No heating and hot water

[jennyy]

Hi, I dont know how but the central heating was on 24 hous for few months as someone told me that save money on gas bill . Yesterday i turn the temprature down from 18 to 15 and few hours later the heating stopped working as i dont hear or see flame throught the boiler flame window ,i ve tried to light the pilot with matches but seems nothing happens i guess there is no gas there too. I am sure i ve followed the instruction how to turn the boiler on . how could this happen ,The hot water has run out and I have a baby in the house ,My husband is away for business .I ve bought a heater today . so Its not too bad but HOT water I need till my husband back . Any help ?

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Hi, I dont know how but the central heating was on 24 hous for few months as someone told me that save money on gas bill .

You were badly misinformed

If its on for 3 months its burning gas
If its off for the same time it burns no gas at all
Therefore the less time its on the less gas it burns.

If your room temperature does not fall below 15ºC the heating will not come on and raise the temp to whatever you set it to.

If you have followed the instructions correctly it does sound as though there is a problem with your Thermocouple, gas supply, Pilot burner,or gas valve and roughly in that order.
You didn't tell us the make and model of the boiler so I can't say any more. Most modern boilers dont have a pilot light that needs lighting They now have electronic ignition.

Time to get a corgi guy round or at least give your kettle some stick till hubby gets back.
If you know a DIYer who is willing to help dont let him/her do any more than go through the lighting procedure or fitting a new thermocouple provided that it can be fitted without dismantling any gas parts.

 

[Agile]

If your boiler really needs matches to light it then its a VERY old model!

If this is the case then tell your husband that its time for a new boiler. A modern condensing boiler can save up to 30% of the gas consumption.

Tony

 

[jennyy]

Thanks for your guys help . I guess the boiler is not new and the make is ideal Mexico slimline . I feel there is a switch or valve somewhere has been off automatically. the room temperature is not below 15 as i have to keep baby warm. The Boiler doesn't need to be light by a match as I thought the pilot light is broken so I tried to take off the glass and light it through there . I have find the emergency socket to make hot water. near the tank. I dont know how to describe the problem properly as I have never touched anything like this . Thanks again.

 

[kevplumb]

which model or GC number i might have the book

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

emergency socket

I think you mean immersion heater switch

Taking the glass off is not a good idea if you dont know what you are doing. Although sometimes it can work if you do know what you are doing

To describe the problem better do you think you could post a picture?
Upload to www.photobucket.com and use the Img button

The GC number will be on a silver data plate somewhere in the boiler

 

[jennyy]

Thanks ,I ve tried to have a look again, could not find the exactly the silver plate ,But here are some Nos I found on it , hope there is one of them is GC
1) 2.5 20bar 9720
2)V4600a 10233
3) CF30

The model is Ideal mexico 2

I have just taken the photo ,but could not find the Cable to download the picture, . Give me time to find it .Thanks again

 

[jennyy]

Sourced the problem - pilot lights without problems, but any more help?

The boiler itself is not receiving live mains. Everything is wired through a Honeywell Sundial Junction box - the room thermostat and programmer appear to give power (live wires) when they should, but the power to the boiler does not come on (no live wire). But, when the boile is connected to permanent live, it lights.

Is this a simple case of replacing the junction box? (no idea why it would fail) or does ity indicate soemthing sinister within the boiler (i.e. would providing live mains to the boiler override any internal cut out it has?)

 

[Trance Nation]

Im not trying to be funny here but this sounds like a relativley easy problem to diagnose (faulty motor r summit - cant understand the post correctly - its late ye know !!) but dont ya just hate it when ye go to a job that someone has "had a go" at fixing themselves and u end up being stuck there for hrs ? (off topic i know)

Personally i wouldnt recommend trying to repair it urself. Some of the other guys mite say fill ur boots and give more info but id get someone more pro to look at it for ya. Will save ye more hassle long term.

Just my opinion anyway.

 

[Softus]

jennyy, you seem to have learned a lot in just four days, to go from this:

I dont know how to describe the problem properly as I have never touched anything like this.

to this:

But, when the boile is connected to permanent live, it lights.

Or have you engaged someone knowledgable to look at the problem during that period?

Either way, we need to know whether or not you have any motorised valves, and about any work has been done recently, and/or about any work that been done in an attempt to rectify the fault.

Trance Nation - I know where you're coming from, but it's far too easy to cop out and recommend a visit. This forum is all about striving to give the best advice for as long as it's safe for the poster to receive it.

 

[jennyy]

Well spotted Softus - now we have someone who knows one end of teh spanner from another.

The problem is that the electrical junction box is not powering the boiler - the system does have a valve (I think it was turning, but I need to check). I'll check later to see if there is power to motor and a return signal. I think I see where you are coming from - more likely to be the motor or valve than anything else.
(There has been no work on the system recently, and troubleshooting has been restricted to disconnecting and reconnecting wires as I have found in troubleshooting guides - don't do anything you cant undo).

I actually agree with Trance Nation to some extent, but in an area where the plumbers have been known to try charging £150 just to provide an estimate, it pays to do as much diagnosis as you can. Given I work with both electronic systems and high pressure pipework on a daily basis, I feel able to try at least.

 

[Trance Nation]

I actually agree with Trance Nation to some extent, but in an area where the plumbers have been known to try charging £150 just to provide an estimate, it pays to do as much diagnosis as you can. Given I work with both electronic systems and high pressure pipework on a daily basis, I feel able to try at least.

Point taken

Sounds like a faulty motor to me.

BTW where do u live that plumbers charge £150 for an estimate - sounds like i mite wanna move there

 

[jennyy]

Thanks Trance Nation - good call - the motor was actually ok, and the valve itself was fine, but the teeth on the sprockets that link the 2 were badly worn and the levers were not working effectively. It should have been so simple to replace the valve, but the new one had a different thread pitch on the compression fittings. Couple that with a leaking fitting it took longer than it should have to repair. But it works and that is the main thing.

BTW where do u live that plumbers charge £150 for an estimate - sounds like i mite wanna move there

FWIW it is Surrey - but I am sure you can appreciate the difference between trying to charge and actually charging. The miscreant in question was advised to depart using his self propelled 2 wheeled mode of transport.