Biasi Combi Boiler Issues?

sweetintuition

I am having trouble with hot water / boiler and was wondering if anyone could shed some light on it.

I have a Biasi Combi Boiler (it's either model M296.28SM/C or M296.24SM/C) it's probably about 7 years old. It has started acting erratically about a year ago in that occasionally and randomly our hot water will stop working and will not go on unless we turn the heat on.

I had it serviced and was told it was the pressure and have since had to open the valve at various occasions to improve the pressure which has worked, but I have noticed that the pressure is at 0 almost constantly now and this was never the case.

I am a tenant and my landlord thinks "it's just a pressure thing" and therefore is not moving to replace the boiler; however switching the heat on as quick fix each time we are without hot water is not only problematic and too hot as we enter the summer months but it is also not economical. Equally, it is just as inconvenient to be releasing the valve to adjust the pressure every single time this happens. And then it takes ages to reheat.

Does anyone out there have any similar experience with these boilers or knowledge of what might be the issue here?

Or perhaps these are all signs that the boiler is on it's way out? I'm also conscious of getting it fixed before it breaks completely and we're entirely without hot water.

Any thoughts / suggestions would be hugely helpful!

southcoastrgi

the gauge should be on 1 bar when the boiler isnt running, if the pressure keeps dropping you either have a leak on the heating system or a faulty prv in the boiler, the LL needs to get someone out to check or he will be fitting a new boiler

PaulBowen

Before your LL frowns and thinks "oh how much will this cost" get them to get some quotes in - and avoid those costly nationwide firms like BG, etc. I tend to use local heating engineers they tend to charge reasonable rates like stl heating who I used to fix a boiler fault last year. Often though local firms will be better at pricing, but if the LL hasn't got all day, you could try that one I used - never had any bother from them and no probs since.

Seronera

The only good place for a Biasi is in a skip....Joking aside, it seems to me that aside from obvious issues with pressure loss which need to be addressed and can be tackled by any half competent boiler repair man who can tell the difference between a combi and an elephant, if you can only get hot water with heating on then there is either a flow switch or a diverter valve issue as well that needs addressing, and maybe even a dodgy PCB...who knows without somebody checking it who knows what they are doing. It will probably be a bit pricey to fix, and I suspect thats the real issue here.

You need to persuade your landlord that he has to fix it. If he won't do anything then go and see the private sector housing team at your local council and they will come in to bat for you to tell him to get it fixed properly. Just repressuring it every time is a joke, and NOT the answer anyway. Your landlord may give you notice if you hassle him, but thats the risk isn't. Meantime you are paying for cold baths.

Also, somebody does the annual gas safety check...presumably. Collar them as well and tell them you want it fixed, unless they employ a box ticking goon who wouldn't know what the inside of a boiler looks like anyway. They are too common these days I'm sad to say.

Good luck with your landlord. Either he hasn't grasped the seriousness or he is trying to get out of his obligations as a landlord......but thats so rare it can't possibly be that can it.