visit. A larger competitor could not offer out-of-hours work without a premium — and for a working studio and café, downtime during trading costs far more than the service itself.
The inlet control group and relief valves — where a G3 inspection actually looks
The problem, as described
A buyer wanted the hot water system checked before completing on a house purchase. The survey had not looked at the cylinder in any detail.
What I found
A Megaflo Eco SystemReady 250sb — 233 litres, indirect, loft-sited, heated by a Vaillant ecoTEC plus 637. Three issues. First, the discharge manifold was undersized: two 15mm relief valve discharges combining into a single 15mm manifold, which does not comply with Approved Document G3. Second, the expansion vessel was at 0.72 bar — its original factory precharge from 2020, never commissioned to suit the actual installation. Third, boiler primary pressure was low at 0.6 bar.
What I did
A full G3 inspection and a written report with photographs, setting out each finding, why it mattered, and what needed doing to put it right.
The result
The buyer went into the purchase knowing exactly what they were taking on, with a costed list of remedial work rather than a nasty surprise six months later. This kind of inspection costs very little against the price of a house.
Gary Smith, Smith EcoFlow
buildCase Study 3
Unvented Cylinder Repair — Orpington
Recharging the expansion vessel to the measured system pressure — the actual fault
The problem, as described
Persistent discharge from the tundish. Water running away, and the customer had been told the cylinder probably needed replacing.
What I found
The cylinder was fine. The expansion vessel had been charged 0.5 bar above what the incoming mains could actually deliver — meaning it could not absorb expansion properly, so every heating cycle pushed water straight out through the relief valve. The temperature and pressure relief valve had also failed as a result.
What I did
Combination valve replaced, expansion vessel re-primed to suit the measured system pressure, and the failed temperature and pressure relief valve replaced. System then tested through a full heating cycle.
The result
Discharge stopped completely. No new cylinder needed. The fault was a commissioning error, not a broken part — which is why it pays to have someone diagnose properly before quoting you for a replacement.
Gary Smith, Smith EcoFlow
water_dropCase Study 4
Water Softener Replacement — Erith
A softener stripped down — resin vessel, brine assembly and the failed valve block
The problem, as described
An eleven-year-old TwinTec softener had stopped working. Hard water had returned throughout the house.
What I found
A failed valve block — a common failure on TwinTec and Harvey units at around the ten-year mark, and not economic to repair on a unit of that age.
What I did
Old unit stripped out and a replacement installed, with a correct drain and overflow arrangement — separate pipes, never shared, with the required air gap, discharging to foul only. Incoming water pressure was gauged and verified before the replacement was specified, so the new unit was matched to the actual supply.
The result
Soft water restored, and installed to a standard that will not cause problems later. Getting the drain arrangement and the pressure right at the outset is what separates a softener that works for a decade from one that causes trouble.
Gary Smith, Smith EcoFlow
airCase Study 5
Combined Heat Pump & Unvented Cylinder Service — Croydon
Heat pump and cylinder in one plant room — which is why servicing them together makes sense
The problem, as described
A Croydon homeowner with an air source heat pump and an unvented hot water cylinder needed both serviced. Like a lot of people with a heat pump system, they had been quoted separately by two different firms — one for the heat pump, one for the cylinder — and were paying twice for two visits to the same house.
What I found
Both appliances were due their annual service. Because the heat pump and the cylinder work as one system — the heat pump heats the water that the cylinder stores — servicing them together makes far more sense than treating them as separate jobs. Checking one without the other means you only ever see half the picture.
What I did
Both serviced in a single visit. On the heat pump: system pressure and expansion vessel charge, glycol concentration and freeze protection, circulating pump, strainers, flow and return temperatures under load, weather compensation and control settings reviewed, evaporator coil cleaned, condensate drainage and electrical connections checked, then a full performance test. On the cylinder: expansion vessel charge checked and reset to the measured incoming pressure, temperature and pressure relief valve tested, expansion relief valve tested, thermal cut-out tested, tundish and discharge pipework checked against Approved Document G3, inlet control group and strainer checked, and stored water temperature verified.
The result
Both appliances serviced, a written record issued for each, and the Benchmark logbook completed — keeping both manufacturer warranties valid. One visit, one engineer, one invoice at £270 for the pair rather than £170 and £140 booked separately.
Worth knowing: if you have a heat pump feeding an unvented cylinder, there is rarely a good reason to service them separately. Doing both in one visit saves you money and means one engineer sees how the whole system is actually performing, not just one half of it.
Gary Smith, Smith EcoFlow
Got a Job Like One of These?
Commercial air conditioning servicing, unvented cylinders, heat pumps, water treatment and plumbing — across Orpington, Bromley and South East London.
