Well Dan, here's the thing... I've studied Electrical and Electronic Engineering to degree level including IEE training in domestic electricals. I've stripped automotive brakes and engines, etc. (cars and bikes) and rebuilt them without any problems. What I'm trying to say is that I know what I'm doing with a screwdriver and a multimeter. I also know I don't want to mess with gas because I don't have the knowledge, experience of kit to do it safely. But if I know which fixings to release, I can take the case off a boiler and give it a visual inspection and maybe test some of the electrics if they're accessible and I can figure out how they work - I have the manual but it doesn''t say how to get the case off.
So at this point some folk start chanting "Idiot over here, let's have a go at him".
Well, before I got any responses on here, I switched the electrics off, I got the case off, I gave it a visual inspection, switched the electrics on, ran it through firing up and found that the fan runs, the ignitor sparks but there is no combustion. I then checked the voltage on the valve as advised in the manual and it's getting the correct voltage. At this point I knew I was beyond my limits so I call a qualified technician - all before I got any responses on here. Guess what he tells me... it's the valve. So I do know what I'm doing within my limits and I know my limits.
I don't really see why people on here get so worked up about someone asking for advice. You just have to read through this thread to see people being ridiculed for wanting to take their boiler case off. People who ask how to take the case off are showing that they want to do things properly and are likely to stop when they don't know what they are doing - it's the people who DON'T ask when they get stuck who are likely to blow up their family.
The only reasons I can see why people get so worked up is that business is so bad that they are desperate to persuade people that they must call them in just to adjust the temperature setting on their boiler. Or they're just like that. Either way, it's interesting to see the reaction when you point out that they're acting like an old lady. I've had other users telling me that these people are the bane of the forum. I like to tell it as it is. And I worked out it was the valve. And I called in a qualified person to take it from there. Where did I go wrong?
That is all.
