baxi 105e diverter valve. What to do?

[scottkirwanthomas]

I'm hoping the forum can help me with my predicament.

I have the dreaded issue of hot water passing into the central heating and after googling the problem find its common on the baxi 105e.

I have checked the diaphragm which appears to be intact and cleaned the pin that pushes the microswitch as this had deposits on it and was sticking a bit.

Ive been quoted £250 to have the valve replaced but find this a bit steep to swallow.

What are my options. I'd class myself as pretty competent when it comes to diy but my wife is nervous with me messing with the boiler.

Any ideas would be most appreciated even if thats the details of a decent boiler engineer that covers nottingham.

 

[Tibbot]

the details of a decent boiler engineer that covers nottingham.

What was indecent about the engineer you've already spoken to?

 

[phil001]

just a thought (on the off chance it may be relevant)

i recently had a leaking diverter valve, but luckily i found i had 'home emergency cover' included in my home insurance.
Convinced them it was an emergency (told them no hot water and leaking boiler) and it was fixed for me quickly.

Worth checking your home insurance anyway

cheers

 

[scottkirwanthomas]

Tibbot, I had to diagnose the issue for him.

He came round for a look and advised that we run the hot water slower so that it warmed up quicker.

Once I diagnosed the issue, he came back with a quote to replace the valve.

My discoveries on the internet lead me to believe that it could be a switch, the valve or a diaphragm in the valve.

If anyone has tackled the problem themselves then I would be interested in hearing from you.

Phil001, im not covered first thing I checked.

 

[Agile]

Well your discoveries are wrong! As is your reaction to the price in my view!

A replacement diverter valve is about £120. The engineer has to make one visit to diagnose the problem, say 45 min with travelling.

Then he has to come and replace the valve which is not such an easy task and can take about 75 min.

After that he needs to test the boiler and I would include a full performance test and checking of the gas settings.

So although I would only charge about £224 in my local area, your quote of £250 still sounds quite reasonable to me.

Tony

 

[scottkirwanthomas]

Tony,

My reaction to the price isn't because I don't think its value for money as I understand the cost of a new valve having looked at it myself.

It's too steep to swallow as I cant afford it.

If my discoveries are wrong then what would you suggest the issue be?

Forgive me for not trusting the opinion of an engineer that told me to run the water slower until it got hot enough for me to use instead of diagnosing that the radiators where getting warm when running the hot tap.

I understand that there is a kit that allows you to refurb the diverter valve by replacing the pins, seals and diaphragms once it has been stripped and cleaned.

This would be a cost effective solution for me if its something that I could tackle myself. I was hoping that someone on here may be able to offer some advice.

 

[Agile]

My discoveries on the internet lead me to believe that it could be a switch, the valve or a diaphragm in the valve.

All of those "discoveries" are wrong. You are clearly hoping that it will be something small and cheap.

The problem is caused by a sticking manifold section of the diverter valve. Commercially I always replace the whole diverter valve as the time taken to clean and replace the insides are not worthwhile and my previous experience of doing that is that its not a long term repair.

Tony

 

[cross thread]

british gas fixed price repair .

 

[scottkirwanthomas]

Tony,

Thank you for your comments.

I'm grateful for your diagnosis in that without actually seeing the problem you have decided that the only solution is to replace the whole diverter valve.

As previously stated, my discoveries on the internet, including this forum, point to the fact that it is common in this boiler for the diaphragm to fail.

If this is not the problem then it could be deposit build up inside the valve, switches failing, problem with the pump or the heat exchanger.

This is based in information supplied from engineers that have years of experience who have dealt with this issue on this model of boiler.

If a kit that costs me £35 and refurbs the diverter valve and it doesn't solve the problem then I'm only £35 in the hole not £250.

I would also like to thank you for your insightful assumptions into my lifestyle.

What you may be disappointed in knowing is that I don't spend money on cars, I struggle to keep mine running.

I haven't had a holiday in 10 years because I cant afford it.

I do not smoke nor buy video downloads.

What I am capable of doing is looking at what you have posted previously on questions raised in this forum.

It appears that your stock answer is "don't do it to yourselves, leave it to the professionals" coupled with a sarky comment.

I'm rather glad you don't cover Nottingham.

I would, however, appreciate any comments from anybody other than Tony.

 

[Agile]

I am now sorry that I tried to help you. You clearly don't appreciate my advice!

In that case you should concentrate on those things that you listed:-

"""As previously stated, my discoveries on the internet, including this forum, point to the fact that it is common in this boiler for the diaphragm to fail.

If this is not the problem then it could be deposit build up inside the valve, switches failing, problem with the pump or the heat exchanger.

This is based in information supplied from engineers that have years of experience who have dealt with this issue on this model of boiler."""

 

[45yearsagasman]

That diverter is readily refurbished with a service kit, which would be easily obtainable from a parts supplier. I've never replaced the whole valve, and I would take issue with anyone who says that's the way to go. I could do this job in less than 45 mins. BG engineers rarely replace the whole valve, and most carry the service kits including the diaphragm as part of their van stock.( I certainly did ).Their fixed price repair might be the way forward for you. The job can be done with the valve in situ. View media item 31064

 

[scottkirwanthomas]

Thanks 45yearsgasman kit ordered, will keep you posted on my efforts.

 

[pallen5000]

You will never need to change a complete diverter valve on a Baxi 105e (unless leaking) Just remove the cartridge, clean and re-grease. If the problem persists then it's a blocked DHW heat exchanger. If they suggest you need a complete valve, then they are having your pants down.