Boiler Overheating Very Hot!! - Central Heating System HELP!

Can anyone help? have recently moved to a property with a Worcester Combi Boiler, everything working fine until new radiators fitted with additional two new radiators to the system.
Now have a combination of some old radiators and new D/C radiators, as soon as the job finished the new rads didn't get very hot. Next day the boiler got very hot and smelly, the pressure dropped straight down to zero, the pressure was turned back up and the boiler is now constantly getting very hot and smelly within an hour of being turned on it then starts clicking when turned off, as though it's cooling down.

Get the person who installed the new rads back - or was it a DIY job?

Hi, No it wasn't a DIY job, the experianced professional Heating Engineers don't know what is wrong with the boiler, they DO know that there wasn't a problem with the boiler when they installed the rads, they DO know that there is a problem with the boiler now, they also know they didn't cause the problem with it?

igiveitup said:

Hi, No it wasn't a DIY job, the experienced professional Heating Engineers don't know what is wrong with the boiler, they DO know that there wasn't a problem with the boiler when they installed the rads, they DO know that there is a problem with the boiler now, they also know they didn't cause the problem with it?

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I have to disagree with you description of the installers as experienced professional Heating Engineers. They may be experienced installers, but they obviously have no idea how to carry out fault finding.

How do they know the problem was not caused by them? It could be something as simple as forgetting to open a valve which they closed or it could be coincidence.

If the installers can't resolve the problem you will have to get in someone who specializes in diagnosis and repairs.

It might be a good idea if you said where were located - there will probably be someone on here near you who can help.

Hi Again,
Thank you very very much for your reply, I 'am in Cheshire. This job was done 4 week's ago, I complained on the second day before they finished at noon, that the new rads were not hot, two days later the boiler got very very hot, the pressure dropped to one digit off zero and the copper pipe outside must have let off steam or water and the bricks were saturated beneath it.

As the engineers would not return, I called out worcester on a one call out fee, the engineer said it had overheated, the wall was black at the side and also the ceiling above it, he checked the flue as it is an open flue and then carried out his investigative tests. He opened a valve on the top of the boiler and a tremendous amount of air started to come out for a very very long time. He did say that wasn't right and it shouldn't do that for that length of time. The diagnosis on that day was a fault on the system, probably sludge in the pipes and it would benefit from being flushed out with x400? or something similiar, this was only a recommendation and he would not put it in writing.

As a gesture of good will, he replaced the pcb board.

igiveitup said:

He opened a valve on the top of the boiler and a tremendous amount of air started to come out for a very very long time. He did say that wasn't right and it shouldn't do that for that length of time. The diagnosis on that day was a fault on the system, probably sludge in the pipes and it would benefit from being flushed out with x400?

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Sounds as if you have/had an airlock due to sludge collecting in the system when it was drained to install the new rads. The installer should have been able to diagnose that.

A can or two of Sentinel X400 should help. as you have a sealed system it's probably better to buy the Rapid Dose version. This is injected into the system via a rad bleed valve (you have to buy the adapter separately).

Drain the system.
Isolate all rads by turning off both valves. (Count number of turns on lockshield valve and write it down)
Flush through with cold water until it no more muck comes (it may not be clear)
Open both valves of furthest rad from boiler and flush as above.
Close the valves and move on to the next rad
And so on until each rad has been flushed separately.
Open all rad valves fully
Add the Sentinel X400
Make sure system is full and up to pressure.
Run the system for about four weeks.
Then drain and flush as above.
Refill and Add X100 inhibitor.

If the problem does not go away, you may need to have it power flushed. which can cost anything up to £700 depending on who does it and the number of radiators you have.

If you have to have a power flush, get several quotes and ask for details of what exactly they do, how long it will take and what guarantee they give that it will solve the problem.

The JetFlush Manual will tell you how it should be done.

igiveitup said:

Hi Again,

As the engineers would not return, I called out worcester on a one call out fee, the engineer said it had overheated, the wall was black at the side and also the ceiling above it, he checked the flue as it is an open flue and then carried out his investigative tests. He opened a valve on the top of the boiler and a tremendous amount of air started to come out for a very very long time.

