Ideal Isar m30100 drip

[Gas2Air]

Just had the plumber round, he had worked on quite a few of these in the past and echoed what everyone here has said about it being total rubbish.

He took the cover plate off the bottom of the heat exchanger and it was completely full of some kind of ash like deposit which he cleared out and he thought this was blocking the pipework and sump causing the leak.

Unfortunately this didn't fix the leak and he said whilst he could change the heat exchanger (and had done one in the past) I should consider replacing the boiler because the labour time was about the same and I would still have a 13 year old boiler.

Worked on quite a few yet thought that was blocking the pipework? What would replacing the hex do?

He doesn't like repairing these, a very bad repped boiler but can be fixed, for the fault you describe much less than a new one.

 

[m0t]

Just had the plumber round, he had worked on quite a few of these in the past and echoed what everyone here has said about it being total rubbish.

He took the cover plate off the bottom of the heat exchanger and it was completely full of some kind of ash like deposit which he cleared out and he thought this was blocking the pipework and sump causing the leak.

Unfortunately this didn't fix the leak and he said whilst he could change the heat exchanger (and had done one in the past) I should consider replacing the boiler because the labour time was about the same and I would still have a 13 year old boiler.

Worked on quite a few yet thought that was blocking the pipework? What would replacing the hex do?

He doesn't like repairing these, a very bad repped boiler but can be fixed, for the fault you describe much less than a new one.

The image explains it better

Untitled

• m0t
• 26 Mar 2014
• 1

This part is called the Heat Exchanger kit.

He said the corrosion inside is caused by the unit retaining water which is slightly acidic and damages the alloy because the pipework is blocked.

I don't know if he is right about the cause but certainly the effect was visible for even me to see.

How much would you charge to repair this fault?

 

[DP]

M0t, here is a VERY big hint. The bottom of the heat exchanger is full of muck- well, this should have been removed during service

If this muck is cleared out here and elsewhere then boiler will be back to normal. Sad thing is most run around saying how bad this boiler is ( show me make and model that is faultless) but fail to establish boiler operate sequence to then start changing parts.

m0t, go ahead replace the heat exchanger. You will find the new unit will also leak as fault would seem to be elsewhere.

 

[m0t]

The heat exchanger has corroded all along the front joint, the metal is no longer flat so will not seal. The part needs to be replaced, a service will not put the dissolved metal back where it came from.

The dealing face which I highlighted above looks like the surface of the moon. I don't doubt that servicing would have prevented it but there is no way it will fix it.

 

[DP]

m0t, you are clearly missing the point.

Water is leaking from that area BECAUSE it cannot come out of the heat exchanger. Fit a new heat exchanger and water will still not escape from the new component.

 

[m0t]

So what should he have cleaned out in addition to what he did?

 

[m0t]

I got the guy back and he cleaned out the condensate trap properly (it was not free flowing so the water wasn't escaping).

2 weeks later and the boiler is peeing water again (much worse than before), it seems to only be when the heating is on but I don't want to take the chance of flooding the kitchen so have turned it off.

Plumber was supposed to come round last week to chemical flush the system in preparation for a new boiler but didn't get the time. Changing the boiler is now a bit more urgent, can it be installed and then flushed (he said the chemicals needed to be in for a week)?

 

[AngelesPlumbing]

Same boiler what happen in dartford, next morning heat exchanger stuck lady's head because DIY, its your choice. Call Gas Safe Engineer

 

[TCCHeating]

Same boiler what happen in dartford, next morning heat exchanger stuck lady's head because DIY, its your choice. Call Gas Safe Engineer

What did it stick the ladys head to????

Tell me more

 

[m0t]

Same boiler what happen in dartford, next morning heat exchanger stuck lady's head because DIY, its your choice. Call Gas Safe Engineer

I don't fully understand what this says?

If I am understanding the gist of what you mean I never had any intention of DIY'ing a heat exchanger change. Unfortunately my experience of plumbers is not good and I wanted to know what was wrong and how to fix so I could work out whether I was being fed a load of hogwash.

I did get someone out who cleaned out the heat exchanger and condensate trap (as a previous posted alluded to but didn't clearly state).

He also priced up a new boiler and I had accepted the quote. My concern now is that there isn't enough time to properly flush the system before the new boiler is installed, my question is whether this system can be flushed at the same time the boiler is installed or will I have to put up with no boiler for a few days?

 

[St0rmer66]

If it's not too dirty in the first place you can get stronger, faster acting chemicals which only need a matter of hours in the system instead of days.

 

[m0t]

Would he be able to do the whole job in a day (i.e. Flush and change boiler)?

Its just a swap for a Worcester greenstar 28, he is putting in a magnaclean but didn't think much needed changing with the pipework or rerouting the flue.

Can the existing flue be reused or will this need changing (concerned about plasterboard damage if it has to come out)?

 

[gigz]

No you can't use the same flue. And yes (depending on how quick he is) it can be done in a day.