Boiler broken and quote

ChrisR said:

Hugo the fault description would be unusual. All I can think he means is that the heat exchanger is leaking water, which is then evaporating until it condenses in the flue and then leaks out. Does that sound like what he meant?
Does the pressure gauge drop quickly? It would.
Where exactly is the leak?

Click to expand...

Hi Chris, I dont know where the actual leak is, all I know is that water is coming out of the flue pipe on the outside of the wall, yes the pressure drops very quickly, the plumber didnt mention anything about evaporation.

Cheers

Your boiler has the heat exchanger connections outside the combustion chamber so it really does sound as if the main HE is leaking.

It can be fixed but its still a fairly unreliable boiler. £300 is about right to sort it out.

Its up to you to decide what you want to do.

Tony

I have only once come across a Puma/Combi heat exchanger that failed itself.

However I have come across the heat exchanger connections within the combustion chamber failing. They are usual O rings but I have found the retaining clips have not always been fitted correctly from new.

Sometimes the water loss can be very low and evaporates off showing no signs of leaks.

This one however (on the cold inlet) survived for 7 years before finally failing one night in a big way. Note the clip sits (incorrectly) below the swaged end of the pipe.

It is sometimes possible to clean up the pipe ends and reseal with new O rings however years of scale buildup can be a problem.

Just an update in case you are interested, was concerned about the 1st plumber who said we needed a £1200 new boiler as he didnt really investigate the boiler at all. So tried another who did investigate, turned out to be a leaking air valve and some other minor thing, all fixed for £75.
Guess the moral is always get a second opinion!
Thanks for your input.

Very good news. I hope you asked the second guy for a few of his business cards? If not, then do.

Provided of course that his fix works, you can (1) use him again (2) tell your friends and neighbours.

A personal recommendation is very important.