Potterton 4 Flamingo problems

[nickier]

Hi,

My hot water ran out much faster than usual this morning, and when i had a look at the boiler the pilot light wasn't on. The problem is, I don't know if it is supposed to be on all the time or not (excuse my ignorance if that's a really stupid thing to say!)

On the front of the boiler there's a round knob on the left hand side, along with instructions that say that if the pilot light goes out you should turn the gas valve to off and then wait three minutes before trying to relight. Which valve do they mean? There's also a large round dial on the right hand side which i did manage to set to zero, but when i used the ignition to try to relight the pilot light nothing happened.

My concern is that i'm now away from my flat for three days, and i'm worried about gas leaks. Is this likely?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Bahco]

You will not get a gas leak as there is a thermocouple which closes the gas valve when it cools down i.e the heat from the pilot light heats the thermocoupler which sends an electrical signal to the valve which opens allowing gas through.
This is an inbuilt safety feature of all boilers.
Suggest you consult your manual as to how you relight normally you hold the gas button in for 15 secs after lighting the pilot.
Obviously if it will not stay on you will need to consult a corgi engineer

 

[nickier]

Many thanks for that. I've managed to get hold of instructions for the boiler so will attempt to reignite it in due course. In the meantime, thanks for the reassurance. With a bit of luck I won't return to my flat only to find a pile of rubble waiting for me!

 

[Gas2Air]

To confuse you a little more, the Flamingo has an overheat stat that needs resetting before attempting to relight the pilot if the boiler has overheated. Look for a small grey/red button on the side of the control box (the one with the big grey knob with numbers on) and push the button in.

Push gas control knob in and hold while pushing orange/red igniter button. Once you see the pilot hold for 10-30 secs, slowly release. If it fails try again, but it may need new thermocouple and/or gasvalve or overheat stat!

 

[nickier]

Oh - i can't remember seeing any sort of button - only the gas control valve, the thermostat and the igniter button (which is black). I actually think it's a Flamingo 40, not a Flamingo 4. Do they all have these overheat stat buttons on them?

 

[ChrisR]

OO risky that. Never can be too sure with those obsolete boilers. Not allowed now you know. Need a new boiler darlin. Leave a couple of grand on the side and we'll have something in there by the time you're back. With some luck, mind. Don't worry we'll find your biscuits ourselves .

 

[namsag]

No overheat stat on a flamingo .Just push the grey button straight in and rapidly hit ignition button serveral times to ignite pilot. If pilot goes out after lighting it will be your thermocouple faulty cost a couple of quid or occasionally it will be the whole gas valve that needs changing cost approx £70

 

[ollski]

is there a spark at the pilot when you press the igniter button?, if not it may just be a new spark lead. there's nothing else to go wrong with these, I've still got one!. It is an asbestos rope seal to get to the pilot though so don't play with it too much it will be in poor condition by now.

 

[ChrisR]

What? - Asbestos rope in poor condition? - can't use asbestos - can't get it, sorry mate, you need a new boiler too.