potterton puma 80 boiler issues

[robjal]

hi
Not sure if it is related but about a month ago the pilot light kept going out when the central heating turned off.after a few days this prob went away.

Now a few days ago there is a loud whirring sound whenever it is firing.sometimes it is very loud. Last night the pressure dropped and I had to top it up this morning. When I turn off the thermostat and it stops firing for a few seconds the whirring slows and almost turns to a scraping before stopping.

Any ideas?

 

[ChrisR]

Fan?
If it's a P (permanent Pilot) version the fan should run slowly if the boiler's off. If it stops, the boiler could well overheat and cut out.

 

[robjal]

many thanks for the reply

do you know how i tell if it is a P version?

assuming it is the fan is it an easy or hard thing to replace? could i do it myself? i am reasonably handy but have no real plumbing experiance.

 

[ChrisR]

Well you said

the pilot light kept going out

If you mean it has a permanent flame in it, that's the pilot! The other type has electronic ignition.
No, I wouldn't recommend you try changing the fan yourself. There are several things which you could do wrong without realising.

 

[robjal]

well the loud whining seemed to have been dying down.....however this morning the bloiler would not fire at all despite the pilot light being on and the pressure seeming ok.