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I think that confirms that they were not professionals in any way!

Now were they plumbers or were they gas registered engineers who were at least qualified to work on the boiler if they knew how?

It sounds as if they did not bleed the systema AND boiler before repowering. Its not clear to me what has happened to the boiler but your description sounded like very severe damage and I am rather surprised that its still working.

Tony

Please state the model of boiler.You stated a WB open flued combi? An open flued boiler that smells requires urgent attention.

...not to mention the 'blackness' on the walls and ceiling. As above, get a decent RGI in.

Hi,

Firstly thank you very much to everyone that has taken time to help and post replies. The engineer that fitted the new rads (seven in total) with two additional rads added to the system. Is a gas safe, corgi registered Heating Engineer and Plumber.

The boiler is a worcester bosch 24cdi combi boiler, apparently fitted july 2000 and was in working order with no hot smells, sickly odours or overheating.
Eleven radiators were in the property of various sizes and ages before any work was done.

No rads in the hall which is where one has been fitted, with another fitted in the loft, bringing the total up to 13 radiators. Five rads were changed from normal to double convector.
At the time I did question how many rads would the boiler run, and was answered with 50?

I also feel the boiler suffered major damage after the work was done and is now suffering for it, it could be coincidence but the problems only occured immediately after the work was done on the system. The hot sickly smell/stench can be unbeareable after a while until the boiler is turned off.

I don't know if the system was flushed out, it took one and a half days to fit 7 new rads, I did enquire if the smell was paint on the new rads? or was it some chemical that had been used or added, and was answered with "nothing was used, to have used an inhibitor would have cost hundreds extra".

The boiler WAS in good working order, more funds have been spent on wb engineers call out. Unfortunately the pcb board didn't solve the problem, two days later w.bosch were called out again and the engineer said the gas flame or burner was wafting about, he cleaned it out, did tests etc and said it was testing ok, adding I would get the occassional waft-smell from it, he could smell something, but that was from a radiator in the kitchen

No hot sickly smells were in the house prior to having work done, no smells from any of the old radiators at all. What the cause of the hot sickly stench coming from the boiler is? and who is responsible? is proving to be frustrating, expensive and time consuming.
Anyone can make a mistake, how it is addressed and corrected is most important.

First time I've heard of an open flue cdi.
The wafting flames is a serious cause for concern, it's often caused by the fumes not being evacuated. Adding that to a "smell" I'd advise you not to use the boler until it has been properly checked/tested by a competent RGI.

igiveitup said:

Hi,

I don't know if the system was flushed out, it took one and a half days to fit 7 new rads, I did enquire if the smell was paint on the new rads? or was it some chemical that had been used or added, and was answered with "nothing was used, to have used an inhibitor would have cost hundreds extra".

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Whatever his qualifications were he seems to be a semi cowboy!

A bottle of proper inhibitor costs about £15 and when a system is modified like that should have been cleaned first with X300 and then been drained and had X100 inhibitor added. £30 of chemicals.

The open flue CDI has a flue spilling stat at the back of the flue which should have tripped out if spillage was occuring and needing a manual reset.

I still cannot imaging what went wrong with your boiler but I would say you are lucky its still working. I know the Worcester engineers are competent but without knowing what was wrong I also think it would be better fully checked by a competent gas engineer.

Tony

igiveitup said:

The engineer that fitted the new rads, (seven in total) with two additional rads added to the system, is a gas safe, corgi registered Heating Engineer and Plumber.

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Have you see his Registration Card?

If not, have you checked his registration at Gassafe Register?

Corgi registration means nothing now.

I still pay to be registered for CORGI !

My gas registration is with Gas Safe though.

Tony

Agile said:

I still pay to be registered for CORGI !Tony

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Why? What a waste of time and money. Yet you won't pay for ARGI?