Gas Valve controls

Slightly unusual one this. Got a call for help from a friend to say the heating in his house is not working correctly.

Its a conventional vented Y plan type system, Ideal Mexico 2 RS80 boiler. Symptoms were rads not getting very hot.

I checked out all the controls and they seem in order. Room stat calls for heat, 3 port valve feeds call onto the boiler, and the boiler fires in response to it. However not for long. After a few mins the boiler cycles off as if its being disabled by its internal stat. It stays off for 10 mins or so before firing for a bit and then shutting down again.

My first thought was the boiler stat must be cutting in too soon or there is a lack of water flow causing overheat. However the pump seems to be running (max speed) - and the pipe temperature at the pump soon falls as the boiler cycles off.

Looking at stat its a bulb type sensor pushed into a pocket at the top of the HE, and that feeds into a control with the temperature knob on it. It feeds mains to the gas valve. I presume when it reaches it limit it would cut the power supply to the gas valve. However that is not happening. When the boiler cycles off, there is still mains present at the main gas valve.

Now to my mind, that should be enough to cause it to fire. However is there some other input to the gas valve that can inhibit it even when its got volts on its input? Or do you think the gas valve is doing something daft when it warms up?

Reply to
John Rumm
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I'm not familiar with that boiler. Does it have a permanent pilot light? If so, it will have a simple gas valve which is either on or off. If not on when powered, it suggests that the solenoid is duff - maybe, as you suggest, going open circuit when it gets hot.

Reply to
Roger Mills

Yup its a simple beast of a boiler - floor stander, cast iron lump, high water content, no fan, no modulation, permanent pilot. Traditional thermocouple sitting in the pilot flame to keep the pilot supply latched on. Alas I did not think to pull the terminals off the gas valve and check it for continuity once hot...

Reply to
John Rumm

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Switched neutral to the coil?

Reply to
cynic

I'd go with Roger's idea of the coil going open circuit when it gets hot. Can you test its resistance during normal operation and immediately after it cuts out?

Reply to
YAPH

Yup, good thought...

The only thing capable of switching the neutral would be the boiler stat... and I tested that by turning it until clicked off and noted it cut the mains the the valve, killed the main flame, and I read 0V (measuring between L & N on the valve). So I don't think that is what was causing this - since I was seeing a solid 230V on the valve.

Reply to
John Rumm

Yup, its about the only thing that makes sense, if my understanding of how it is supposed to work is correct (i.e. if the pilot is lit and latched on, mains on the valve should make it open).

Yup I could... Sticking my clamp meter round the live feed to the valve and looking at the current flow would be a fair indication.

However in this case I am tempted to tell him I think the gas valve is shagged, and let him get a GS bod in to fix it, as he has the place rented out at the mo and I don't fancy swapping out the main gas valve under those circs.

That's assuming no one can think of any other "legitimate" reason for the behaviour?

Reply to
John Rumm

In message , John Rumm writes

Scaled up heat xchanger, obstruction somewhere ?

Heat is getting into the HE but not being carried away fast enough so the stat is cutting out

or ... pump impeller broken off the shaft

that sort of thing

Reply to
geoff

Those were my first thoughts on hearing of the problem. I think all of those would cause the internal stat to cut power to the valve though would they not?

Reply to
John Rumm

Err ... yes

Reply to
geoff

Not relevant to the main theme of this thread, but that statement is a non-sequitur. There have been and still are many boilers that have a permanent pilot and a modulating burner. (New World CH502 and Vokera Excell 80SP to name but two.)

Reply to
Andy Wade

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