Biasi riva plus HE leak

[macmac760]

Hi guys first time poster here, I thought I would sign up and share my problem just to see if anyone can shed some light on it as scouring the internet has'nt brought me any success, so I come home from a night out to my daughter saying the boiler has been leaking like crazy so she turned it off.

So I inspected it this morning to find the heating system drained so i stripped the covers off and filled slightly to see where it was leaking from and no leaks happened until I turned on the heating and then I found it leaking like crazy from the primary circuit pressure switch on the three way diverter valve, as it was'nt on the gas I decided to strip down the switch to get a further look inside it which is just a micro switch, spring and diaphragm all look in good condition.

Basically I'm just wondering if the diverter valve would have failed to allow water to come out of this switch or if the switch itself would be faulty, I work as a service engineer for dental equipment and have done a fair share of plumbing over the years also but I dont entertain boilers but seeing as its my own I would rather try to diagnose the problem myself and repair it if possible, finding a good boiler engineer can be tricky and costly.

Boiler is a Riva plus HE m296.24sm/c no heating but hot water works fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kev.

 

[muggles]

@Agile will be the best chap for this, hopefully he'll be along soon to help

 

[macmac760]

Great stuff, thanks.

 

[Agile]

I would rather try to diagnose the problem myself and repair it if possible, finding a good boiler engineer can be tricky and costly.

Boiler is a Riva plus HE m296.24sm/c no heating but hot water works fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kev.

As if by magic.....

The M269 is a very good and reliable boiler and surprisingly cheap to buy.

But like most boilers, spare parts can be a little expensive.

I cannot guess at exactly what has gone wrong in your case. Even if you posted a photo then I am not sure that it would be possible to see what the problem is if you cannot see it yourself.

Why do you think finding a good boiler engineer is difficult?

What would you say is a reasonable diagnostic charge, excluding parts?

Tony

 

[macmac760]

Hi thanks for the reply, I dont really worry about the cost of the repair providing they actually repair it, I know a lot of the local people who would be recommended to me would throw parts at it until they get the right one, my mum had 3 main boards put in a halstead boiler after each one failed within 3 months only to find out the boards were the for a different model.

I would expect to pay around £70-100 for a correct diagnosis and roughly same price for part, in fact in looking inside the boiler and seeing the amount of plastic parts I was very suprised that boilers use so much plastic parts.

I could add a picture but as you say it would not highlight the reason as to why the part is leaking, boiler is pretty much 1 year old or so and for the amount of water to be leaking something has certainly gone..its just knowing what it is.

Cheers....kev.

 

[spareshunter]

finding a good boiler engineer can be tricky and costly.

When finding a good service engineer for dental equipment this also can be just as tricky and costly.

seeing the amount of plastic parts I was very surprised that boilers use so much plastic parts.

A bit like dentures then..... plastic ones are cheaper and metal ones more expensive.

Take a piccy of the actual leak and we will see.

 

[Agile]

Those boilers are warranted for two years if registered at the time of installation, Benchmark completed and serviced at the end of the first year.

BUT the pin which operates the flow switch ( I assume its this pin gland leaking ) is operated by the system water. If the system water is dirty then that will damage the gland and that will not be covered by the maker's warranty.

Tony

 

[Agile]

If it makes you feel better, this evening I saw a Vaillant diverter valve gland leaking badly on a 5 years old boiler.

 

[macmac760]

Measured across switch and was showing to be open at any pressure which should be closed at above 0.35 bar on the primary circuit pressure switch which it actually said in service book which I never noticed, priced the part at £25.00 and thought it was certainly worth a punt.

Ordered part from Hecas and it came today, quite easy to fit and bingo it works a treat leak free.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Agile]

I suspect this is a system pressure switch.

But normally if not activated the boiler would have shown an appropriate fault code!

Tony