Ferroli 77FF: Over-pressurised, tepid DHW now will not start

[pancakeroll]

We have a Ferroli 77FF Boiler which was fitted long before when we moved in, according to the plate it was installed 1992.

Recently this has been giving us problems, firstly we were away from home for two days over Christmas, came back and the flat was cold when we returned, the heating should have been on, my girlfriend set selector on the front to "constant heating and water", it started as usual (fans, etc...) and the within 2 minutes the seals on the DHW outlet and CH outlets blew out, steam vented from both. I switched off the boiler and drained at the hot water tap in the kitchen and from the overflow (exteremly hot boiling water came out), the pressure guage was sitting at 4 bar. Only signs of any problems before were a noisy fan however it has been noisy since we moved in - so have always just put it down to being a noisy boiler.

Once shops re-opened we replaced with correct composite seals from plumbline and followed Ferroli manual to reset, refill and bled radiators. Looking around seen a lot of rust from previous venting on the automatic vent however everything else looked ok.

Boiler started and worked with no issues for the next few days using the timer and hot water was provided for dishes, etc... thought of as seals which were ready to fail and now fixed.

However having tried to run a bath, the water ran hot to tepid to cold very quickly back to tepid, as it was cold that evening the boiler was left on to heat the flat, some time during the night it stopped and shut off. In the morning I was able to restart however it ran for a while then shut down, since then it refuses to start.

Gas is on but no pilot light, pump can be heard, not sure of the fan.

Well its been like this now since December. Myself and my partner are both unemployed at the moment with a tight budget, so have just struggled through as we can...

Anyone I have spoke to have said its cheaper to replace it, but I can't believe this is completely unfixable, spoke to ferroli and they were just rude on the phone when asked for suggestions.

Cheapest boiler I can see is around £700 just don't have that type of money at all. Does anyone have suggestions of what maybe has went wrong so I can either fix or get quotes for repair to see if we can afford.


Thanks!

 

[gasmick2]

Hi perhaps you could give more details on the boiler IE G C number which is on the data plate as i have looked at the boiler info that i have got on my laptop and it does not list a 77ff as a combi and it only lists up to a 60ff and they are all cast iron boilers
back to your problem what i cant understand is why the boiler did not shut down on the overheat cutout >> before it got to the steam stage
and i assume it blew of outside which should have happened at just over 3bar,,, I am wondering what seals you replaced ???
Its illegal to remove the front combustion cover as that can only be done by an R G I,
If the boiler has gone into overheat and it has a resetable type you will need to know where it is so it can be pressed in to carry out a reset,
resets are not all the same some only reset the flame failure on the board and others have a resettable one for overheat mode,
have a look around the boiler on the top and underneath and in the front panel and see if you can see a red push type of switch
it looks liks a cross ended thing if you find one just press it in until it clicks then try your boiler again
it does sound like the pump could be stuck or wearing out and sticking at times or it could be sludge in the system
which does not help it does sound like you need to get someone to look at it its prob repairable but it will cost but not as much as a boiler replacement you would be looking at aroung £2000 for a replacement

 

[pancakeroll]

Hi perhaps you could give more details on the boiler IE G C number which is on the data plate as i have looked at the boiler info that i have got on my laptop and it does not list a 77ff as a combi and it only lists up to a 60ff and they are all cast iron boilers
back to your problem what i cant understand is why the boiler did not shut down on the overheat cutout >> before it got to the steam stage
and i assume it blew of outside which should have happened at just over 3bar,,, I am wondering what seals you replaced ???
Its illegal to remove the front combustion cover as that can only be done by an R G I,
If the boiler has gone into overheat and it has a resetable type you will need to know where it is so it can be pressed in to carry out a reset,
resets are not all the same some only reset the flame failure on the board and others have a resettable one for overheat mode,
have a look around the boiler on the top and underneath and in the front panel and see if you can see a red push type of switch
it looks liks a cross ended thing if you find one just press it in until it clicks then try your boiler again
it does sound like the pump could be stuck or wearing out and sticking at times or it could be sludge in the system
which does not help it does sound like you need to get someone to look at it its prob repairable but it will cost but not as much as a boiler replacement you would be looking at aroung £2000 for a replacement

Hi,
Thanks for your reply...

The details on the plate are :

Model No. COMBI 77 FF
GC: 47 267 04

The seals I replaced weren't under the cover, I've never opened this - wouldn't think about it ('8), the seals were on the pipes which attach from the wall to the under side of the boiler. So between the two pipes - sadly I haven't got the manual to hand but can bring it back out to explain from the installation manual, or could scan and post.

Basically from reading the installation manual it looks like these are the terminations from the boiler to the pipework installed in the home, the seals replaced were these seals between our pipework and the boilers.

Thanks!

 

[nicknox]

This is a positive pressure boiler so don't mess with any combustion case seals please.
Not bad boilers these, still see a few a round and for a 17/18 yr old combi still reliable.. Are you sure thats the pump you heard or the fan? Have you checked the pump, sounds like it might have seized.

Follow the instructions to the letter to light the pilot on the drop down front panel. They can be a swine to light.,

 

[gasmick2]

hi thanks for the info on your boiler but i do not seem to have any M Is on that model so i cannot see if it has a resetable overheat stat on it
i used to have loads of manuals but since getting CDs with all the manuals on i got rid of them as they took up a lot of room in my van
anyway perhaps someone else will be able to let you know if there is one on your boiler so at least you can try to get it going again and as the other poster says check out the pump that will cause overheat and cause it to shut down

mick

 

[pancakeroll]

Hi guys!
Thanks for the replies! Our internet has been down so haven't been able to reply, however have managed to have a wee look about. On the PCB I've noticed that the relay which is marked on the fault sheet as for the fan is burned out.

So first things first, I'm going to replace this. Hopefully pick one up from a local electronics supplier or worst case maplins.

Would it be just age that would cause this to burn out (searching through google suggest nothing of the cause of relays burning out) or does this burning out suggest something else to investigate after replacement?

Also noticed on the fault sheet that this is referred to as the Ferolli "Popular", if that makes any sense.

TIA!

 

[DP]

PCB has a row of lights. Would help if you posted what lights are on starting from top (numero uno). Post your email address as I would be reluctant to advise on open forum (in case some 'have a go at it' person injures himself)

 

[pancakeroll]

PCB has a row of lights. Would help if you posted what lights are on starting from top (numero uno). Post your email address as I would be reluctant to advise on open forum (in case some 'have a go at it' person injures himself)

Hi DP,
My email is "pancakeroll @ gmail . com" I can check PCB lights tomorrow and post/email back.