Worcester 24i burner wont ignite

To start off, my boiler has always had a problem whereby the pressure will drop from 2bar to below 1bar within a couple of days - a week at the most!

There are no leaks in the system, and I've had the boiler checked by a CORGI engineer, who said he could find no leak within.

Its normally always on, and is set to 3/4 heat (yes, I'm a big soft girl when it comes to being cold)

About 6 months ago the pump packed in, and was replaced by an engineer (the CORGI guy who checked it over for me) and its been fine ever since (well still dropping pressure, but heating ok etc..)

That is up until yesterday, when I noticed the house was very cold. I checked & found that the water is no longer being heated, and the rads are stone cold. Looking at the unit, the light is lit, temp settings the same, and making the usual noise (pump). I lifted the lid, and noticed that when the unit is on & supposed to be heating, the burner is not lit!

I checked that the reset switch was not tripped, and have tried turning the unit on & off a few times, turning the heat right down etc.. I have even left it powered down for 5+hours, but it still wont light.

I did notice that the pressure was up at 2.5bar, so I dropped it to 1.5bar, but that also made no difference.

I think the next step is for me to call out an engineer again, but does anyone know what its likely to be this time? Just so I have a headsup on the problem.


Cheers in advance & sorry for the long post!

Pressure doesn't disappear like that! It either leaks from the system or from the Pressure Relief Valve and leaves a tell tail trail.

Thanks for giving me my bedtime story to read

But before I make slime trails to my bed I should let you know that I think your pressure vessel needs replacing or at least attending to.

Thanks for your reply Slugbaby!

I also thought that the engineer must have missed something! I've checked the wall outside, and theres no sign of water from the PRV outlet. Do you think perhaps I have a leak somewhere in the pipes under the floors?

The house is only 4/5 years old, and I've checked all the rads & the visible pipes going to them.. none of those are leaking, and all the stops are tight.

Would this pressure dropping be causing the burner to fail? Bearing in mind that the pressure only drops when its working ok.

Do you think perhaps I have a leak somewhere in the pipes under the floors?

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If thats the only place you cant see then it is likely

I was concerned about your pressure readings though

If from a cold start you have 1 bar and it goes up by more than 0.5 bar when you use it then a pressure vessel problem is likely.

I suspect it is going up towards the 3 bar level THEN blowing out of the PRV

When the system cools there is less water in the system and therefore less pressure.

I'm sorry, I fear I have mislead you with that bit..

Whe I said I found the boiler to be up at 2.5 bar, I actually mean my partner had accidently overdone it. She must have added more pressure, after it had ran low, and due to it being fiddly to do, she hasn't stopped it in time.

The pressure never rises when the boiler is working ok.. it only drops.

Get your engineer to actually take the burner cover off. Inside will be an Automatic Air Vent...bet it's leaking! I'm doing about 6 a week at the mo.

Jim

sounds like a leak some where . i have a worcester28i only top it up once a year it drops from 1.2 bar to 1.1 bar you must be losing water some where. have you got concrete floors? if so have a look at them. you should see if the prv has been leaking all that water