Vaillant Ecotec Plus 837 Front Casing Insulation

[SirBodgeAlot]

Hi All,

My parents boiler recently had an at risk warning/advice note from the service engineer due to the front casing insulation being incomplete i.e. it has perished.

I had a look at it myself, and it has indeed perished where it is in close proximity to the burner, but as far as I can tell it is not going to cause a risk to life or property.

With my limited knowledge, I would say the foamy/plastic insulation sheet is for sound and heat insulation and the only consequences of its deterioration is noise and heat loss from the boiler. The only conceivable danger I can think of could be the casing getting hot but I can't imagine it getting any hotter than say a radiator.

The service engineer put the frighteners on my parents by suggesting this could cause a carbon monoxide risk, but I cannot understand the reason for saying that as the insulation has nothing to do with the combustion part of the boiler. Frankly, I smell a rat, but the engineer works for a large, established heating company.

Could anybody please shed some light on this - I will contact the service company for a fuller explanation, but would value some additional advice or opinions in the meantime, thanks in advance.

 

[Dan Robinson]

It is more a case of WHY it has perished.

You need an RGI to come in and check the the parts that are likely to have caused this.

Most likely the last service engineer not knowing what he was doing and not replacing something vital that needs to be replaced every time a part of the boiler is removed.

You can not do this yourself, and the frighteners might well be justified.

 

[Bunnyman]

I agree with dan, also the outer case on this model is part of the combustion chamber, if it is not sealed the air inlet duct is open to atmosphere, also it could be the burner door is not sealed properly causing the problem get a RGE for second opinion

 

[Agile]

If I correctly, recall the foam also forms the seal between the cover and the body of the boiler.

It will probably have been damaged by leaking from the combustion chamber.

Whilst you may imagine that it cannot get hotter than 80 C like a rad, the reality is that it could reach up to the combustion area where it is 600 C.

A non gas reg person should not be removing this cover to look inside!

Tony

 

[Agile]

..

 

[SirBodgeAlot]

Thanks All for replies - I phoned the service company who were a little bit cagey, so phoned the manufacturer end-user technical line and after a few emails and phone calls, unearthed some interesting information as follows -

RE casing insulation - as I understand the tech. support chap - this is primarily for sound proofing BUT is used around the casing front cover edge to ALSO ensure the correct air balance is maintained i.e. not too much air is drawn in - it isn't necessarily a seal as such e.g. like a rubber gasket would function, the tech chap went on to say even one of the electrical cable glands can be missing (i.e. allowing more air into the boiler casing) and the boiler would only be considered "not to manufacturers spec." rather than "at risk"

RE excessive heat that caused the insulation to fail (as suggested) - the likely cause of this is the front combustion cover plate seal failing - apparently, there was a technical bulletin sent to all registered users to advise an upgrade from a rubber component to a more heavy duty one - my parents did not receive this correspondence, but may not have registered the boiler.

So yes, it's time to get a competent qualified engineer in to put it right.

Hope this is of use

 

[Agile]

I dont see what use that is to us! Its what we have been trying to tell you!

We all had the tech bulletin!

Users of the boilers only had the letter when they had registered the boiler.

Since all competent engineers will know all about this problem, anyone servicing the boiler should have been checking the seals and replacing them if requied!

Tony

 

[simond]

The perishing around the upper case is unlikely to be the burner gasket, because;

They were only alerted to the problem as a result of a service visit, an rgi has therefore already seen inside

A failed burner seal usually melts the air inlet pipe first before total destruction ensues


In my experience, the foam deteriorates when condense runs back into the air inlet from a faulty or withered flue seal, another Vaillant speciality only recently addressed.

 

[Agile]

Some RGIs are still not aware of the burner seal problems.

Add that to inexperienced people working for Homeserve and similar boiler cover firms and its quite possible for RGIs who were not aware to have seen the boiler!

There are also many degrees of leakage and the virtual total destruction is only the worst case.