Potterton Flamingo won't start

[tcas]

My Potterton Flamingo conventional flue boiler fires up when I select HW on the programmer but then goes off after about a minute. It won't then fire up for ages (presumably until the water in the boiler has cooled).

If I select CH instead, the boiler won't fire up at all.

Is this likely to be a boiler problem or could it be the pump (or something else)? I can imagine that if the pump is not circulating, the water in the boiler would get hot and switch itself off, but would it stop the boiler firing up at all, as it does when CH is selected.


Tim

 

[gazthepottertonengineer]

possibly 2 problems 1 pump is stuck and 2 motorised valve is faulty

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Probably the pump. Chuck a towel underneath it and take the screw off the face then stick a screwdriver in it to see if you can spin the shaft.
If it doesnt start spinning then see if theres power going in to it
If it does start up then it might keep you going for a short while but it does mean the beginning of the end for your pump

 

[JohnD]

If it does turn out to be the pump they are luckily fairly easy to replace and not very expensive. But the Flamingo could be 30 years old, so maybe pump is just old and worn out (like me).

Bleed a bit of water out of a rad and see if it is black, if so you may want to clean and inhibit your system as the corrosion products may be getting into the pump and jamming it.

 

[ollski]

If it does turn out to be the pump they are luckily fairly easy to replace

They are?, always??....are you sure John???

 

[tcas]

Thanks for your replies. Managed to get an engineer to come out and it looks like it is the pump (but he didn't have one).

Water in pump was pretty black so it looks like accumulated sludge has probably contributed (and age - about 12 years old).

Tim

 

[bab]

Sorry but hav 2 agree with ollski. Changing pumps is'nt always easy. If the isolation valves r as old as the boiler they may not shut off. If there ball type .leave them alone if u dont want a disaster on new years day If the y do shut off & the disconecting union's undo u may need a pump extension if your pumps as old as ya boiler. If you go 4 it i suggest u may have to drain the system so remove the old pump before you get the new one to avoid goin back twice. You can't say how hard it will be with out seeing it . Rust on the pump where the unions join on is never a good omen.

 

[JohnD]

If it does turn out to be the pump they are luckily fairly easy to replace

They are?, always??....are you sure John???

sometimes