Hi there.
Well, my boiler isn't firing up for hot water or heating!!
What I know is :-
So I assume (and only assume) it must be the ignition switch on the boiler, right??
If so any idea on repair cost, or is it worth joining the British Gas service scheme (£10 per month) and use their services??
Regards
Matt
There are two pumps?
Do you mean the diverter valve? have you checked the microswitch? This normally provides a switched live to the boiler to fire it up. Have you checked that at the boiler end?
It could be one of a number of components in the boiler. You don't say what type the boiler is so it would be hard to say what the problem is. Some boilers have simple thermostats etc. while others have boards of electronics. Malfunction of any of several could prevent the boiler from firing,
With this amount of information, it would be difficult to predict the cost of repair.
It's never worth joining BG's service scheme because service level is poor, as is value for money. Also, they are not likely to take on a system for maintenance that is not currently working. You would have to pay for a fix first.
You would be better off getting a local CORGI fitter to do the job.
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What make and model of boiler it is? Does it have an overheat cutout which may need resetting? Is it getting a switched live demand signal from the control system?
Whatever else you do *don't* use BG's service contract. In any case, AIUI, they will only take on a *working* system - and will insist on fixing the current problem at your expense before starting the contract.
Hi Andy
Thanks for your comeback.
2 pumps --Well there's the system pump upstairs and I thought there was a pump in the boiler itself (I thought there was!).
The divertervalve I assume is the T-piece 3-way switch you talk of. I know the motor works, but how would I test the microswitches? The boiler (not a combi boiler just a gas fired one) is completely closed off, there's noise coming from it when water/heating is selected, which is why I thought there was a pump in the boiler, and the outside vent is making it usual noise.
The boiler has one simple thermostat and the little inspection window, even with the cover off (which I can gain access to), it looks like an electronic ignition, instead of a manual one (had one before).
Thanks for your points about BG, I'll steer clear.
Regards
Matt
That is probably the fan.
Does the flame ignite?
Christian.
Hi Andy
Tested the micro-switches and they work fine.
Hi Christian - no there's no flame.
This is probably a fan, which is used to provide combustion air and clear the fumes from the boiler.
If this is starting when the valve opens and thermostats indicate heat is needed it means that the switched live is OK.
It could be the ignition in that case, or it could be the gas valve or even an overheat sensor.
I would suggest finding a CORGI to look at it. The spares that could be involved are relatively expensive (a few tens of pounds) and you could end up going down the path of trying something only to find it's something else. Then you would have spent more than a service call.
To go further, you really would need the service manual and at least a multimeter to determine where the problem is. You could go that route, but you do need to have an understanding of the boiler and what is going on in that case.
Andy Hall wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
IME they were happy to take on a system that was faulty. Called them out a few weeks later and they fixed it FOC (new boiler fan, new valves). £120 well spent, especially as later that same year my thermostat died, too...
"MP" wrote in news:42ee37cd$1 snipped-for-privacy@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com:
What make/model of boiler is it?
Many boilers have an electric spark ignition. There is a safety cutout which may need resetting, often by a button behind a hole in the bottom of the boiler.
Alternatively older boilers have pilot lights - a small flame that needs to be running continuously. This may have gone out for some reason (maybe gas has been turned off, perhaps a draught) and will need relighting. Usually there will be instructions on a boiler (behind a door or cover if there is one.) You'll see probably three buttons, one for gas on, one for spark, and another for cut out. Usually this requires you to hold the gas on button, press the spark so that the pilot lights, then hold the gas on for a minute or two.
But tell us what boiler you have.
Rich
If you get fan noise, but no flame, even for a second, suspect the following:
Christian.
Hi Richard -
it's an Orion Fanflare ## Si.
The ## is either 30, 40, 50 or 60. It doesn't state which one.
There is probably a pressure switch which detects that the fan is running and allows the ignition system to operate. This could be duff - or a pipe could have fallen off. I think that's where I'd look first.
Hi,
I have recently moved into a new house. It has gas central heating & hot water. However I am having a problem getting it to come on automatically.
There is no central thermostat - but there are thermostatic valves on every radiator, and a 'frost-stat' by the boiler itself.
It all comes on and works if left permanently on the 'on' setting, so I know the boiler and the radiators and hot water actually work. However, if left to come on and off automatically, on programmed settings, the lights for heating and hot water light up on the timer, but it is not actually coming on, and definitely colder than the thermostat temperatures!
Any ideas?
Michael
Is it an electronic programmer, or a mechanical one - with a clock which physically rotates? If the latter, the contacts which are operated by the clock may not be working - but are by-passed when you switch to permanent. You need to check the HW and CH outputs from the programmer, and see whether they are live when they should be. [Use a mains volt-meter (or multi-meter on 250v AC) - and measure between each output terminal and neutral. Don't try to determine 'liveness' with a screwdriver with a neon lamp in the handle - they often lie!]
Hi,
It's an electronic programmer - I suspect fairly new and snazzy.
The house was extended in the last few years, and all the radiators and pipework look pretty new - I suspect that the system is largely new.
Michael
Well, a programmer - be it electronic or mechanical - is just a switch at the end of the day. So if it comes on when set to permanent - but not when set to timed - it suggests there's something wrong with it.
Unless, of course, it's just that - when on permanent - it's on long enough for something to cool down and set the heating in motion again - maybe via some thermostat you haven't yet discovered.
When you switch to permanent, does the heating come on immediately, or just eventually?
Immediately. The boiler and the pump start, and the house begins to heat up to the temperature set.
If I leave it off overnight, the house gets extremely cold, and yet the heating doesn't come on when the programmer does. However, on permanent the heating keeps coming on/off all the time as needed to keep to the temperature set on each valve.
I scoured the house when it was empty, and couldn't find a thermostat anywhere. Further, I understand that modern systems aren't fitted with a wall thermostat if each radiator was put in with a thermostatic valve.
Michael
M
Then I can only assume that the programmer is duff - and isn't actually switching anything on when in timed mode, even though the lights suggest otherwise. Are the "permanent" switches on the programmer itself, or somewhere different? Are you up to checking it out with a volt meter?
A lot of systems are like this - but they don't comply with the latest regs for new systems (although the regs don't apply retrospectively). But it is good practice to bring older systems up to current standards - for which you need a boiler interlock. This means that when all the rooms are up to temperature, and the domestic hot water is hot, the boiler must shut off completely - and not cycle on and off via its own thermostat, which wastes energy. This is usually achieved by having TRVs on all but one radiator, and having a room stat in the room whose radiator doesn't have a TRV, which shuts everything down.
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