Glowworm Ultimate Whining Noise

I was called out at the weekend because a customer was concerned at the noise their boiler was making. Unusually I could even hear it over the phone whilst the customer was talking to me. It was quite a high pitched noise and almost sounded like there was a washing machine on fast spin. As soon as I heard it when I was in front of the boiler I could immediately tell that it was the fan that was making the noise.

Due to the was these boilers work the fans are subjected to quite high temperatures over their lifetime and it is no surprise that they fail. The bearings in the motor often dry out and begin to emit a whining noise. If left too long the friction in the motor can cause the fan to seize and burn out. Fortunately the customer was wise to the fact that something wasn't quite right and called me before they were left with no heating or hot water.

I replaced the fan, each if which is different for each model. The fans come on a plate which has varying sized holes in the bottom depending upon the boiler size. Also the bigger boilers have bigger windings on the fan to increase the rotation speed and exhaust of gases. The boiler is now running much better and the customer was surprised how much quieter the new fan is.

Disclaimer: The works described in this blog are a record of work undertaken and should not be taken as guaranteed to solve your problem. Work should only be carried out by persons qualified and competent to do so.