Baxi Bermuda 551 CHB

[sprokit]

Hi - we need some expert advice that isn't biased please.

Our system has been in the house for 30 years and serviced annually by British Gas. I admit its old but up til now has given good service.


Recently there have been mornings when the water hasn't heated up and British Gas replaced the timer (they said it was faulty). Nice new timer but the water still has days when it hasn't heated up.....so does this mean the thermostat has died on us? BG came out again and said there was no chance of getting spares for it...leaving the only option to get a new system.

If hubby turns it up to full it starts working again for the next few days.

I know its an old system but are British Gas the the only place to get a thermostat from and fit it (we have their Home Care contract paying about £20 a month) .........and I have heard so many other people being told that their system is too old and a new one is needed that you begin to wonder if its just a sales pitch

 

[namsag]

Yep they are lying to you the thermostat from the 552 is exactly the same it actually fits around a dozen baxis.
But it sounds like it may be another fault
Does your pump only come on for the heating or does it come on for both

 

[sprokit]

Yep they are lying to you the thermostat from the 552 is exactly the same it actually fits around a dozen baxis.
But it sounds like it may be another fault
Does your pump only come on for the heating or does it come on for both

now you have me confused - as the trouble has only been over the last few months and no central heating involved I just assumed it was the water heating side that was a problem - will get hubby to read your reply when he gets in and see if he can answer that

 

[namsag]

Just trying to work out what sort of system you have
ie fully pumped that means you will have motorised valve(s) and the pump comes on for heating and hot water.
Or whether you have an old fashioned gravity system where the pump only comes on for the heating and the water circulates by gravity,
Because depending on which type of system it depends what your fault may be

 

[sprokit]

Yep they are lying to you the thermostat from the 552 is exactly the same it actually fits around a dozen baxis.
But it sounds like it may be another fault
Does your pump only come on for the heating or does it come on for both

now you have me confused - as the trouble has only been over the last few months and no central heating involved I just assumed it was the water heating side that was a problem - will get hubby to read your reply when he gets in and see if he can answer that

Hi

Thanks for your reply - Sprokit's hubby here.

The pump only comes on for the central heating, not for the water heating. We had a problem a couple of years ago after the CH had been off for the summer (when we used to get reasonably warm weather) in that the CH pump didn't start up after switching the CH back on - a couple of sharp taps with a hammer on the pump casing (not by me I hasten to add, but by a gas fitter) cured this problem, so it's the gravity circulation type of system for the hot water.

The hot water side only works now if I turn the thermostat control to "off" and then turn it on again. The effect is immediate and the gas fires up and heats the water, this leads me to the conclusion that it's the thermostatic control for the hot water system (control - rotary knob with positions are - OFF, 1 to 4 and HIGH - is lower front left of the boiler at the outer part, accessed by opening the front lower panel of the fire).

Hoping you can provide some assistance and if possible direct me to somewhere I can obtain the necessary parts!

Thanks again

Sprokit's other half

 

[namsag]

So say your stat has been at number 4 the water heats up as normal and then when the timer tells it to come on again, it doesn`t come on untill you physically turn stat to off then back up again,
Does it light up first time or does it take a couple of attempts.

 

[sprokit]

So say your stat has been at number 4 the water heats up as normal and then when the timer tells it to come on again, it doesn`t come on untill you physically turn stat to off then back up again,
Does it light up first time or does it take a couple of attempts.

Got it in one - lights first time, then when it's due to come back on again I have to go through the same routine of cycling the control know through OFF to 4 or HIGH.

 

[namsag]

Lighting first time then i would go with faulty stat 95% , if it took a couple of attempts i would say possibly gas valve solenoid ,
But it should only take a BG engineer 5 minutes to do a couple of simple electrical checks to confirm either fault or whether it was something external.
Part is definetly available and only costs £15 plus vat it is the same stat as the baxi 552 which is the younger version.
Tell them you want them back out and an explaination why they lied to you .

Part is avialable from www.gas-spares.co.uk but BG will have it at national parts centre so you should not have been put to this inconvience by some lying git

 

[nickso]

Lighting first time then i would go with faulty stat 95% , if it took a couple of attempts i would say possibly gas valve solenoid ,
But it should only take a BG engineer 5 minutes to do a couple of simple electrical checks to confirm either fault or whether it was something external.
Part is definetly available and only costs £15 plus vat it is the same stat as the baxi 552 which is the younger version.
Tell them you want them back out and an explaination why they lied to you .

Part is avialable from www.gas-spares.co.uk but BG will have it at national parts centre so you should not have been put to this inconvience by some lying git

552 stat is still vanstock i believe, he should have one with him unless he hasnt got it back from NDC or has been reprofiled locally.

 

[sprokit]

Thanks guys - I'll see if I can get a fitter out to it, and, I'll try to be here myself this time.

At least I can look the guy in the eye and tell him to check his stores. Failing that I'll get one of our local CORGI registered guys to have a look at it, although why BG can't be truthful!!! obviously it's more profitable to sell new kit, even when it's not really needed.

Thanks again

 

[petit_pablo]

552 stat is still vanstock i believe, he should have one with him unless he hasnt got it back from NDC or has been reprofiled locally.

Pretty sure its still part of my van stock and mines been reprofiled twice recently

 

[namsag]

One of few times i really lost it, was during a van stock reprofile as stuff was getting took off that i new i would need for the winter to do the job right .
I told him to get it all back on the van and give me my keys back and fek off or i would chin him, it worked and he never came near me for 2 weeks afterwards when i apologised.
One day someone will workout why we need so many little bits and pieces

 

[holty]

shame when engineers look at back boilers and condemn them. was helping replacing a heat exchanger gasket on a 552 for an old customer today,which was quoted 5000 by BG to put in a combi.it wasnt exactly the hardest job for most to do, and less costly for customers who cant afford major work.

 

[petit_pablo]

One of few times i really lost it, was during a van stock reprofile as stuff was getting took off that i new i would need for the winter to do the job right .
I told him to get it all back on the van and give me my keys back and fek off or i would chin him, it worked and he never came near me for 2 weeks afterwards when i apologised.
One day someone will workout why we need so many little bits and pieces

My van was used for the last VS reprofile on my old patch. TSM pulled stuff out and i convinced him that it was needed. Heard the guys have all received their new van stocks that mirrored what i had with a few extra's including PCB for isar/icos

 

[Gasman28]

I spent the last year contracting to Ideals and I have exchanged SO many PCB's on the Isars / Icos's that I have lost count. Even brand new boilers with the updated V9 have failed. Still, it kept me employed