Combi Boiler probs
 

Really peeing me off atm, the boiler is very hit & miss as far as hot or even warm water is concerned [technically supposed to have constant hot water!!] my case no when boiler suits is the reality, yet again washing up in cold water after 10mins of running hot water erm cold.

The boiler is new & have had hyndburn homes up recently because of this problem - but hey ho in true typical style it decided to work for the plumber & also just passed a landlord gas appliance check & passed, yet 3 out of 6 times it'll be cold upon usage. Yes there is gas in & leccy switch on, its within its green bar & no red lights, even having reset it it is still playing up intermittantly - usually at wash up times:mad:

Anyone else had these probs & any ideas???

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Yes we had exactly this problem and it turned out to be a faulty thermostat
get a plumber or Hyndburn homes to sort it

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

mmm now thats explainable Mick cheers:D, only problem is to get it checked is that the water runs cold when plumber comes up or as last time tell me theres nowt wrong with it because it was working fine that moment darn boiler:rolleyes:

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Make sure its not working when he comes Stanley:D

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

My combi boiler failed once, due to a 'drop in water pressure'.
If the install took place less than a year ago you can get the subcontracted installer back to it
Crudens site manager 'Eddy' responded fast when mine failed
Have PM'd you his mobile #

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

which boiler do you have stanleymad? Intermittent faults are the worst to diagnose, as you said, it is likely to work sometimes, 3 likely causes, potetiometer, thermistors or blocked plate heat exchanger.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Its an Alpha CD32C combi boiler, yeh its hard work because its intermittant & when boilerman comes it suddenly works it gets dismissed...cheers Derek, glad i asked now:D

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Try this stanleymad, if the heating is on, try the hot water, note if it is hot and if it stays hot or goes cold! Then, turn heating off, run hot water and check if you get any heat at all, if the heating is off, try the above in reverse.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

well mine is just plain knackered :D I have to have the heating on to get any hot water at all :p But maybe in contact soon derek for a quote for a new one :)

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Cold when only water is switched on but not all the time it has come hot like i say its 50-50 chance of either or, heating on the water did warm up but not hot as it should tho generally if left on for a while it does hotten up. The problem is mainly when the heating isnt on :confused:

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Look forward to it HR. :)

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

The flow switch and/or diverter valve are faulty, when hh check it again, make sure the heating is off, the fault will be more evident, they should have something called a flow cup, this will test the water flow rate, some test the temperature too (mine does), If you check the manual, it will tell you what the expected flow rate and temperature rise should be, usually 10 litres per minute with a 35 degree rise from the cold water temperature. Ask them to prove to you that the flow and temp rates are consistent with the installation manual, if they cant, there is an obvious problem, If the engineer is Jill, dont say I told you, hehe. :D

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Turning on the hot tap lifts a switch. When mine was hit and miss I put a bottle top on the switch and that sorted it. However they are complicated pieces of equipment with dozens of things to go wrong. I preferred my old gas fired back boiler to be honest.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

That is because hardly any other boiler is as reliable as the back boilers, very simple operation with few components, the downside is that they are also one of the least efficient.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Ive got a back boiler and i hate it! my fire looks like it was used to warm the dinos! want a new fire but theres very little choice and they are not very nice and are rather expensive. :(

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

On the front of the boiler next to the timer for setting the central heating is a small dial marked in bars, 1 2 3 then goes into red, on some boilers if the neddle is below 1 bar the boiler refuses to ignite, if below 1 bar you need to refill to at least 1 1/2 bar, then see what happens the instruction manual should show you where the refill tap is.

Retlaw

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

i had a new combi-boiler fitted some 3 years ago with h/h its an halstead (rubbish pure rubbish) they don't fit them anymore.....i ring the repairs dept at least every 6 weeks to complain that i get cold water when the heating isnt on ......its been "oh its the pressure i'll adjust it " quite a few times anyway the last time i rang about 5 weeks ago they sent a "clever s*d " round he did nothing only drew me a circuit of water pipes & stated that cos of the length of pipe it will take longer..............now ive kept my peace but am now coming up to a storm again h/homes watch out im onto nearly 10mins before i get hot water,grrrrrrrr.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

If it takes 10 minutes to get hot water, there is no way that is down to the length of the pipe run! Even if you lived in a huge mansion, with the boiler at one end and the sink at the other, it would not take 10 minutes to get hot water, it is a boiler fault mez, you are right about the boiler being rubbish, whoever designed the system with such a long pipe run is as much at fault.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

it was never a problem with my old boiler that hey replaced.........& its still the same pipework.


think im pe*ing them off a bit......:rolleyes:

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Stanley mad has said that the heating works and the hot water is intermittent, so it does ignite and is nothing to do with the pressure, also, I am reasonably confident that even the council engineers would have the nounce to check the pressure! :D

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

They may cost more money in gas but will not cost as much in maintenance over say a 20 or 30 year life span. Come to think think of it I bet no modern condensing combi will last 30 years.

If you are talking efficiency in money terms (which for me is the important bit) you need to work out the cost on install, maintenace, repairs and the gas.

I will keep my back boiler for now thanks with its 5 main components.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

I would rather have a back boiler as well but to late they installed a new system

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

UPDATE:

Well just had HH up & thankfully the boiler was being its usual pain in the butt, unlike before with the same plumber, so least it got treated a bit more seriously this time & bit more investigation, nice evil boiler stayed evil hahaha. He thinks that the hot water switch is overheating & cutting out to the cold water [????? if that makes sence Derek lol] so as Margaret rightfully says it is still in warrenty even just over 12mths so HH cant take off the inner panel as breaks warrenty, so i have to wait till tommorow for an Alpha engineer to come up to sort it but in the mean time have to put up with 1 min it works & another it dont as plumber found out too.

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Well Stanleymad have they been able to get your boiler sorted today?

Nothing worse than not having hot water when you need it :p

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Not yet, nowt worse than waiting in for people lol, it worked a bit this morning & having just checked again to attempt to wash up its not fired up, so hoping its not sods law & will still be unfiring till engineer gets here, whats betting it'll play nice when he's here:rolleyes:

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Boiler man here & by turning on tap & looking knows whats up with it - so thats good, hopefully will have hot water on tap soon :D Cheers for all of your help & concern its been fantastic thanks :D

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Glad you are getting sorted, would hate to be without hot water. Mine was of for a short time the other week and thanks to Derekgas it wasn't for long:)

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

If the boiler is warm then the pressure reading will be higher than normal, if when cold its hovering on the cut off point then it needs filling. My daugter had a similar problem with hers and since its been kept at 1 1/2 bars its been OK, what council engineers, surely you mean cowboys.

Retlaw

Re: Combi Boiler probs
 

Did he fix it while he was there or will it take him 20 more visits to bring the correct parts and tools? :rolleyes::D

I was expecting him to blame you for living up that big hill, something like "sorry luv its the gas, it can't get this high up in the pipes you will need a new gas main putting in from Blackburn Road." :D