Hot Water/Combi Boiler Problem! (Merged)

supermum4

well i've now had 4 gas men out to look at my boiler and all say they can't find anything wrong with it (keeps shutting down with red light on so somethings wrong) last fellow just been and said it could be heater exchange but he doesn't know so i would be best buying new one he gave me a price of £1900 then he looked outside and said my pipes coming from gas box are only 19mm and they should be 23mm so they need to be changed therefore a bigger job than he thought so will cost extra £750 as floorboards need to come up and stair walls need to be broken into can anyone tell me if he is right about the pipes or just trying it on ;0 thanks in advance guys;) boiler is 12yrs old

Le_Kirk

Supermum4, is this the same boiler and problem as all the other posts are talking about or a new problem?

supermum4

yes same problem just i can't find the other thread ;(

Le_Kirk

The threads have been merged. The red light? What does it say? These are normally a "lock-out" situation and you would have to do a reset. Or, it could be the demand light. Is it a combi boiler? Does the problem happen at any time or when asking for DHW or CH?

supermum4

the boiler shuts down after 20min usually but can stay on for upto an 1hr when i go check it the light is red and i have to reset it, this happens when just the heating is on but also goes straight to shut down when running hot water when heating is on it is a vokera 28 combi boiler and this problem can happen any time. i must be resetting it 20 times a day the i just leave it off. gas man say's not to worry about resetting it all the time but i do worry as boilers in the boys bedroom so i never have it on through the night and i bought a extra carbon monoxide detector just incase thanks

Le_Kirk

Referring to the manual there are three ways that a fault can occur, assuming it is a steady RED light and not blinking.


1.Low water pressure BUT as you say the fault still occurs when running hot water, this is unlikely as the hot water has a separate feed. Still worth checking the water pressure on CH, what does the gauge show, should be about 1.0 bar. There is also a flow switch for hot water.
2. Safety shutdown or internal fault. This is normally a flame failure, i.e. when trying to ignite it fails or flame goes out when lit.
3. Fault sensors on CH. Not clear from manual what they are but could be high limit thermostat.
You need to get hold of a competent boiler engineer. There is most definitely a fault, they cannot keep turning up and saying there isn't one or failing to diagnose it. Try phoning Vokera on 0844 391 0999 and asking for a recommendation from them.

Ian011

Le_Kirk wrote: »

You need to get hold of a competent boiler engineer. There is most definitely a fault, they cannot keep turning up and saying there isn't one or failing to diagnose it. Try phoning Vokera on 0844 391 0999 and asking for a recommendation from them.

Be aware that the 0844 number is premium rate. You'll pay an Access Charge of up to 12p per minute from landlines or up to 45p per minute from mobiles plus the Service Charge demanded by the organisation you're calling (unspecified here - up to 7p per minute in the case of 084 numbers).

supermum4

i phoned vokera and all they said is they could send an engineer out to look at boiler at a cost of £276 to see if it can be fixed but i may need a new one. i think i may just bite the bullet and call them back to book an appointment and hope it can be fixed i hope they have their own engineers and don't just contact a local engineer cos i've already had all of them come look at it they did say that price included a one off repair of upto £350 so fingers crossed

Le_Kirk

Ian011 wrote: »

Be aware that the 0844 number is premium rate. You'll pay an Access Charge of up to 12p per minute from landlines or up to 45p per minute from mobiles plus the Service Charge demanded by the organisation you're calling (unspecified here - up to 7p per minute in the case of 084 numbers).

Good point Ian. I wonder if a "cheap" number can be found through "Say no to 0870" I don't know if it covers 0844 numbers. I only took the number from the Vokera manual and can find no other number for them asking Uncle Google.

Ian011

The front page of http://www.sayNOto0870.com/ describes exactly what they do.

Search on a premium rate 084 or 087 number to find an inclusive or geographic-rate 01, 02 or 03 number or a free 080 number.

It also works for a few 0500, 055 and 056 numbers.