Baxi Barcelona - Replace or Improve?

[steve2]

Our house has a Baxi Barcelona which heats an underfloor heating system and a mains pressure hot water system. When installed about 4 years ago (when we had the house built), it seemed reasonably state-of-the-art.

Sadly, it has been less than reliable. The main current complaint is that about once a month or so, at random intervals, we wake up to a shut down boiler, a flashing (or steady) red light, and no hot water. This drives the wife bonkers as she can not then wash her hair before going to work (why does she need to wash her hair EVERY day? - don't go there...). The boiler will usually restart by turning off then on (but sometimes an electrican is required to shuffle the circuit boards. We never seem to find an actual FAULT).

My questions:

1. Do we have a lemon or are they "all like that"?
2. Should we replace the boiler with something more reliable and of newer design? or
3. Should we consider replacing the two circuit boards, in hope of curing this mysterious problem?

Any thoughts/suggestions/recommendations would be gratefully received. I'm under orders to "fix" this before the next winter.

Steve

[Ed Sirett]

I know of at least two other units with undiagnosable problems. Replacement of the PCBs (done by BG unit contract) doesn't seem to fix them. It really pays to have a service contract with one of these units around. Less than £200 year will regularly bring you many hundreds £ of PCBs and fitting!

My guess would be to try changing one or two of the temperature sensors to see if they have any effect after you have changed the upgraded PCBs.

It comes down to:

New boiler £750 Fitting say £750 (maybe £500 on the 'grey' market).

Known result. Maybe £5 year guarantee.

OR £300-£500 on replacement parts. These or other problems likely to be still with you.

If you can get BG to take it on. Then it's a pretty good deal as they will be at your house a lot. Otherwise fork out and get a working boiler.

[Doctor Drivel]

Maxie said a few of the Barcelona boards are beginning to filter through for recon. He may have an idea of the prime problems are.

[Doctor Drivel]

Is this only heating a thermal store? If so, there is a jumper that can be removed and the burner is then on full with no modulation. The reliability of these boilers on "direct" thermal stores is good as the controls are not used as much as when heating direct as modulation is not operational and the boiler does not cycle. Its successor is the Baxi condensing boiler, which is not cheap at all.

[steve2]

Ed,

I'm not convinced that having BG at my house "a lot" is the answer my wife is looking for...

If,then, it is to be a new boiler - which to choose? Do you (or anyone else) have a view on a reliable replacement condensing boiler?

Steve

[John]

Glow Worm (amongst others)

[Andy Hall]

Generally products of German design and/or manufacture -

Worcester-Bosch, Vaillant, MAN, Viessmann,.....

[Doctor Drivel]

.....and Glow Worm Dutch/German parts

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Surely Drivel can't recommend anything made by Bosch?

[Doctor Drivel]

[Dave Plowman (News)]

[snipping by a madman restored]

Without any personal knowledge of such things, you condemn all Bosch power tools.

So any reasonable person would think you condemn all their products too.

But then that assumes you are a reasonable person.

[steve2]

So, the cost effective boiler (with two votes) seems to be Glow Worm?

Is it better to buy the smaller boiler, and run it hard, or the larger boiler and let it cruise?

Steve

[Doctor Drivel]

It must be time for his coca. I hope he doesn't dribble.

[Doctor Drivel]

As it modulates you get the model over your requirements and let it modulate down.

[jkk666]

You are not alone. In fact, you are quite lucky to have four year's trouble-free running:

have a Baxi 130 that got the similar problem during Christmas - only weeks after guarantee ran out. Insurance sent in a few local plumbers who had no clue after changing a few parts. In the end, after my strong protests of no heating for two months in the coldest weather, they finally decided it's worth getting an (apparently more expensive) Baxi engineer. The guy knew the problem straightaway and sorted it out in minutes. I am under the impression that Baxi knows this problem but has yet to find a solution. FWIW, the problem was with the seal of the burner (He showed me the "rubber" powders), which subsequently caused overheating lockout.

[Owain]

Whereas nursey won't even let you have cocoa in case you spill it down your paper nightie.

Owain

[Doctor Drivel]

Where did you get your wit lessons?

[Owain]

University of Life, School of Hard Knocks.

Owain

[Doctor Drivel]

You should ask for your money back.

[Owain]

Why, is that what your customers do when they find they've been mis-sold two combi boilers?

Owain