Please help*combi boiler problems

[nicola*j*]

Hi,
I have just bought a property with a combi boiler, the heating works great and the radiators get really hot. however, when i try and fill the bath the water starts off hot and then goes warm after about 30 seconds. Does anyone know if there is something i should be doing? The temperature dial is turned to maximum for water and heat.
Thanks x

 

[gas4you]

We need to know make, model etc.

As a general rule this could be the diaphragm gone or the diverter valve stuck or faulty.

 

[kevindgas]

or a thermistor or a plate to plate heat exchanger as no boiler has been submitted we can all guess what the problem is

so boiler make, model and anything else might be useful if you want help!

 

[nicola*j*]

Hi,

I dont know the make or model, it does not have anything written on it and i do not have the manual or anything. is there a way of finding this information out?

 

[Agile]

I would guess that its a Potty Puma.

 

[nicola*j*]

found the make, it is a halstead imat.

 

[gas4you]

Can't find this listed anywhere.

Could be diaphragm gone of DV if this has one

 

[nicola*j*]

I have found the bit of the boiler front hidden in the garage and it is actually a halstead quattro.

More than this tho, when i put the boiler on yesterday to switch the central heating on the lockout overheat red light came on and i have not even had the thing on to overheat. I guess it is time to phone for a heating engineer as now i have no central heating or hot water.

Could anyone think why this is all happening before i do as i have a feeling it is going to cost a lot and i dont wany to be stung with an unecessary big bill

Cheers x

 

[MarkBarl]

I think that you may well have to bite the bullet and call and engineer. It sounds like there is a flow problem through the main heat exchanger which is causing the system to over heat and shut down. There are many reasons this could be from scale build up to pump gone. Do you know how old the boiler is? I spent several hundred pounds on my 12 year old Vokera combi trying to get it working again when I had similar problems. It had been limping along for several years, so I eventually took the plunge and got a new boiler. I wish I had done this earlier and not wasted my money on the old one. If you decide that you can't do this yet, I would recommend trying to find your local service rep for your boiler make. My plumber is not a Vokera specialist and though very competent, was still guessing when it came to diagnosing the problems I had. You might try contacting a local plumbers merchant that sells Halstead boilers and ask if they know who the local service rep is.

Good luck.

 

[Agile]

Most of these problems can be sorted out for not much more than £200 if you have a helpful engineer who is competent at fixing boilers.

Unless you know one then call Halstead and ask for their local service agent in your area.

Tony

 

[DP]

Mark, heating engineer who diagnose and fix are very thin on the ground (even if I say so). Most will poke and hope and that adds to the bill as parts are thrown in in hope that boiler will work.

I was in Edinburgh last week to repair a Vokera. Local company had had a go at this boiler and their final bill to the customer was £650. It was later reduced to £550 which the customer refused to pay on the grounds that the boiler was still defective. My bill was half that and the boiler is back in action.

I have to say the Vokera are fine boilers (no I do not work for Vokera). The only killer appears to be lack of TLC and service and 'engineer' who can service a boiler in 10 minutes flat without taking the cover off.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Had to flush out a lInea PHE this evfening - was pleasantly surpised that it took me longer to to get the soddlng case off that it did the PHE.

 

[MarkBarl]

Mark, heating engineer who diagnose and fix are very thin on the ground (even if I say so). Most will poke and hope and that adds to the bill as parts are thrown in in hope that boiler will work.

As I said. Even the best heating engineer if they are not familiar with the particular boiler that you have will struggle when the problems start getting obscure, hence finding the local service rep for that make of boiler

I have to say the Vokera are fine boilers (no I do not work for Vokera). The only killer appears to be lack of TLC and service and 'engineer' who can service a boiler in 10 minutes flat without taking the cover off.

I wouldn't disagree, mine was lacking some TLC when I bought my house in 2001. It served us well for another 6 years, but at 12 years + I felt that it was time to replace it.

 

[Agile]

Your problem is not "obscure" but a very simple problem for a competent engineer in frount of the boiler.

The only difficult faults are the intermittent once which never occur when we visit the property!

Tony

 

[nicola*j*]

I finally found out that the boiler is a halstead quattro. called an engineer out and he said it was a problem with the reset button, something to do with the fan and something is leaking water out. he had to order something so for the moment been left with no ce ntral heating or hot water which is a bit of a strain as i have not bought a shower yet!