Boiler extremely noisy

[phrenetic]

I have an Ideal Minimiser SE (FF80) boiler wall-mounted in the kitchen. The boiler is about 12 years old.

The boiler has started making constant whistling noises and intermittent loud groaning noises as if there is insufficient water being pushed around the system.

Initially I thought this was down to some air in the system but I have bled all of the radiators (there was a fair amount of air in the radiator at the top of the stairs) but the noises are still continuing. There is some evidence of a small leak from the boiler at some stage and some rusting on the inside of the cover. There is no evidence of an active leak at present.

I'm a complete numptie when it comes to such things, so any clues as to the problem and what I might say to a qualified plumber/heating engineer in order to explain the issue?

If I need a new boiler, can anyone give me pointers? The boiler needs to service a 5 bed detached house, with two bathrooms and a further ensuite shower room. The loft is insulated and contains two header tanks.

 

[mickyg]

it may be repairable, but whether the repair would be economically sensible is hard to say as these boilers have an extremely poor reliability record and I'm unaware of many that haven't yet been ripped out. I would recommend getting someone out to look at it assuming you've checked the obvious, such as the pump is running and the header tank has correct amount of water.