Tonight my Ravensheat condensing boiler started making loud noises when I was running the hot tap. It then started smoking and this smoke was coming out of the outside outlet and out of the top of the boiler's casing.It smelt electrical. I turned off the gas and the noises were still happening although the smoke eventually stopped. When the bad noises were happening I saw that the pressure 'bar' was reading ZERO. Earlier today I had drained, taken off, and put back on a radiator. I didn't know what to do so I called Transco and the man came round and capped of the gas. I wonder if anybody can tell me what to do? Every gas place in the yellow places is not answering the phone - I think because of the world cup. Thank you, sally
RAVENSHEAT ON FIRE!!!!
- Thread starter Miss Sally
- Start date
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To try to explain it in simple terms, you removed a rad and depressurised the system.
You then continued to use the boiler WITHOUT repressurising the system.
Obviously you seem to have done some serious damage to the boiler!
I am assuming that this is all the result of a DIY job.
Perhaps this will be a good example of when using a professional would have been a cheaper option?
Tony Glazier
You then continued to use the boiler WITHOUT repressurising the system.
Obviously you seem to have done some serious damage to the boiler!
I am assuming that this is all the result of a DIY job.
Perhaps this will be a good example of when using a professional would have been a cheaper option?
Tony Glazier
When I took off the radiator should I have 'repressurised'. what does this mean? Fill it back up? Someone told me that the boiler should have cut off if it was underpressure. The boiler is under warrenty. Will this help?
thanks for such quick replies, Sally [/quote]
thanks for such quick replies, Sally [/quote]
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Agile said:
Shouldn't the boiler have automatically shut off due to low pressure though or do Ravenheats not do this?
Edit:
Miss Sally said:
Yes, re-pressurizing means manually filling the boiler with water again to the tune of the amount you removed basically (ie until the meter reads what it should do under normal conditions).
coz they are cheap ravenheats do not have a low pressure switch and rely on the over heat stat to shut the boiler down in the even of dry firing
must say unless the boiler was drained dry it usually has enough water to keep the heat exchanger safe until the OH stat kicks in
must say unless the boiler was drained dry it usually has enough water to keep the heat exchanger safe until the OH stat kicks in
I can't believe that draining 1 radiator would result in no water int he boiler.
to be honest neither can i, depressurize it definatley but empty it totally i find hard to believe
but the fact remains that as agile and chris say you have probably killed your boiler, if the overheat stat failed the yes draining down a radiator and not topping the system up has probably killed it.
and the fact remains that I for one cannot give you any nice news, just bad that it is one way or another going to cost you a fair bit
I am truly sorry
but the fact remains that as agile and chris say you have probably killed your boiler, if the overheat stat failed the yes draining down a radiator and not topping the system up has probably killed it.
and the fact remains that I for one cannot give you any nice news, just bad that it is one way or another going to cost you a fair bit
I am truly sorry
I will have to phone the company to see if it is still within warranty. If not then I will have to prepare for the cost.
Thanks for the help all
Thanks for the help all
Many people do not understand just how important it is to ensure that boilers are installed by competent qualified people.
I usually use the analgy of motor cars as they are often somewhat better understood.
In this case it is the equivalent of drain out the oil from your car and driving off without refilling.
Unfortunately, this sounds like an expensive mistake and it will not be covered by the warranty. Topping up the water pressure is just like topping up the oil in your car.
For interest I would like to know exactly which model of boiler you have.
We still answered our phones as normal regardless of the World Cup.
Tony Glazier
I usually use the analgy of motor cars as they are often somewhat better understood.
In this case it is the equivalent of drain out the oil from your car and driving off without refilling.
Unfortunately, this sounds like an expensive mistake and it will not be covered by the warranty. Topping up the water pressure is just like topping up the oil in your car.
For interest I would like to know exactly which model of boiler you have.
We still answered our phones as normal regardless of the World Cup.
Tony Glazier
It has been said earlier that boiler have some means of suppressing dry fire i.e. burner not igniting when boiler has little or no water. On some boilers this safety feature is a switch (that disconnects and will not allow electrics to operate), a flow switch which the pump operates if system pressure is adequate. Not all boilers have this feature.
It is possible the damage may not be that extensive. Usually, excessive heat melts the main heat exchanger, melts the fan and the air poressure switch (if it is located high in the combustion chamber)
Stop thinking of 'slashing your wrists' and call in a heating engineer who will look at the boiler without thinking new boiler. If indeed the cost of repairs is going to be high, replacement will be the answer. Look on the bright side- you will have spares for repairs to this boiler. So, once the boiler magician has called, be prepaired to B in the Q. Another ray of hope is that Ravenheat will not coat you an arm and a leg.
Post your location. You might get one of the regulars to come knocking on your door.
It is possible the damage may not be that extensive. Usually, excessive heat melts the main heat exchanger, melts the fan and the air poressure switch (if it is located high in the combustion chamber)
Stop thinking of 'slashing your wrists' and call in a heating engineer who will look at the boiler without thinking new boiler. If indeed the cost of repairs is going to be high, replacement will be the answer. Look on the bright side- you will have spares for repairs to this boiler. So, once the boiler magician has called, be prepaired to B in the Q. Another ray of hope is that Ravenheat will not coat you an arm and a leg.
Post your location. You might get one of the regulars to come knocking on your door.
Thank you to everybody who has replied to my message so quickly on this forum. This is my first forum experience and I am very heartened by it. A special thank you to those people who have been very informative about what I should do next. My boiler is a Ravenheat CSI 85T condensing fanned combi. I read the manual from cover to cover last night and I did not find any thing to tell me about radiator replacement. However, I did discover that this boiler has an 'Overheat cut-off Thermostat'. Would this be what I needed?
I am in Leeds. I wonder if anybody knows of any good heating engineers/boiler fixers here?
Thanks again
sally
I am in Leeds. I wonder if anybody knows of any good heating engineers/boiler fixers here?
Thanks again
sally
The over heat stat is provided to prevent overheating.
Unfortunately because of their design, sometimes whilst they will protect against a slowly falling pressure, if the boiler is started up with no water at all inside they fail to stop it from firing up.
The overheat stat relies on enough water still being in the boiler to be heated up and turn the stat off.
Tony Glazier
Unfortunately because of their design, sometimes whilst they will protect against a slowly falling pressure, if the boiler is started up with no water at all inside they fail to stop it from firing up.
The overheat stat relies on enough water still being in the boiler to be heated up and turn the stat off.
Tony Glazier
I quick note to inform those who may be interested ...
This morning a gas man came to look at the boiler and he reconnected the gas and filled up the water in the system and all worked fine. He said the 'smoke' I had seen was not fire but steam (it was white) and that the noises were because the boiler was 'kettled out' when it tried to heat up the empty system.
It cost £30!
I am so pleased. All weekend I have been worrying about getting a new boiler.
I now know how to check the pressure levels and how to 'top up' the system should the pressure fall beneath 1 bar again.
thanks, (newly- boiler-educated) Sally
This morning a gas man came to look at the boiler and he reconnected the gas and filled up the water in the system and all worked fine. He said the 'smoke' I had seen was not fire but steam (it was white) and that the noises were because the boiler was 'kettled out' when it tried to heat up the empty system.
It cost £30!
I am so pleased. All weekend I have been worrying about getting a new boiler.
I now know how to check the pressure levels and how to 'top up' the system should the pressure fall beneath 1 bar again.
thanks, (newly- boiler-educated) Sally
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