Vaillant Ecomax Pro 28E leaking seal

[Coldatchristmas]

I have a Vaillant Ecomax pro boiler. About two weeks ago there was a fault with it F11 - system board, so I took the cover off and replugged everything in again. I noticed that the combustion chamber was leaking what looks like steam at the bottom. Called the plumber who serviced the boiler about 9 months ago, the boiler is 4 years old. He said not to worry, just carry on using it and would fit a new seal. He still has not done so - despite much chasing.
After some 'googling' I have read about graphite seals and meltdowns etc.. I know that this seal has never been changed from the original silicone one.

I think it is a vain hope to get this fixed now before the holiday. Is it dangerous? Can as a temporary measure seal the leak with some high temp silicone like you use on ovens. (Usually red)? Why hasn't vaillant contacted me, if there was a recall? Is my plumber just not doing his job properly?

I have another Ecomax 828/2 but this is a combi in my office/annex this also has been annually serviced but again no seals changed, should I be worried?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Deleted member 105431]

had these boilers been serviced correctly the seals would be changed every year. "offically" the ecomax isn't included in the makers recall but everyone in the trade knows that they should be!

 

[gas4you]

If you can visibly see 'steam' coming out of the combustion chamber door, then the seal must have gone.

At best it is leaking products of combustion out of the burner, at worst the boiler could cause a fire.

I personally would want to get this changed asap, like tomorrow

As DM says, these seals should have been changed. The original silicone seal had to be changed at each annual service, the new graphite ones are supposed to last 5 years if the CC is not opened.

Personally I am going to change them every 3 years, Vaillant do not fill me with confidence when it comes to these seals.

 

[Coldatchristmas]

Thanks for the replies. I have had another check today and it seems to leak when the boiler is at max output. I have adjusted the maximum down a bit to 20kw from 28kw.

Would I be able to get a seal myself from a plumbers merchant easily? What do you think of my silicone idea?

 

[mickyg]

You need a proper RGI to do a proper service& seal replacement. This is not a DIY job.

 

[Coldatchristmas]

Why is it not a DIY job? Looks very straight forward, undo a few nuts. The procedure is shown in the instruction book. What is difficult about that?

 

[mickyg]

So how will you test its safe when you have finished?

 

[Coldatchristmas]

Well - if it isn't visibly leaking it must be safer than it is now and I can get it checked in the new year. The alternative of no heat over Xmas would not be welcomed by wife and teenage daughters.

Hopefully I can get someone out tomorrow, but it doesn't seem likely.

 

[mickyg]

You need to break gas connections to replace the seal, and you will need to check these are sound afterwards, you should also carry out a performance test with an FGA after working on this boiler, and make sure the gas valve is correctly set up. You won't do this so will be compromising safety. I appreciate its close to christmas and your anxious to get it sorted, but please don't do anything silly. At best you could cause more damage, at worse you could compromise your families safety.

 

[Coldatchristmas]

Thanks for all your comments guys! Wonder of wonders the engineer turned out this afternoon with the new seals. Watched him change them seemed very straight forward. The large silicone seal looked perfect but the small one which goes at the bottom was white, hard and brittle, it was broken. The new big seal is graphite but the smaller one looked like rubber, will this fail again or has it been uprated? The engineer said it was not necessary to test anything with a meter as the burner was working properly with a nice blue flame. Anyway we are back working now.

 

[gas4you]

The small seal is still silicone rubber. This is only for the condensate, not the burner.

Every time a seal is changed the boiler should aLWAYS b checked with an FGA for combustion ratios.

This only takes a couple of minutes, so obviously your engineer just couldn't be bothered, unless he doesn't even own an FGA