PLEASE HELP! Betacom 24c - condensate trap sensor!

I have a Glow Worm Betacom 24c - it's about 5 years old and installed by a total numpty (not me - Dodgy Rog). The first year I had it the condensate sensor tripped it (flashing 90 pilot light... cuts out after 10 seconds).

2 expensive plumbers later it turned out the sensor in the condensate trap was wet and so had turned it off. Since then it has needed drying every, say 9 months and resetting which has not been a problem really. Until about a week ago. Now it needs drying every other day - or else it trips and I have no hot water or heating.

Being of a practical nature I read some stuff about the traps and have checked....

The condensate pipe (connected to my sink) is not blocked or frozen (I can blow down it easily)... so I removed the trap itself (which was a nightmare!) and cleaned it, but there wasn't a great deal in it.

What else could cause the sensor to get wet? The guys at Glow Worm were less than useless - told me to replace the sensor- but surely new or old if its wet it won't work?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Samantha xx

I suspect Sam, that you may have an avalanche of replies to your problem, given that you're from Essex, and you have no trouble blowing.

No offence meant

I think that they often give problems on that model.

The may be a small modification to prevent it.

But the condensate trap on the boiler is really part of the flue and so strictly not a DIY part to work on.

Some others may remember the details of the problem.

Tony

sbody1 said:

I have a Glow Worm Betacom 24c - it's about 5 years old

Samantha xx

Click to expand...

If it lasts another year, it may be the record! Can you prove that it has really lasted this long? At around £400 all in, this was never meant to be an endurance model. You were supposed to have dispaired of it by now and dumped it. With any luck you might have forgiven Glowworm in another few years and buy another one of their experiments in cost cutting.

I spoke to GW a few days ago for the part number of the combustion chamber seal that had decomposed...Seems that you have to buy the full front panel with the seal on..

It's a Heatline Vizo in drag..... Even the guy from Glow worm was embarrassed about it.

needs a shorter earthing screw in the top of the trap

maybe ??

I don't think its dipping into the condensate but condensation around the top of the trap.

Where is Micky when you want him? Off fishing or womanising?

Thanks for all of the replies - needless to say I won't be buying another GlowWorm boiler ever again... the only proof I have that it is 5 years old is that the property was done up just before I bought it then, and without taking down the wall, I can't actually remove the boiler from the cupboard (which appears to me stuck onto said wall with some type of magical bonding agent - had a 20 stone ex-army engineer HANG off of it and it wouldn't budge).

Sadly no closer to fixing my Betacom friend. Sad times!!

Thanks again though!

xxx

There are 2 ways to 'fix' this problem - both depend on good drainage for the condense trap. This means no induced siphoning of the waste, ie gurgling.

The 1st easy way is to get a new cap and replace the one without pins with it. The wires are the separated to one on each plug. It is VITAL that the boiler is switched off at the fused spur or unplugged when doing this; as another trick this gem of a boiler can do is make the White wire 240v if just switched off on the front panel.

The other will need a good gasman to remove the siphon and dismantle it. He then needs to cut about 10 mm off of the inner dip tube.

Neither are 100% cures but have been known to cure a lot of these lame shiny maggots.

You're a star GuessMan thank you will try one of these and see how it goes! Thank you again xx