Vaillant Vuw 242E/282E

[Koolvin]

Evening people,

I have a Vaillant Vuw 242E/282E. The hot water only works when the heating is switched on.

I have rung up a boiler engineer (the same person whom fixed this problem 2 years ago) He tells me it's a Valve that has gone.

The price he gave me was 120pounds for a reconditioned part OR

190pounds for a new part both with ONLY 1 years guarantee.

I am quite a competent guy and am prepared to fix my boiler myself. Can someone tell me what is actually wrong with the boiler and what needs changing.

reading up on threads some people suggest diverter valve or diaphram and a quick search for part prices tells me my boiler engineer is ripping me off!

please help!

[raden]

In message , Koolvin writes

If it is the diverter valve diaphragm split, you can get repair kits for

10-20 quid, but you really have to take note of exactly how you pull it apart to get it back together again

It could also be the switch on the motherboard having gone high resistance or some other such fault

[Koolvin]

I can confirm it is a Vuw 242E model after opening up the facia of the boiler.

How difficult is the job?

[IMM]

Buy a new valve not the kit. One small mistake and you may have problems all over again and having to but a new valve.

[Koolvin]

How hard is it to replace the whole valve?

[Ed Sirett]

This is very likely the water flow diaphragm or the microswitch on top of it. I have not bought this part but I doubt it is much over £70 (incl VAT).

These are hard to change and you will absolutely need the service manual.

It might also be the diverter valve. If the pump starts when you draw hot water and the heating is off then this is the more likely. Again about £60 for the valve or less for the service kit.

These prices are reasonable since a diverter valve for an Alpha (low end market) is £140.

[raden]

In message , Koolvin writes

Please don't top post

If it's the diverter valve, a bit fiddly, but doable

make sure you make good drawings and diagrams of everything at every stage. I can't stress this enough.

[raden]

In message , Koolvin writes

What, learning not to top post ?

[ANt]

I'm not sure, but if somethings wrong due to a design/production flaw do you have greater consumer protection ? Only saying because I have an 828E and originally had problems with the diverter valve due to a design/production flaw at the time (abt 3-4 years ago - and the company that made the valve apparently went bust due to the number of recalls). You might want to try turning the boiler off and then on again and see if the hot water works after doing that, regardless of whether the heating is on or off. If it seems to work for you, then it may be the same problem (we had the valve replaced twice until they admitted it was a production/design flaw). I think the problem with ours was that the valve unwound itself to a point where it failed, and booting the boiler somehow reset its position.

Ant.