GLOW-WORM 18HXI TROUBLE , 4 weeks old , whats wrong with it?

Had the Glow worm condensing boiler 18 hxi fitted by local plumbers 4 weeks ago , cost of £1562.00 , all they had to do was replace the existing boiler , fit a new pump a room thermostat , and a thermostat for the hot water tank.You see previously we could not isolate the central heating from the hot water automatically and would have to go in airing cupboard turn off the the valve manually ( summer ) or it would get unbearable even though the pump was switched off it would still travel round the radiators by confection .

Anyway we decide we want to go auto , thermostat and full control , we have them come round and fit the boiler , which was their choice recommendation , by the way we have 2 bed house with 6 radiators , 3 large and 3 small for the bedrooms and bathroom ,; they fit the thing and i am left to fathom out how it works as they have gone before i get back from work .

Here is how i perceive the boiler to be in working fashion , it has a dial on the front to set to a maximum temp of your choice , its pretty cold i set to around 75 degrees as there is a digital display , it is running very quietly at 75 degrees and the rads are heating perfectly , over the next few days it seems to be making strange noises and i can hear the water travelling around the pipes , noisy , i immediately check the rads cold at the top hot at bootom , air in system me thinks , i bleed them and were ok again , the noise has gone from the pipes , however over the next 3 weeks the boiler has been randomly switching off from the maximum and falls in temperature to around 45 and then will cut back in go past the maximum i have set it to and cut out once more .if i switch off it returns to normal and is ok for a while , the room thermostat is set to demand heat from the boiler , it hasnt reached the temperature desired of 24 degrees , the rads will be cooling down and then were off again with a few hours of correct running , and then its up and down like a yoyo , cutting in cutting out , pump has been replaced because he thought the pump was overheating and faulty , but it still doing it .

this is just a note to you plumbing guys out there to see if you have any ideas as to the fault , as we don't want to freeze over xmas as when i got up this morning it was very cold and the boiler up to its tricks.

the plumber that fitted it seems to tell me a different story every time he comes out to it , so i want to try and help him while he is doing what he can through the glow worm helpline , otherwise were screwed !

any help folks would be much appreciated

thanks dave

Call gloworm out.
Check if your installer is corgi regd. If not you've got him over a barrel.

If the boiler was fitted, with new controls, in a day by 1 guy he couldn't have done much flushing. What has he put in the Benchmark Log Book?

states that claener used is 400, and been flushed , and an inhibitor has been used 100 , he is corgi registered and works with his dad, like i said a day to do it but i wasnt there all day with them.I have stopped the check as of today as i have had to have around 10 hrs off work and another 2 tomorrow because hes coming out at 3 pm to check the 3 way valve or something. so far its been running 2 and half hours and its fine , just waiting for the trouble to start as it is pretty cold tonight,

thanks for the reply , if you need more details let me know

cheers dave

Whats his corgi number AND his corgi id card serial number, they should be on the Benchmark book, he may or may not be registerd, but even if he is, is he eligble to fit boilers, he may only have a cert to fit cookers, check with corgi.

Either he does the work or you talk to trading standards. You will not get away with stopping the cheque if he fights it. You will have to sue.

there are no registration details , should i be worried ?

or should i ask for them tommorrow?

worry big style

when i say no details i mean he hasnt filled it in and on the estimate sheet which is headed with CORGI and underneath 5571 , idont think this is it , is it?

http://www.corgi-gas-safety.com/

try sticking it in here then

and im not going to start quoting the (installation & use ) regs again

stuck the number in and it comes up as registered, so at least that part is ok , will have to wait till tommorrow to see what happens , ill keep you posted.

Did one of those boilers (well 30cxi) last week. They are a nice unit for the price point. Took 2.5 days and that was just swapping boiler and re-routing a bit of pipework in the loft. Charged a similar amount to what you paid, although I included a water conditioner as it was a combi version.

However, the flow thermistor was *****ered so it was getting up to 50c then tripping out. It reset itself after a few minutes and then started the cycle again. Called Glow-worm and asked them to attend pronto.

He should have filled in the Benchmark book, otherwise Glowworm may use that fact to nullify the warranty on the boiler. Seen it done and they are within their rights.

Is the benchmark filled out COMPLETELY - no blank spaces? If not ask the installer why not.

Regarding the boiler fault, go direct to Glowworm. Most installers don't need to faff around with boiler faults when its under warranty. I certainly redirect all boiler issues to the manufacturer.... Time is money!

for once i agree

Ditto, it's their crap they can fix it.

Ok he has changed the diverter valve and i asked him about the room stat as we have two thermometers in our house and they both said it was 25 degrees , even when next to the room stat and the drayton roomstat was set to a maximum of 22 degrees and would not cut out the bolier until turning it back to 18 degrees , i asked him if it was set right on the dial and he said it was a sealed unit and calibrated at the factory , so iasked him to change it and guess what the new one seems more within the operating boundaries that it is set to.

seems that they have got themselves a nightmare here , the boiler at the moment is working fine , and ill keep you posted as to the outcome of it

cheers dave