Vaillant condensing combi leak

[gm3suz]

Hi, I have had a Vaillant ComiCompact ECOmax VUW 236 EH for about

years now. About a year ago the Vaillant service engineer had t replace the fan at a cost of over £250.00, including call out charge. had noticed a small water leak for some time and mentioned this to th Vaillant engineer and he said that it was because the installed flu had not been installed correctly and there was no seal installed at th junction of the flue pipes, the leak was just condensation but he ha put in something that would fix this. The leak has been getting wors and I did not fancy another £250 bill and so I took the cover off th boiler and had a look and found the source of the leak. It's fro right next to the sensing electrode and I'm sure that removing the tw bolts or nuts holding this sensing electrode in position and repacin the 'perished' seal or gasket around this would fix the problem. It' either that or ordering a new combi boiler current price aroun £1,000.

Anyone help me as regards getting a new gasket, or some advice, pleas ?

Da

-- gm3suz

[Andrew Gabriel]

Do you have the original manuals? There's normally an exploded parts diagram with the part numbers of all such parts indicated.

[Hugh]

Dan, I'd 'phone Vaillant technical first - describe the leak and confirm that possibility - or look in the manual, if you have one, the description of replacing the electrode/sensor will indicate whether it could leak from there (if you have to drain the system) - some sensors sit on the pipes with heat sink paste and don't cause leaks. Parts obtainable from Curzon's (ask for a branch near you) 08705 10 30 30 Failing that post the problem on (if you're still stuck) :

combi-boiler problems Q & A. You should get a lot more than 8 years from your boiler! 15 - 20 years not unusual. (perhaps with the odd repair on the way)

Hugh

[gm3suz]

Hi Andrew, yes I have the manuals and it does give a part number fo the sensor electrode but not the gasket. I think the leak may be in on of the pipes inside the heat exchanger and if I can find out where t get a gasket and replace the faulty one, what will happen ? If th water has nowhere to escape to and the leak is in an internal pipe th whole heat exchanger may fill up with water until it puts out th flames or renders the ignition electrodes ineffective.

I might just opt for a cheaper repacement normal combi boiler, th condensing type may be cheaper to run but the pay back time must b some years. Had thought of a condensing combi boiler from B and Q unti I read the reviews on this web site.

Will keep looking at e-bay for now.

Thanks for your help, Dan

-- gm3suz