Halstead Finest Gold - boiler shuts off 'safety lockout'

[chrissib]

After buying a manual on disk, thought it would hold all the answers to this problem, but still dont know what the problem is. Appreciate any suggestions.

Boiler switches on, goes through all the self tests, and will work normally some of the time, but then the safety lockout light comes on and the boiler shuts down indescriminatly. Sometimes when DHW is run and sometimes when heating is on, or both. Always when running a bath.

The system has 4 'Concept' radiators, which appear to have self bleeding keys but the radiators are hot at the bottom and cold at the top in the 3 rads upstairs. The rad downstairs is hot throughout. The pressure guage on the front of the boiler, barely rises off zero, and I suspect this may be the problem. The boiler may be detecting low pressure. But I cant get this pressure up. I have turned on the filler tap at the back of the boiler, and turned the bleed nozzle on the drain return, and there is no air, just water.

I have checked the electics as shown in the manual, and all appears to be in order. I wondered about the pump, but the fact that the hot water is getting to the upstairs rads, suggests to me this is working ok.

Dont want to spend a fortune on plumbers.

Any ideas please.

 

[crashndie]

hi mate your saying the pressure gauge is reading zero? this should be around 1.5 bar the upstairs rads will need bleeding they should be hot at the top, am not fimilar with self bleeding rads is there not a small square pin on the top side or back pannle of the rads if so this is were you bleed em from, top the pressure up an see how you go

 

[chrissib]

Thanks for your reply... yeah the reading on the guage is virtually at zero. The rads have a screw which looks like a bleed screw, but this is sitting in a white nylon shroud with a hole on the edge. I have tried unscrewing the screw, but get no water or air. All 3 rads are exactly the same and are all hot at the bottom and cold at the top. I have bled radiators before, and normally the first 1/4 turn, you either get water or air, and if you get air out, you can hear the rad filling with water. This is the first time I have seen anything like this. The only identifiaction on them is the word 'Concept', stamped on the side.

Can there be any other reason for the boiler guage so low. I have tried filling from the mains filler tap, at the back of the boiler, and turned the knarled knob on the return pipe drain point, as described in the manual, get water not air here.

 

[svenuk]

Hi, as long as the filling loop under your boiler is connected at both ends(cold water mains one end and return ch the other) then your pressure should read 1 bar min. If its under that your boiler will not work. Hope this helps.

 

[ollski]

You're not getting any air out of the bled valves because there is no pressure to push it out you need to get it filled up

 

[chrissib]

ok, I can fill from the tap on the filling loop, is there any indication of how full the system is, (is it possible to overfill), should I just fill until the pressure climbs to 1 bar?

Should I open the rad valves while filling, or try to bleed when the pressure is up?

 

[svenuk]

Hi just fill the system until 1 bar on the front of the boiler then bleed 1 rad then check the pressure again and top back up too 1 bar. Do this until all rads are free of air and the pressure reads 1 bar when finished on the front of the boiler. Hope this helps.

 

[chrissib]

OK I filled the system and got the pressure up to above 1.5 bar, and was able to bleed the radiators untill they were all hot.

The heating worked fine while the pressure was above 1.5 bar, but now there is a constant drip coming from the overflow pipe going through the wall to outside, and the pressure is gradually dropping. The safety lock out comes on again, when the pressure drops below 1.5 bar.

Assuming there are no leaks in the system, (cant find any), I am thinking there must be a pressure release somewhere, and maybe this is coming on too soon or is not shut off, allowing the pressure to drop.

Can anyone suggest a way of proving this, or testing the pressure release, without getting too technical with pressure testers etc??? Or any other ideas of where I go from here.

I would think that if the heating works ok with the pressure up, this must rule out a lot of things, previously mentioned or tried.

 

[kevplumb]

Can there be any other reason for the boiler guage so low. I have tried filling from the mains filler tap, at the back of the boiler, and turned the knarled knob on the return pipe drain point,

but now there is a constant drip coming from the overflow pipe going through the wall to outside, and the pressure is gradually dropping.

because you opened the prv and now its full of $hite

it needs cleaning or replacing

 

[chrissib]

The knarled knob referred to is not the one on the PRV, but at the back of the boiler...... and I thought this was a forum to help rather than to make people feel stupid with comment like 'you opened the PRV valve now its full of $hite'...

This may be so, but if it needs cleaning or replacing, how do I do it...

If I knew how to clean or replace it, or didn't have the problem with the boiler in the first place, I wouldn't need to subscribe to the forum would I...

Any sensible people out ther please...

 

[twgas]

Whether you turned the PRV or not Kev is right in as much as there's $hite in it etc.

 

[chrissib]

ok maybe there is $hite in it, but just saying there's $hite in it, without any suggestions of how to rectify it, is like saying the boiler's f****ed, without any suggestions on how to fix it... thought that was the whole idea of forums... or am i missing the point here...

 

[chrissib]

Alright, I get it.... no answer, I guess I'm looking for another forum

 

[planenut]

Well they have advised you to the point of fixing your system, and having opened the PRV you've inadvertently allowed grit etc to block the seating of this valve. So, as advised, you now either have to clean or replace the valve.
I wish i'd had this quality of advice before it cost me a couple of hundred quid.

 

[kevplumb]

After buying a manual on disk,

try reading it

The pressure guage on the front of the boiler, barely rises off zero,

it tells you how to recharge the system in the manual

If I knew how to clean or replace it, or didn't have the problem with the boiler in the first place, I wouldn't need to subscribe to the forum would I...

it tells you how to replace it in the manual

Alright, I get it.... no answer, I guess I'm looking for another forum

some people have to work

sure you will be sadly missed