Do I need a Heating Engineer ?

Leodogger

We have a problem with our mixer shower and have had a plumber in 4 times to sort it. He has replaced two parts in the Combi boiler which is a Vailliant Ecomax and sited next door to the bathroom in a bungalow. He said the temperature variations, going hot and cold no matter where we set the shower thermostatic control, might be caused by a worn thermal plate and something else he thought might be causing the problem, I think it was the heat exchange plate and it still didn't sort the problem so we called him back, by now we had spent £400. Now this 3rd time he said he has adjusted the hot water flow and he thought that would control the problem, he ran the shower head for a minute and he said it was OK but the moment I stepped in the shower that night, again it was plummeting from cold to really hot in a matter of seconds.

I have come to the conclusion perhaps we need a heating engineer, especially as I read that the problem could be caused by the boiler not modulating properly. Living in a bungalow doesn't help.

Does anyone know where I get a heating engineer from and does it need to be a specialist boiler engineer for a Vailiant combi boiler ?

I am fast coming to the conclusion it may be easier to just get an electric shower fitted, at least they seem to maintain a steady temperature !

phill99

But the guy you called out IS a Heating Engineer. He is also a plumber.

SuzieSue

If you look on the Vaillant website you can find a list of installers, but you still have to check them out yourself.

Leodogger

I thought just being a plumber didn't make you an expert on heating systems, especially when used in connection with mixer showers or an I being naive but I would have thought that 4 visits would have seen the system working properly by now. Having spent £400 already I would have thought also that the problem would have been sorted if he had known his stuff.

phill99

JWhite wrote: »

I thought just being a plumber didn't make you an expert on heating systems, especially when used in connection with mixer showers or an I being naive but I would have thought that 4 visits would have seen the system working properly by now. Having spent £400 already I would have thought also that the problem would have been sorted if he had known his stuff.

But boiler fault diagnosis is never black and white. A number of faults can give the same output.

Dan-Dan

phill99 wrote: »

But the guy you called out IS a Heating Engineer. He is also a plumber.

I think there are probably better out there though , by the sounds of it, surely , he should be checking the issue is solved before leaving site? (referring to the 3rd visit in particular)

Leodogger

Dan-Dan wrote: »

I think there are probably better out there though , by the sounds of it, surely , he should be checking the issue is solved before leaving site? (referring to the 3rd visit in particular)

That's what I thought, he ran the shower for about 20 seconds and said is that OK, well yes it was for 20 seconds but usually when you are running it for a shower after about 30 seconds or so it tends to start jumping up and down from hot to cold. I thought he would have given it longer but he seemed to be thinking that the hot water pressure would cure the problem and told us so and promptly left. (He had another job he had to go back to so was in a hurry!

Leodogger

SuzieSue wrote: »

If you look on the Vaillant website you can find a list of installers, but you still have to check them out yourself.

I have sent an enquiry to Vaillant to see what they can suggest, thanks.

Ruski

JWhite wrote: »

We have a problem with our mixer shower

If your hot taps elsewhere in the house run without fluctuating in temperature then it probably not a fault with your boiler.

If your mixer is thermostatically controlled I would change the cartridge. If you only have the shower on 'slow' it may be the flow sensor on the boiler not registering enough flow to trigger the boiler thus cycling the boiler on and off.

Plenty of other thing to investigate - changing parts on the boiler willy nilly is obviously getting you nowhere and costing you money

HTH

Russ

Leodogger

Ruski wrote: »

If your hot taps elsewhere in the house run without fluctuating in temperature then it probably not a fault with your boiler.

If your mixer is thermostatically controlled I would change the cartridge. If you only have the shower on 'slow' it may be the flow sensor on the boiler not registering enough flow to trigger the boiler thus cycling the boiler on and off.

Plenty of other thing to investigate - changing parts on the boiler willy nilly is obviously getting you nowhere and costing you money

HTH

Russ

At the taps, it starts off cold, then gets very hot then goes cooler and fluctuates only slightly, not like the shower which virtually goes to cold and then red hot.

The shower temp drops in and out on all settings, low or fast, hot or warm, I've tried them all.

Where is the cartridge located, I didn't know showers had them ?

Ruski

Run the shower and listen to what the boiler is doing. If it is firing up and then shutting down, firing up etc etc then it's defo the shower valve.

Do the same with the taps elsewhere in the house - and report the findings - hopefully it won't be doing the same as when the shower is running.

A picture of your shower would help to identify if it is a thermo valve - or if you have any details of make/model etc.

Russ