Leaking Drain Cock on Potterton Kingfisher CF125 Boiler

[freshy]

Hi,

I have a Potterton Kingfisher CF125 Boiler and the drain cock is leaking.

See image below;

I have tried to tighten & loosen it from the square value thing (shown by the arrow) but it seems to be stuck!

I'm using a adjustable spanner, is there a special tool I should be using? Or am I attacking it from the wrong place?

As always any help much appreciated.

Freshy

 

[GforceJames]

That draincock is the last thing I would be worrying about, given the state of the rest of the thing.

But it should just tighten with a spanner, if it still doesn't stop dripping it'll need a new washer.

James

 

[Boilerman2]

Looks like one hell of a lot of corrosion to the Burner Box, without being on site to have a better look, this boiler should be classified "AT RISK" and Switched Off, Parts no longer availible for this kingfisher, so New Boiler would be the safest and best option.
(by the way this is impartial advice as I do not Install only Service)

 

[gassafeman]

bung it. Change the washer. Then wait for a big explosion when your neglect of servicing bites you not by the arse.... thats moderately painful.

For the love of god..... please tell me you dont have children in a house with that appliance!

Paul

 

[nicknox]

Christ almighty, that looks like a piece of ****. Turn it off now

 

[mickyg]

service £55
tcouple £5
Fire cement £75

 

[twgas]

service £55
tcouple £5
Fire cement £75

carbon monoxide detector, priceless.

 

[DP]

gassafeman, can you elaborate on why the boiler is going to blow up?

 

[freshy]

Thanks for the replies... So before I begin to panic

Have a look at this picture (also taken from my mobile phone so not great, but with daylight hence brighter).

Generally I would say the boiler is in good working order, just last week the water went cold and on inspection pilot light had gone out and there was a small pool of water and a very slow drip from the drain cock.

The rusty patch highlighted in the circle is directly caused from the drip and seems to be on the surface only, and I should be able clean the majorty off it off (just been haven't got round to cleaning it yet).

So looking at this now, is it seriously "AT RISK" is going to "BLOW UP"??

Thanks

Freshy

 

[Agile]

The corroded part is above the gas injectors. Corrosion in that area can interfere with the combustion process and potentially cause a leakage of gas followed by an explosion.

It can also cause incomplete combustion which produces carbon monoxide which suffocates and kills you.

Your boiler is about 37 kW and if your house really needs that power then your gas consumption will be very high and would justify a new efficient boiler just from a financial perspective.

Any competent gas engineer would be required to condemn your boiler and leave it switched off.

When such an old appliance is being used that will be costing you so much in unnecessary gas consumption its hard to understand your mind set!

Tony

 

[freshy]

Agile,

Thanks for the reply I was not aware it was costing me so much unneccessary gas.

My mind set was "if it aint broke don't fix it!" However it seems to be almost broken now...

So where do I start with a replacement? Which boiler would you recommend? I would assume I need something of similar power/output.

And yes how much am I looking at in terms of cost!?

Thanks

Freshy

 

[Agile]

Your boiler is probably only about 55% efficient compared with a condensing unit of about 91% so you can be saving gas at the rate of 36% of your gas bill.

You need a competent boiler installer who will assess what power you need. Its most unlikely you need anything like the size you have installed. Depending on the house/insulation then a boiler between 18-24 kW is likely to be adequate.

At the time your boiler was installed it was normal to have single glazing and no loft insulation and as gas was cheap boiler sizes were over specified. Now that gas is very expensive its essential to match the boiler size to the actual heat loss of the property calculated using the "whole house method" and adding just 2 kW for water heating.

Find a good local installer, ideally by local recommendation, although if you say where you are then we might be able to suggest someone. You could start by calling British Gas for a quote to see what they recommend but their prices are usually about £1000 more than us independents would quote.

Tony

 

[freshy]

Hi,

I live near Slough so if you (or anyone else) can recommend someone local to me please let me know.

Thanks

Freshy

 

[DP]

While I do agree this boiler is more thirsty for 'gas', it is a simple boiler so has not been breaking down constantly. Being an open flued boiler, it should be checked annually to ensure combustion process is in order. Cleaning the burners and the heat exchanger gets you operational again subject to case components being sound.

My view of modern boilers is they are complex to eek out maximum performance, so you use less fuel. On the other hand, parts are a lot more expensive (it is not just a thermocouple replacement case) not forgetting people who repair them some who have little or no knowledge of what they are doing.

My advice would be get this boiler looked at asap. Then gradually upgrade the system to eventually fit new boiler (when this one really is done or you are ready with pocket full of lolly). I am sure your name is not Mr Moneybags thus replacing the boiler at drop of a hat will be difficult.