Ideal Isar HE30 Combi Boiler - Leaking from top section!

[chaoticj]

Hi all,

Had issues with our Ideal Isar HE30 Combi Boiler about 10 months ago, plastic diverter cartridge part no. 174200 needed replacing as when you ran the hot taps, the radiators were getting hot.

Struggled to get a plumber at the time to do it and basically since then the hot taps have been fine but to have a shower you put the central heating on otherwise it doesn't get hot enough. Anyway I've been meaning to get it looked at and serviced but been very busy with work and it's just got put off until now!

Noticed some water underneath the boiler Friday evening but thought it was from around the sink, cleaned it up and then was making tea Saturday evening when water started coming out of the bottom of the boiler - quite a bit of it!

Turned boiler off straight away on front panel and also turned it off at the mains fuse. Put buckets/containers underneath, quite a bit of water trickled out and every now and then it drips a little.

Took the case off to see where it was coming from.. PCB and electrics all look OK i.e. they don't appear to have got wet.

The water seems to have been dripping from the top part of the case (the one with the additional cover), there is a hole with grommet and some wrapped wires on the front left hand side; it's coming out of there, and also on the rear left hand side, the very back corner there are a few drips.

The front right hand side has a thin white tube going upwards, this has white deposits around it where it goes into the top part of the case (limescale)? there is also some wires going upwards into this part and they have limescale around them, more than I remember and bits of this were loose on top of the controls below.

Basically just after some advice please, as to what the problem might be, what it should cost to have it fixed.. how much I'd expect to pay for a proper service of the boiler..

There is also an old gas pipe that goes from the cellar to one of the upstairs bedrooms that I'd like cutting and capping off.. how much would I expect to pay to have this done?

Also we have two gas fires, what should I pay to have those checked?

Also had issues with some radiators lukewarm/cold at bottom, others not getting as hot as some.. not great at all.

Also will add, installed under Warmfront in 2007, last serviced July 2010.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ihavenojob]

Chances are the water will find its way into the pcb & wreck that as well.These boilers are well known for problems,you would be better off getting rid of it & put in a more reliable boiler.Also sounds like sludge in radiators,typical warmfront install.I would strongly recommend having the fires tested before you use them.Do a search of the forum & you will see plenty of others with the same opinion of these boilers.

 

[muggles]

Got to agree with IHMJ, hard to say exactly what the problem is without seeing a picture but if it's the heat exchanger that's gone (does happen on these boilers) then the boiler is basically scrap. It'll likely forever give you problems anyway, they're notoriously unreliable, better to cut your losses and get a new one put in.

We charge £65+vat for a service but this does not include any parts or fixing apparently major issues such as yours (unless it just needs a nut tightening or a seal replacing). We'd cut and cap a gas pipe for around £35+vat as a standalone job assuming it's piped in copper, probably less if done at the same time as other work (but more if it's run lead or iron pipework), we charge £40+vat for a fire service, however with all these it depends on what area of the country you live in.

Your radiators sound like they're sludged up and need powerflushing, Warmfront should have done this but quite probably didn't.

 

[chaoticj]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies!

Yeah when we first had problems with the boiler I did some research and quickly found out it was a total lemon! The boiler and majority of radiators, pipework etc was done by Warmfront.

I did wonder if there was a lot of sludge in the system; we had problems with a back bedroom wall being very damp due to a crack in neighbours stone guttering basically saturating the party wall whenever it rained. A radiator was located on this same wall.

Anyway a mate suggested (once the guttering crack was sealed) to turn the radiator up to dry the wall out and it seemed after that was when we started to have these problems - this radiator in particular was cold at the bottom..

If we need a new boiler can you recommend a brand and model?

How much would powerflushing cost and will this be necessary? If powerflushing was done, should it be a specialist company that does it?

I read ages ago about something called Magnaclean; that basically filters out the magnetic sludge particles, is it worth getting one of these installed and again how much are we looking at?

I've taken some pictures of the inside of the boiler, and the outside. There is a black mark on either side of the case, I've been told this is nothing to worry about, I have had a CO2 detector sat near the boiler and it's never gone off.

Also, the boiler lost pressure this summer just passed and I had to top it up quite a bit. We normally have it at 1.5 bar when its running.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chaoticj]

Hi,

I've had a Gas Safe registered heating engineer come and look at the boiler today. He took the front panel off, looked around, then took top panel off.

He said that the main heat exchanger needs replacing and would cost £400-£500 for the part alone, and even if I could get one he wouldn't do it.

I was asking if it could be the condensate trap, he never removed this but said if it was blocked or partially blocked there would be lots of water in the sump, he went outside, took part of the pipe for the condensate off and blew up it and said that it was clear into the boiler.

I have looked and on eBay a new main heat exchanger is £190 delivered.

He has recommended I get a new boiler, a "Main 25 or 30 eco" - I have looked and these are budget boilers also with aluminium main heat exchangers - what are they like?

He said he did not need to service cooker unless it wasn't working right. Each gas fire he turned on and looked at then lit a small match to see if the smoke from the match was drawn into the fire, he said that both were fine and didn't need servicing.

He cut and capped the gas pipe in the cellar in about 10 minutes, testing for leaks, turning the gas off, cutting, capping, turning gas on, retesting for leaks and then a double test of some solution he brushed onto the cap.

I mentioned Worcester-Bosch to him and he said not to touch with a barge pole, they were difficult to work on and required special tools etc.

Just wondering what my options are? I thought Worcester-Bosch were one of the best along with Vaillant?

Thanks!

 

[muggles]

Try not to start another "which boiler" debate, there's hundreds on here. From a service / maintenance point of view Worcester Bosch boilers are hateful things, Vaillant are good, also look at Intergas which are a bit cheaper but very popular on here and very reliable (you also get a 10 year warranty on the heat exchanger...). Main have a few supporters on here (but not many) as a very budget boiler.

I'd chuck your Ideal rather than spending money on it, granted it'll cost you more short term to replace it but long term you'll end up with a boiler that will give you much less hassle if you choose wisely. I don't blame your engineer for not removing the condensate trap, they can be a pain to do on these and the nut that holds the waste pipe on is easy to break and an obsolete part, and the kit they supply to replace is a PITA.

If you have gas fires get carbon monoxide detectors as a safety precaution