Gloworm Ultimate 50FF Ignition

[Deryck Tintagel]

We have Gloworm Ultimate boiler that's about 15 years old (from when the house was built) and it seems to be taking a while to ignite the gas. It can be heard clicking upto 10 or 15 time as it tries to ignite to gas.

I will be calling the heating engineers I have used to service the boiler, but I would like an idea of what the problem could be and cost to fix.

Any ideas would be appreciates.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Saying what the fault is would be considered as giving DIY gas advice. Suffice to say that the fault you describe is very common on that boiler and easily fixed without the need for any parts.
It could be completed in a half hour by a competent serviceman.

 

[Agile]

One wonders when it was last serviced.

Regular servicing usually prevents these kind of faults.

Furthemore, as the fan is turning all the time the impeller tends to get quite dirty and needs removing and cleaning at annual servicing in most areas.

Tony

 

[DP]

Furthemore, as the fan is turning all the time the impeller tends to get quite dirty and needs removing and cleaning at annual servicing in most areas.

Tony what do you mean turning all the time. Are you saying fan runs when boiler is idle ?

 

[Dan Robinson]

Think her's getting confused with the Swiftflow .

 

[ollski]

If your man finds the ignition lead shorting on the casing or a bit of muck in the pilot injector he shouldn't be charging any more than just a normal service.

 

[Deryck Tintagel]

Thanks for the replies! It sounds like a relatively cheap fix - just concerned it would start to cost a fortune.

The boiler was serviced less than a year ago but I am not quite sure what they did to it. I may ask another heating guy to do the job

 

[Deryck Tintagel]

Just waiting for a couple of heating guys to get back to me to have a look at the boiler.

In the meantime, I noticed that there is a spark visible through the viewing window - it looks a bit weak. I also listened to the clicking and I could see another spark from within the control module. Should there be a spark here? I wonder if the ignition lead is damaged there and needs changing.

One other query. I checked the usual guys on the Gas Safe register and they do not have gas boilers listed as a qualification. Does this mean they should not be doing work on them?

Thanks

 

[45yearsagasman]

One other query. I checked the usual guys on the Gas Safe register and they do not have gas boilers listed as a qualification. Does this mean they should not be doing work on them

They should not work on boilers if not registered to do so. The back of the Gassafe card lists all the appliances etc that they are qualified to work on. Check it!

 

[dreadnoughtheating]

One other query. I checked the usual guys on the Gas Safe register and they do not have gas boilers listed as a qualification. Does this mean they should not be doing work on them

They should not work on boilers if not registered to do so. The back of the Gassafe card lists all the appliances etc that they are qualified to work on. Check it!

Check the number on the GasSafeRegister.co.uk site, that can be more up to date than the plastic card issued annually (this thread just prompted me to check I am still 'competent' to work on more than cooker and pipework! as my card states)

DH

 

[Deryck Tintagel]

Just to follow up ....

The main gas valve had started to drop in and out too frequently to be good so I managed to get someone out who has now fixed the boiler. The pilot jets were pretty much blocked. A good clean and all is well.

The exhaust gases were pretty good apparently and the boiler is set up quite well by his reckoning.

Thanks for all the input