Noisy Vokera Hydra

[robe]

I'm looking for some advice regarding a problem I'm having with a Vokera Hydra.

This boiler is a little over 2 years old, I've just had the fan replaced because it wasn't running, having had a look at it this seems to have been down to the blade/inpellor thingy rubbing against the housing, the motor/PCB is spring mounted... these seem to have sagged.

Anyways, what it's doing now is getting up to the set temperture and sitting there for between 15 mins and 2 hours before starting a steady groan accompanied by much vibration of the outer casing, but this doesn't seem to affect the temperture or operation of the boiler.

Any ideas/advice/opinions would be appreciated

 

[nickso]

if im thinking about the right boiler the noise could be a cracked burner.

noise is difficult to diagnose by computer though.

 

[Agile]

Without looking it up I will assume this is a condensing boiler for the moment.

I would have expected that it would have had a two year guarantee and the fan was replaced under the guarantee.

Unfortunately whilst I would almost certainly recognise the problem in front of the boiler I cannot think of anything which would give a "steady groan" !

What does the installer/Vokera say about these problems?

If you are really the owner then you expect a better reliability that that!

Tony

 

[Softus]

What does the installer/Vokera say about these problems?

installer ® ?

 

[robe]

Yes, it's a condensing boiler.

Vokera are only dealing with warranty problems at the moment and weren't interested, since this boiler is out of warranty, which seems to be only one year with an optional second year to be paid for, according to the paperwork I have at any rate.

I havn't had a chance to chase the company that replaced the fan as it was done Friday evening, so I'll be on the phone Monday, I'm really just curious if this is a common fault or something that can be adjusted out?

What are Vokera customer service like, is it worth packing the old fan off to them?

 

[Agile]

I suffer from not knowing the exact details of your boiler design. If its a hybrid boiler then the fan will be a single speed cheap unit and should not have failed so soon.

If its a premix with a variable speed fan then it should not have failed so soon but is much more expensive.

You had the option of buying a second year warranty but chose not to. In that case you have little complaint.

You can try sending the old fan back and asking them to inspect it and explain to you exactly why it failed. Then you can argue that it had failed prematurely or was a faulty design or something. The most you can expect is a discretionary parts only replacement but you will already have paid a marked up price to the repairer. Dont expect any money, just a new fan!!!

There is a set procedure to follow in these cases but few repairers ( actually none apart from us! ) will want to help you as this lowers their profitability.

Tony

 

[robe]

It's the expensive varaiable type!

I appreciate your comments re warranties, and with hindsight it seems silly not to protect a sizable investment like a boiler, but when money is tight people will take risks, and you're also right that the repairers should be the ones to send the fan back, we'll see how that pans out when I talk to them on Monday.

 

[Agile]

I did not say that the repairers should send it back! Why should they?

They did exactly what had been expected of them. They identified the fault and replaced the appropriate part. I assume they charged a suitable price.

If you are not happy with having to change a significant part after such a short time then I recommend that write to them accordingly perhaps addressing it to their Technical Director, John Wilson.

Whilst I am sure that he would be helpful to me you have to appreciate that they are running a business and the owner, Louis Pickersgill, expects a profit at the end of each day!

Tony Glazier

 

[robe]

I simply meant that I would speak to the engineer as, obviously, a part returned by an engineer would be considered more carefully than a part returned by some random customer, as you've intimated yourself.

The reason for the original post was not because I was concerned by the fan failure, but rather I was seeking advice on the current problem with this boiler we seem to have become sidetracked?