boiler breakdown - Gledhill Boilermate Pulsacoil 2000 - Economy 10

[eldaniel]

Hi,

I need help with fixing my electric water boiler, which broke down today. Actually the boiler itself was still working fine until I switched it off today when I did smell burning plastic from inside. However I believe few more minutes and it could possibly get damaged beyond repair.
My boiler is Boilermate 2000 Pulsacoil from Gledhill and it is running on Economy 10 electricity tariff (I do not have gas in my flat). I believe because it is economy 10 it have to be 3-phased one to accommodate all different tariffs and times.
I live in Braintree, Essex and struggling to find someone who will undertake the job.
I was actually considering doing it myself but because something was burning there I better get an expert. I can see on the diagram that cable which got burned is leading to off-peak immersion heater
On top of the boiler there is a burned plastic where Omron PCB power relay is and also relay socket got damaged.
You can see the damage here:

I sent message to few local boiler repair engineers but last time I needed someone not many were interested in working on this type of boiler. Any ideas what I can do?
I am really getting desperate and purchased new PCB power relay and power socket. Now I am thinking of buying new immersion heater and then trying to fix it myself. Is that allowed/advisable?
Thanks,
Daniel

 

[oldbuffer]

Unless you really know what you're doing with electrics, and have the necessary test and other equipment you will need to find someone to fix it for you. There is someone based in Reading who specialises in these, you can find details off the internet. Alternatively try a big firm and explain to them clearly what the problem is.

If you do end up fixing it yourself, you'll need to isolate the normal tariff and Economy 10 (which as far as I know is not 3 phase), then replace the relay base, the relay and possibly the cabling from the off-peak immersion where it is damaged. The ends of this cable have crimped on tags. The tags need to be very firmly crimped, or the connection will work loose and overheat again. I usually silver solder (NOT soft solder) these. If there is enough slack in the cable, you could cut it beyond the damaged part and re-use.

If you get the spare parts from Gledhill they are eye wateringly expensive. You can probably get the relay and its base from CPC Farnell for a fraction of the cost, and if they don't have the Omron you can almost certainly find and alternative from a company called "Finder".

Good luck.

 

[Echo the husky]

If only the parts in yor photo are burned there is no need to replace the immersion heater, just the Omron relay, replacing with the exact same part. You must also renew the now burned wires as well, this will require the appropriate crimps fitting with a proper ratchet crimper. You should be contacting an electrician to repair this not a plumber.

Edit, beaten again!!

 

[eldaniel]

If only the parts in yor photo are burned there is no need to replace the immersion heater, just the Omron relay, replacing with the exact same part. You must also renew the now burned wires as well, this will require the appropriate crimps fitting with a proper ratchet crimper. You should be contacting an electrician to repair this not a plumber.

Edit, beaten again!!

To be honest I took the melted power relay and socket off the boiler myself. To put a crimp and make the burned cable slightly shorter is not a problem too. However I was thinking that something else must have caused this meltdown and if I just exchange this pcb power relay and socket it probably will happen again. Then again I do not know much about what is the purpose of pcb power relay. Could you please shed a bit more light on the fact why would faulty immersion heater could not cause that.
Thanks

 

[Echo the husky]

The burning would be caused by either loose connections, or overheating at the contactors terminals due to high resistance contacts which happens after years of them switching a heavy load. A faulty element would eithe blow a fuse/mcb, trip an RCD or just do nothing. There is another failure mode but it is rather unlikely. A simple check with an isulation resistance tester and a clamp meter will show the condition of the element.

Just replace ther relay and its socket, renew the cables and crimp terminals as needed and make sure the connections are secure.

 

[eldaniel]

There is someone based in Reading who specialises in these, you can find details off the internet.

I have visited their website and will consider them as a last resort as they located far from where I live so they will probably charge me a fortune for travelling itself.

 

[eldaniel]

I think the main question I should ask here is who to hire for the job in case I decide it is too serious for me to deal with. Would I look for electrician or boiler repairs in "Trust a trader"

 

[Echo the husky]

This is electrical work.