Ideal Classic Sealed System Tripping Electrics

I was called by a customer because his electrics kept tripping off, and he had isolated the problem to be with his central heating system. He suggested that the consumer unit tripped off whenever the heating came on. I decided to test the system to narrow the fault down.

Firstly I switched the boiler off on it's power switch before turning the fused spur back on. The electrics stayed on and so I switched the hot water on. The system has two zone valves and so after a few seconds the valve opened and powered the pump. As soon as the pump started I could hear that it was making an unusual noise but still sounded as if it was working, then after five seconds the power tripped out. I reset everything and decided to try the central heating, and everything tripped out in exactly the same way about five seconds after the zone valve opened.

I removed the casing around the sealed system unit and then altered the position of the pressure vessel to enable access the electric of the pump. After removing the electrics cover form the pump I could see that there was quite a lot condensation within the pump electrics and this was without doubt the cause of the problem. I replace the pump and set the system going again, and all was working correctly.

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.

Baxi Combi 80e No Heating or Hot Water

A retired gentleman called me to look at his Baxi Combi 80e because he had neither heating or hot water. Unfortunately, being elderly he is unable to get into the loft to check on the boiler. Contrary to Building Regulations the loft does not have fixed access, although it is lit and boarded. Regardless  of this, the poor old boy would not be able to ascend or descend a ladder and calls me regularly.

As soon as I looked at the boiler I could see that the water pressure in the system was very low and the 'pump' warning light was flashing to indicate that there was no circulation. This is the 60 degree light. I refilled the system to 1.5 bar using the filling loop, set the heating on and tested the hot water. The hot water was working again fine, but when I returned to the loft I could see that the water pressure in the system had increased significantly, and so turned the heating back off.

I fetched my hose and pump out of the van. I connected the hose to the system and let the pressure out leaving the drain-off cock open. I then connected my pump to the Schrader valve on the pressure vessel and the gauge on my pump was showing zero pressure. I preceded to pump up the pressure in the pressure vessel until the pressure was steady at 0.8 bar. I then turned off the drain-off cock and refilled the system to 1.5 bar. This time when I ran the system, the radiators got hot and there was a normal increase in system pressure.

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.

Potterton Suprima Flashing Red Lockout Light

A customer asked me to look at his Potterton Suprima because on a number of occasions over the last  fortnight he had been running out of hot water and going to the boiler to find that the red light was flashing. He would reset the boiler and it would continue working for a couple of days before it required resetting again.

The boiler had the earlier 407750 style PCB which are renowned for their tendency to lockout for no good reason. I suspected that the circuit board would probably be at fault but as always looked over the boiler to see if their was any other obvious faults which would cause the boiler to lockout. My first port of call was to look at the ignition of the boiler and it's associated parts. The ignition leads can often break down through age and repeated servicing, but the lead looked to be in good condition and not the original lead.

I then looked at the ignition electrode to see if it was fouled or distorted. The gap from the electrode to the burner is usually the same as the thickness of a pound coin but looked less. I touched the electrode with my finger to find that it seemed loose and would rotate within the ceramic. I replaced the electrode, 8407754, and the boiler has been working fault free for the last couple of weeks.

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.

Worcester Bosch Greenstar 24Ri Blue Flashing Light

A customer called me worried because the blue light was flashing on his Worcester Greenstar 24Ri and he was worried that it had developed a fault. When I arrived, he switched the controls on and the boiler's blue light began to flash straight away. Apparently, he had noticed the blue light flashing a few days ago but the heating and hot water seemed to be working as they should be. I thought that the the boiler would stop working if the blue light was flashing so thought this strange.

Fortunately, the gentleman had the manual to hand for me to consult. I looked at the fault finding pages where it gives a description of the different statuses and faults that may have occurred indicated by the blue light. The installation and servicing instructions can be downloaded from Worcster-Bosch which contain the fault finding on page 51.

As soon as I looked in the book I realised that the light was actually pulsing rather than flashing which is the indication that the boiler is in it's service mode for measuring the flue gases at the boiler's maximum rate. I removed the cover which allows access to the service mode switch, and expected to find the tool for the service mode selector switch still inserted. The tool was parked in it's clip where it should have been, and the switch when turned to the normal position was only a fraction away from the normal position.

A junior colleague had been to service the boiler just over a week prior, and had obviously failed to turn the service selector switch fully back. After resetting the switch to the normal position the boiler was working as it should be with the blue light on and not flashing.

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.

Glowworm Spacesaver No Heating

I was asked to look at a heating system the other day because the customer's central heating was not working. The customer could see that the pilot light on their Glowworm Spacesaver was alight but the heating was not working when the controls were calling for heat and the boiler was no firing up.

I tested the hot water and sure enough the boiler fired up and the system was running perfectly for hot water. I then turned the hot water off and put the central heating on and nothing happened. I checked in the junction box to make sure there was power on the grey and white wires to the motorised valve, which there was.

I then drained the system and replaced the Boss three-port valve with another motorised valve, refilled and heat tested the system and all was working well again.

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.

Ideal Minimiser Not Lighting

I was called to look at an Ideal Minimiser by a customer today as their boiler had required resetting a couple of times in the week after noticing that the heating and hot water were not working.

I ran the boiler and it appeared to be running and lighting with no issues. I could hear the spark across the electrodes which was rapid and maybe more prolonged than it should have been. I let the boiler cool a littler before stripping out the fan and burner.

As can be seen from the picture above, both the sensing probe and electrodes were distorted and required replacement. There are a number of different setups that can be found on these boilers and this is the original burner plate and electrodes. As far as I am aware the original electrodes cannot be replaced as they are. The new electrodes are stouter and come with a new burner mounting plate. The newer boilers had an atmospheric kit fitted and some older ones have it retro-fitted. On these boilers there is no tube connected to the burner plate. If there is no atmospheric sensing kit fitted then then the burner plate replacement will need to have an orifice for the existing tube which connects in on the right hand side of the burner plate.

I replaced the burner plate and electrodes Parts Center no. 462190, and the boiler has been of no trouble since.

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.

Glowworm Ultimate Cutting Out After Five Minutes

I was asked to look at a Glowworm Ultimate that was not working correctly. The customer was complaining that the boiler only seemed to come on for five minutes before cutting out and that the heating was not getting hot.

When I arrived I put the hot water on and that appeared to be running correctly, they had a tank full of hot water and the system sounded as if it was circulating correctly. I put the heating on and there was no reaction from the system and I checked that the room thermostat was turned up, which it was. I then checked in the junction box for the heating system to find that there was power on both the white and grey wires to the motorised valve after turning the hot water off.

I replaced the head on the Drayton MA/1 three-port motorised valve, and retested the system which was no operating correctly. It would appear that the heating may have been coming on when the valve was in the mid position but not moving over fully to supply heating only.

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.