Ideal ISTOR HE260 Nightmare

[Dave461]

Had this boiler fitted in my new build just over three years ago. Already had the PCB replaced as it failed although IDEAL did refund me. However, the LCD panel now flashes up an L-F warning and I struggle to reset it. I have now had three heating engineers out who have cleared the condensate pipe, replaced the ignition elctrode, fire detection electrode and spark generator. It is still breaking down with the same fault. Nobody is able to seem to find the problem and to date it has cost me £297, any suggestions.

 

[The Baker]

Providing that its running OK at the moment you may be well advised to get it on a British Gas service plan.

At least this would give you a fixed cost per year.

Please let us know know how British Gas respond to your request.

Tim

 

[scatmanjohn]

Providing that its running OK at the moment

Its not though. Thats why he is posting on here

I believe BG will carry out a guaranteed repair for £156, so you could have saved £297 by using them in the first place.

 

[gas4you]

Have they cleared the condensate pipe at the point it enters your drain?

Have you checked your drain is clear?

Did they remove the condensate trap and clean it?

Have they poured water down the condensate pipe to prove it is clear?

Have they checked the WP at the gas meter?

Have they checked the flue thermistor?

Have they checked the flame detection lead for continuity?

 

[gas_man_gaz]

afta ya done all that u'll prob find out ya need anotha pcb!

 

[Dave461]

Not checked the drain, but I will check that tomorrow. They have poured water through the sump by opening the front of the burner. However they have not cleared out the sump as apparently it is a 'pig' to get at and the last time they did it on another boiler the guy lost a 25 quid spanner!! They didn't check the gas pressure, so will note that one. They replaced the flame detection electrode, but don't know about the lead. Definatley haven't checked the flue thermister, is the same as the dry fire thermister? Have I got any comeback on these points or do I have to stump up the cash for another call out, in other words, should they have checked these things as a matter of course? Thanks for your advice so far.

 

[heatingman]

The condensate trap has to be removed to empty out the rubbish collected in the bottom. Pouring water down flue is not enough to clean trap. It is a pig to get out, perhaps they should have told you they only do easy jobs.
The flow through the trap is an essential part of the correct operation of boiler.

 

[twineuk]

I have had 3 British Gas engineers visit me to resolve an LF fault code on my ISTOR boiler. The first engineer misdiagnosed the problem and ordered a new fan which was installed by the second engineer. The problem persisted resulting in the second engineer stating that fan was fine to begin with. The Condensate trap was found to be blocked and a third engineer came out. He managed to remove the old one however has discovered that the sump is blocked as well.

I have now gone 10 days with no central heating and BG are due to have a Technical Support Manager contact me. I am paying £32pm for this service and I am not very pleased with what has happened. Each engineer appears to be avoiding the job as it is deemed too difficult.

 

[gas4you]

All Ideal Isar's, Icos and Istor's are awkward to work on.

Had a breakdown call to one last night, knew it was the trap blocked before I got there, removed the trap and got an aluminimum oxide shower

Never had one this bad before. I always find you have to clean the condensate trap with a small crewdriver poked in it, rinsing and flushing out never removes all the settled carp in it.

The sump always needs to be seperately cleaned as well, but if a jobs worth doing ........

Sounds like you have got some bad BG engineers on your patch. They are not all like that, certainly those posting on here are not, but as always with an organisation as large as BG you can't help but get some rogue ones.

You do not however, hear of the good things their enginneers do.

Good news is not good news. (no, I have no connection with BG and never want to either.)

 

[shambolic]

s trap on istor is murder easier to get to if you remove the gas pipe and the Prv pipes
If I know for defo that it's trap and not condense pipe blocked I drill through bottom oftesp with cordless and collect water in bucket ax it saves the water going everywhere. Although I carry spares so easier for me to do

 

[Rockhopper22]

I too have an HE260 which seems to be doing a similar thing.... If I listen outside to the flue pipe or unscrew the small inspection screw on the flue pipe just above the boiler it sounds like a washing machine (very watery). Also when it goes to light it sounds like bubbles being blown through a straw into a glass of water....!!!! It will usually run for a while then cut out (showing L, F). Could this mean that the drain pipe is blocked? there does seem to be water going through it but maybe not as much as there should be....

Rog.

 

[shambolic]

Yes sounds like condense or trap blocked

 

[Garfeild]

s trap on istor is murder easier to get to if you remove the gas pipe and the Prv pipes
If I know for defo that it's trap and not condense pipe blocked I drill through bottom oftesp with cordless and collect water in bucket ax it saves the water going everywhere. Although I carry spares so easier for me to do

How do you get the water into the bucket as its a tight gap? ive been trying to think of a way of draining the traps on Istors,but so far ive only had one i couldnt clear by disconnecting the flexible pipe and putting bit of overflow pipe into it then sucking/blowing and draining into a bucket that way.
Maybe a bit of small guttering to hold underneath after drilling (good idea) and drain into a bucket that way?

 

[Rockhopper22]

Just like to add that I have now managed to access the boiler condenser trap and it was, as suspected, totally jammed with debris which I had to dig out with a screwdriver. The job wasn't as bad as expected provided that you can gain access to the side panels so that they can be loosened enough to get your hand behind the cylinder to unscrew the two long bolts holding the trap on and also that you have enough room to get your hand round to the back of the boiler to unscrew the drain pipe from the trap. Now that I know what to do I suspect that it would be possible to do the job in about 30-45 minutes without too much trouble.
Boiler now running normally.
Incidentally, I did not bother to try to drain the water out of the trap before I took it off... only about a pint of water came out and I just had towels around it to soak it up. There are no electrics near the trap so was not concerned about the water causing a problem.

thanks,

Rog.

 

[shambolic]

I use a plastic v shaped funnel to divert water into bucket and drill with bent head on it