Combi boiler problem - help !

chunkey_monkee

Hi everyone,

I think this is the right place to post this mesage.

I have a Biasi combi boiler 28s. Yesterday the boiler packed in.
No DHW and no CH. Every time I try to use it the fan makes a 'buzzing' noise, moves a tiny fraction of an inch and then the red lock out light comes on.
I have cleaned the venturi and took apart the fan and cleaned it. I took apart the fan motor, squirted some wd40 into the bearings. It still wont work. The armature in the motor was a rusty brown colour as was the rest of the motor inside - is this normal ?

Can someone help me, thanks.

Pete.

david29dpo

Could be anything but it does sound like the motor.

richardc1983

Could be many things, capacitor, fan motor burnt out etc.

YOu shouldnt really be touching that boiler at all unless your corgi registered. It is illegal to do anything with it.

You need to call in a proffesional.

kaya

when i was training it was only illegal to work on a boiler if you were doing so for reward or gain, working on your own boiler was never illegal, though i will agree that if you dont know about gas work you should leave well alone, anyway, sounds like your fan is knackered, now you have got his far replacing it would be a good option and from your description will sort out the problem

richardc1983

Having just read The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, it is quite tightly defined.
linky thing
Qualification and supervision
3. - (1) No person shall carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or gas storage vessel unless he is competent to do so.

(2) The employer of any person carrying out such work for that employer, every other employer and self-employed person who has control to any extent of such work and every employer and self-employed person who has required such work to be carried out at any place of work under his control shall ensure that paragraph (1) above is complied with in relation to such work.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1) and (2) above and subject to paragraph (4) below, no employer shall allow any of his employees to carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out any such work, unless the employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of this paragraph.

And 'gas fitting' is defined as:
"gas fittings" means gas pipework, valves (other than emergency controls), regulators and meters, and fittings, apparatus and appliances designed for use by consumers of gas for heating, lighting, cooking or other purposes for which gas can be used (other than the purpose of an industrial process carried out on industrial premises),

So I think you could agrue that it is ok to connect a power supply or water pipe to a boiler, but not much else if it is part of the appliance.

Pssst

Dohhhhh.not the old CORGI/qualified debate again....

Paul_Varjak

I am getting a new boiler for free under the Government-backed WarmFront scheme. They will also install a new thermostat and timer. Then they will come and insulate my loft too! The whole central heating system will be power-flushed as well.

The boiler they will install is a Worcester Greenstar Junior 24i (made by Bosch). Worcester is just about the best make of bolier (at least that is what boiler installers tell me).

It is a wonderful scheme if you have a disability benefit or you are on certain income-related benefits.

Sweetie__Pie_3

Glow Worm Swift Flow boiler.

Problem: When hot water is switched on heating cuts off and doesn’t come back on again until it’s cooled down.

We can have either a) heating, of b) Hot water but not both.

The heating will only stay on for up to 10 mins to an hour then switches off.

Sometimes a good thump will restart it – which made me think it was the ‘flow valve’ (I’m not technical – but we had this same problem a few years a go and engineer said a thump would unstick it).

Engineers came and as boiler was about 10 years old he diagnosed ‘scale’ without even looking at it and 10 foot away from boiler before he had even reached it!

I explained about the flow valve theory, but he wasn’t interested. He didn’t really do any proper inspections – but he did tell me boiler breakdown was my fault and was due to it not being serviced regularly (It IS serviced every year). I explained but again he just wasn’t listening.

Then he got out the pipes they use to re pressurise the system and attached this to a meter. He then released the air from the system holding the pipe closed with his fingers then opening it periodically. He did this for half an hour.

He then asked for a ladder and looked at the flue then decided the problem was an ‘air deficiency’ caused by loads of leaves in the flue being sucked into the system. I inspected next day in daylight and saw NO evidence of leaves and where would they coe from? There are no trees nearby.

Then he put the cover back on and left us telling us he couldn’t fix it. When he went we had NO hot water or heating AT ALL. Called Homeserve again to send another engineer. Who was from same contactor, who said usual ‘whooa is me… this is too old to fix’ blah blah blurb.

He did same thing mucked about with pressure pipes and when he left he had rectified the problem the first engineer caused. It worked again – until it got hot, and then switched itself off and hour after he left.:mad:

I can now hear strange electrical ‘fizzing’ noises when it’s first switched on. Could it be the PCB?

Homeserve are driving me crazy and engineers seem reluctant to accept problem is anything other than a problem caused by a‘perceived lack of service’. I have to wait over a week for engineers to call back to see it again and am now at end of my tether. :mad:

becs1902

Hi

If anyone can help me it would be much appreciated!

My Combi Boiler pressure dropped last week and we had to put the pressure back up so that the hot water and heating kicked in. Apparently the pressure reading should be between 1 and 2.

Since then the boiler pressure seems to go up on it's own when no hot water or heating is on and is going up to 3.

There are no leaks anywhere but water is dripping from the overflow pipe outside (quite a bit). I have tried releasing the pressure using the valve on the boiler which chucks all the water out. The pressure then goes back to normal for a couple of hours and the dripping stops but then goes up again and i start the whole process over again!!

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix?!

Thanks :-)

mjmal51

becs1902 wrote: »

Hi

If anyone can help me it would be much appreciated!

My Combi Boiler pressure dropped last week and we had to put the pressure back up so that the hot water and heating kicked in. Apparently the pressure reading should be between 1 and 2.

Since then the boiler pressure seems to go up on it's own when no hot water or heating is on and is going up to 3.

There are no leaks anywhere but water is dripping from the overflow pipe outside (quite a bit). I have tried releasing the pressure using the valve on the boiler which chucks all the water out. The pressure then goes back to normal for a couple of hours and the dripping stops but then goes up again and i start the whole process over again!!

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix?!

Thanks :-)

Replied to you on your thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1348625

chunkey_monkee

Hi,
In the end I took the front off my boiler. Took apart the fan and motor again, this time I noticed a washer on the armature spindle of the motor was not in its correct place. This washer stops the motor housing from rubbing against the motor armature spindle. Once correctly put together again the boiler works like new.

Just for your info guys I am not corgi or any other type of technician but I have replaced my diverter valve, micro switches, cleaned the heat exchanger and I have had no probs.
I wont, however, touch anything to do with the gas supply. (that could be dangerous)

Pete.