No heating or hot water

LindsayT

Thursday morning the heating was fine. Put it on again Thursday evening, it only got lukewarm. Friday morning, no heating or hot water. Phoned my usual guy who was brilliant, he said he still does plumbing but can't touch boilers, as being semi-retired he didn't renew his Gas Safe. He put me onto someone else who came and said the condense has probably frozen. 
He didn't have the part needed but got the boiler up and running, although the heating only got lukewarm again.
He said it could also do with a service. I agreed to that and he is coming Thursday.
Now, no heat or hot water again.
I could have understood if the condense had maybe frozen overnight but there was already a problem Thursday evening.
Can any of you knowledgeable people shed any light please?
Just to let you know, my boiler is in the loft and I can't climb up there. Not my idea to have it in the loft, it was the people who lived here before me.

GDB2222

 Where does the condensate drain run?

 It has a steady but small stream of water flowing down it and it’s liable to freeze in the loft or where it goes outside. It needs to be thawed, and then leave the boiler on to stop it re freezing with a bit of luck. 

Fortunately warmer weather is coming but you should think about rerouting the drain.

twopenny

There is a chance that it's frozen again depending on where you live.
It happened a lot during the beast from the east. Huge number here down south as people were unprepared.

Do you know the make? 
Do you have any booklets for it?
Do the rads have trv,s and do you have a thermostat in the house?

LindsayT

@GDB2222 I have no idea where the drain runs.
@twopenny I have the book for it. It says Main Combi 30 HE Wall mounted powered flue condensing Combination Boiler. There are trv's on most rads and I have a thermostat.

GDB2222

LindsayT said:

@GDB2222 I have no idea where the drain runs.
@twopenny I have the book for it. It says Main Combi 30 HE Wall mounted powered flue condensing Combination Boiler. There are trv's on most rads and I have a thermostat.

You probably need to find someone who can get up into the loft and defrost it for you somehow. 

Albermarle

GDB2222 said:

LindsayT said:

@GDB2222 I have no idea where the drain runs.
@twopenny I have the book for it. It says Main Combi 30 HE Wall mounted powered flue condensing Combination Boiler. There are trv's on most rads and I have a thermostat.

You probably need to find someone who can get up into the loft and defrost it for you somehow. 

Should be 12 degrees by tomorrow, so it will hopefully defrost itself.
Although that is assuming that is what the problem actually is.

ThisIsWeird

If the condensate freezes, it obviously cannot flow, and this will prevent the boiler from working. The solution is to defrost the pipe, and ideally insulate it to a level that this won't occur again. Or add trace heating to the pipe, controlled by a frost stat.
The plumber who came out seemingly reckoned the condensate was 'probably' frozen. He didn't know? And he didn't have the 'part needed' with him - what 'part' is this? 
But he still got the boiler running, but only partially - 'lukewarm'. 
None of this makes sense! The cond was either frozen or it wasn't. If it was, then no 'part' was needed, just a means of defrosting. And, if it was frozen and he defrosted it, the boiler would 'work' again - hotly.
We cannot possibly help you with this, Lindsay, as you cannot even get close to your boiler, and even the things that have already been speculated on don't add up.
You just need the guy out again.

LindsayT

@GDB2222 Unfortunately, there isn't anyone who can get in the loft for me.
@Albermarle Yes, I've heard it should be getting milder.

From what everyone has said, it sounds like it might just defrost itself, so my concern is, what part would he need to get?

GDB2222

LindsayT said:

@GDB2222 Unfortunately, there isn't anyone who can get in the loft for me.
@Albermarle Yes, I've heard it should be getting milder.

From what everyone has said, it sounds like it might just defrost itself, so my concern is, what part would he need to get?

As the weird one said, if the condensate drain is blocked, there isn't a part needed. So, this doesn't add up. 

Also, if it's just the condensate drain, that's not gas, and your normal plumber can defrost it. I'm a bit worried that there might be other pipes that have frozen, and you'll find out about those when there's a thaw!  Do you know how to turn off your mains tap?

LindsayT

Thanks for the replies guys. On Thursday, he will be charging £140 for the 'part' and a service. Doesn't sound very good then unless it wasn't that at all and a different part is needed.

I know where the mains tap is but it's very awkward to get to. I couldn't get to it myself.

ThisIsWeird

LindsayT said:

Thanks for the replies guys. On Thursday, he will be charging £140 for the 'part' and a service. Doesn't sound very good then unless it wasn't that at all and a different part is needed.

I know where the mains tap is but it's very awkward to get to. I couldn't get to it myself.

There may well be a part required - we just don't know. But we hopefully will know when it's done and you ask him! 
All we're saying is, the info given doesn't add up at the moment. Most likely, there is just some info missing, that's all.
The good news is that this new guy has been recommended by your usual trusted fellow, so almost certainly you remain in good hands
Let us know how it pans out.