Gas Boiler Problem

brum_rich

My gas bolier isn't capable of having the central heating and hot water running at the same time. When both programmes do run the house will be heated but no hot water therefore I have to synchronise the to run at different times. Both work fine independently but not together. I managed with this last winter but would like to sort it this year if possible.

The house is about 7-8 years old so assume the boiler is of similar age. Boiler make is an Ideal Classic FF260. The house had a loft conversion before I bought it which meant water tanks had to be moved etc.

As I see it I have a number of options:

1. Change boiler
2. Call out an engineer to repair/service existing boiler
3. Join a service such as British Gas and get bolier cover through them

Any thoughts/advice/other options would be appreciated.

Pssst

Has it ever worked properly? If so then it can work again! It sounds like a diverter/zone valve failure/wiring issue to me. 3 isnt an option. They expect it to work when they sign it up i think.

fluffymuffy

We had this problem about twenty years ago and I fixed it myself. The three way valve box had a little lever which moved about on its own down a little slot when we changed the heating between the radiators and the cylinder. The little lever never reached the end of its slot but if florced there it would open up both valves at once - so I jammed it there with a bit of metal.

About ten years later I did the same trick on someone else's three way valve and when they finally had it properly repaired my DIY received a positive feedback.

Of course your problem might be something else again - but if you do have a little box with one pipe going in on one side and two coming out, and a small lever in a slot, it might be the same thing.

Disclaimer. - I have no qualifications, experience or comptence in plumbing or heating and I can't recomend you to do what I did & I take no responsibilty for any damage you do by copying me.

jcorbygas

These are normally excellent boilers - my husbands boiler of choice before condensing boilers came in. As previous poster says, sounds more like the divertor valve than a problem with the boiler. Get a recommended Corgi engineer to come and service the boiler and check what the problem is with the system. We would charge 50 + vat for the service, and around 120+vat for supply and fit valve, so you have an idea of the correct pricing.

brum_rich

Thanks guys - seems like a service is a good place to start.

EliteHeat

You almost certainly have a diverter valve installed and not a mid-position valve, which is what you need.

As jcorbygas said, these are probably the best boiler that Ideal made. Don't think about replacing it - it will last for years.