What is this boiler noise? Is it dangerous?

Jeepers_Creepers · 24 October 2020 at 11:41AM

If you boiler was the source of the sound/vibrations, it wouldn't surprise me too much if the pipes carried this to a different location - assuming these pipes do go in to the loft?

No responses from the other forums? That's disappointing as they should have plenty of GasSafes on them. And now't from WB either - tsk.

You've done the right thing getting someone in.

Meanwhile, I doubt it's actually 'fixed' itself, but things like bearings (if that's what it is) do tend to have good and bad days; sometimes they can spin smoothly, and other times they go off-centre and resonate in the tiny wear gap.

It's your call, but I would personally continue to use it with the almost certain knowledge that it ain't actually going to blow up or even cause any further damage to itself :-) If the fan goes as far as packing in or not spinning at the required speed, the boiler is clever enough to know this and just not function (and you might even get a useful fault code :-) ).

There are, of course, some faults where you'd stop using the boiler right away - 'kettling', anything to do with the flue or excessive heat, pressure soaring to 3bar, that kind of stuff.

Your call, tho' :-)

southcoastrgi · 24 October 2020 at 4:07PM

sounds like the bearing plate to me

Jeepers_Creepers · 24 October 2020 at 7:41PM

I don't know which exact model you have, but a quick search suggests that fans are a round £130 a pop, but is a quick and easy replacement. I'd be looking at ~£200 for the whole job. IF it's the fan.

That's getting close to 'fixed-price' repair territory (with the advantage that they might replace some other parts too), but as you say you'd need to know they would honour the job for an oldish boiler first.

Anyhoo, keep us posted, please.

scarletjim · 28 October 2020 at 7:34PM

Ok, I don’t have a great deal to update, but promised I would so here goes:

Gas-Safe performed a basic service. He said that he could take the boiler apart and check each individual bit, but he made it very clear that the boiler is very old, some bits have clearly leaked before, some bits look very worn, and so if he took those bits out, there is a strong possibility that they would break when put back, meaning that my ‘service’ could end up as a £500+ bill, or leave me with a boiler that wasn’t working. On that basis I asked him to just do the basic service, check what he could, obviously check all readings etc, but no more. Strangely, the vibration hasn’t happened for 5 days now, and 36 hours since he did the service, so perhaps whatever it was has somehow gone away!

Given the age of the boiler, my plan now is to add cover to my house insurance if I can, but whether I can or not, see if the boiler makes it through the winter, and next autumn (or before if necessary), invest in a new boiler. At least that way we’ll have peace of mind (and who knows, that might even lower our fuel bills). So I’ll start researching new boilers at the weekend.

Thanks to all who have made the effort to help and advise – much appreciated. 😊

Jeepers_Creepers · 28 October 2020 at 8:08PM

Thanks for the update.

Certainly if the noise wasn't declaring itself, it would be foolish for him to start trying to find a likely candidate just by taking it apart and checking each bit! Either it makes the noise so it can be ID'ed - and then he gives you a quote for this - or else you leave it alone until it gets worse. It's fair enough that the guy was reluctant to start delving in, then.

Your previous GasSafe reckoned your boiler was essentially ok, tho', and whilst 13 years is 'getting on a bit' for a modern combi, it's not exactly geriatric. So, if the noise comes back 'properly', then it may be worth calling someone out again and they should, ideally, be able to point quickly to the problem and give a quote. If it was the fan, for example, this should be easy to replace and not affect many other parts in the process.

At the same time, it makes sense to budget for a replacement in the not too distant future, whilst keeping fingers crossed it carries on working fine :-).

gordshelia · 15 November 2022 at 8:17AM

If the pressure of the water coming from the mains is too high, humming boiler noises may result. This may cause the boiler's valves or the pipes surrounding a home to hum. A pump that circulates heated water through the piping too quickly or the moving bearings in the boiler fan can also produce a humming sound.