Getting the front panel off Worcester Greenstar 25si boiler?

neilmcl

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

I have just bought a Hive smart thermostat and want to fit it. It seems very simple if only I could get the front panel of the boiler off!

Does it really have to be removed? I'd expect the control terminals to be more accessible. Where is the existing controller/programmer?

Apparently it does for the hive. The programmers/receiver thing is the roun but on the front. That has to be removed and behind it somewhere there will be some terminals to wire up the hive receiver

It's hard to believe that the existing wireless receiver is located inside steel boxing.

If it's not wireless, then some cable havs to go outside to some sort of controller.

You have to remove the casing to get to the electrics on the control panel.

NSG666

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

I have just bought a Hive smart thermostat and want to fit it. It seems very simple if only I could get the front panel of the boiler off!

Does it really have to be removed? I'd expect the control terminals to be more accessible. Where is the existing controller/programmer?

Apparently it does for the hive. The programmers/receiver thing is the roun but on the front. That has to be removed and behind it somewhere there will be some terminals to wire up the hive receiver

It's hard to believe that the existing wireless receiver is located inside steel boxing.

If it's not wireless, then some cable havs to go outside to some sort of controller.

It sounds like the existing one is Worcester Bosch which fits in the integral 'hole' they leave for it and is probably plug and play rather than being wired.

neilmcl

delmonta said:

NSG666 said:

If it's got an external thermostat already can't you just use the wires already there? as neilmcl says it's illegal to remove the cover unless you are gas safe registered. When you sort the screws the whole thing pulls towards you so you need to dismantle the cupboard for your GSR engineer to be able to take the cover off

No the Hive is a bit different and needs to be wired in a different way.

So I boxed in the boiler thinking anyone would only need to get to the underneath and the bottom section with the controls. Have I made a mistake there? Do I need to make the top half accessible too? I don't want to dismantle my cupboard

By the sounds of that it sounds like you've never had the boiler serviced then. No engineer is going to touch that unless they have full access to the boiler and could possibly condemn it as it's currently unserviceable.

neilmcl

NSG666 said:

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

grumbler said:

delmonta said:

I have just bought a Hive smart thermostat and want to fit it. It seems very simple if only I could get the front panel of the boiler off!

Does it really have to be removed? I'd expect the control terminals to be more accessible. Where is the existing controller/programmer?

Apparently it does for the hive. The programmers/receiver thing is the roun but on the front. That has to be removed and behind it somewhere there will be some terminals to wire up the hive receiver

It's hard to believe that the existing wireless receiver is located inside steel boxing.

If it's not wireless, then some cable havs to go outside to some sort of controller.

It sounds like the existing one is Worcester Bosch which fits in the integral 'hole' they leave for it and is probably plug and play rather than being wired.

The receiver is the white square thing with a bit of a dome on the front, in the middle of the control panel.

Another_Level

Its mentioned in the installation manual, page 20.  Page may vary thou.
2 screws top of the case. remove the 2 screws 
2 bottom screws inside them plastic rectangular blocks. The screws are at an angle,  just loosen them there usually captive.

Lift off case, it will be heavy. Dont drop it  
Put the case back on correctly dont over tighten the screws, that damages the mounting points which can be a real expensive pain.

As already well mentioned your not suppose to remove the case but your going to do it anyway, Judge Rinder will be after you   

royalmike

That boiler is unserviceable, and you can not remove the casing as it forms a seal around the boiler get it wrong and its possible to have carbon monoxide entering your home.

delmonta

Another_Level said:

Its mentioned in the installation manual, page 20.  Page may vary thou.
2 screws top of the case. remove the 2 screws 
2 bottom screws inside them plastic rectangular blocks. The screws are at an angle,  just loosen them there usually captive.

Lift off case, it will be heavy. Dont drop it  
Put the case back on correctly dont over tighten the screws, that damages the mounting points which can be a real expensive pain.

As already well mentioned your not suppose to remove the case but your going to do it anyway, Judge Rinder will be after you   

Thanks, very helpful! Ok so I've made a mistake with the way I boxed in the boiler, how annoying. I will have to make the top removable too, and then think of something for the batten in the middle which will get in the way too

So I keep reading that you should not remove the casing unless you are Gas registered, but then Hive say you can install it yourself. It's a bit odd. If its just 4 screws and lining up the casing again, what is the issue? Could they be repurcussions down the line, with insurance etc

royalmike

The case has seals they need to be checked before the boiler is reused after case removal, if you wish to put your family at risk just carry on.

NSG666

On that boiler the casing seals the air intake so the air is pulled in from outside. When you remove the casing the air is pulled from the room - you are therefore interfering with the combustion process.

I believe there are some boilers whose casing is not part of the air intake and therefore can legally be removed by anyone but I don't know which newer ones are like that but my old 1970 cast iron floor stander was.

grumbler

I am no expert, but I don't see how some small amount of air from inside can "interfere with the combustion process."

I think this is just to prevent unintentional sucking cold air from outside into the house (or even hot air into a house with air-conditioning).

My point is that this seal doesn't have to be absolutely perfect.