Alpha CD28C Boiler - Advice please.

[fuctifino]

Hi all..
My first visit to the site so please be gentle with me ..

My bathroom ' refit ' has been stalled because my boiler has decided to have a tantrum. It is fine while sitting there doing nothing - got power / got pressure / gas etc but as soon as I ask it to do anything - heat / hot water - it lets out a loud groan and has a strop - just like my daughter - then cuts out.

I've tried to coax it with a shutdown / reset but its a stubborn little git and won't play ball.

Judging by its behaviour, I am guessing at a blockage, possibly the pump / spindle. The destruction manual tells me to remove the centre screw and manually free the spindle - hmmm !!. Or it may be something more simple / complicated.


Any suggestions ?


Many thanks


Alan

EDIT : Having removed the front cover I can see that the main burner is igniting briefly, accompanied by a vibratory groan. The nature of the flame suggests it is being ' blown out '. The boiler then resets and trys again - same thing.

I need a boiler engineer me thinks !!

Thanks

 

[twgas]

I also think you need a boiler repairer.

 

[petit_pablo]

Sounds like a pump fault and if it is then prepare to pay for it.

Cheapest I can find is £220 for the pump head.

 

[D_Hailsham]

The destruction manual tells me to remove the centre screw and manually free the spindle - hmmm !!.

Have you tried that?

 

[fuctifino]

Nope..not yet.
Fortunately, my Nephew is a registered Engineer...unfortunately, he is ' on site ' until Wednesday. His words of advice involved ' FFS..DON'T TOUCH 'F' ALL '...wise words probably.
I am still without heating / hot water in the interim but can cope with boiled kettles and electric heaters.
I think costs involved in extra leccy will be minimal in comparison to calling out an Engineer of dubious character. I'll wait til Wednesday.

Thanks for your interest.

 

[Tibbot]

I think costs involved in extra leccy will be minimal in comparison to calling out an Engineer of dubious character. I'll wait til Wednesday.

In case you were unaware, you're not obliged to call an engineer of dubious character. You are entitled to use one of sound character.

 

[gazdaz36]

Sounds like low working gas pressure to me. Do you have a gas hob or cooker?

 

[fuctifino]

Hi all,
We finally managed to catch our Boiler Engineer nephew between jobs The missus frogmarched him upstairs by his left ear while verbally assaulting his right about him not returning her calls ... no heating...etc. She hates being cold does my missus . Poor bloke. Unfortunately, I wasn't here to rescue him.

Anyway, as soon as he removed the front cover, the problem was quite evident . The flue hood inside the boiler housing had literally been blown apart. ( SEE PICS ). Fortunately, nobody was at home when it happened else I am sure we would have heard something. The heating is timed to come on half an hour before her Ladyship gets in from work - but I bet it made the dog jump!!
He offered a few suggestions as to probable cause but was unable / unwilling to investigate further due to the damage so....over to you. Any ideas ?

My next question is..do I need to replace the whole boiler or do I source a replacement part ( if possible ) ?. That said, the flue replacement is not going to cure the root cause which is so far unidentified and may well lead to further replacement parts until we have a working boiler. £££££'s.

When things go wrong......!!!!

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[snb]

i would get someone to replace that part. That is almost certainly the fault.

Your nephew if he knew much about boilers should be able to confirm this

 

[holty]

Even after fitting said part id check a few other things. E.g explosive ignition and its cause. Door seal etc.

 

[fuctifino]

My Nephew retrained as a plumber following demob from the Army. He began his new career as a plumbers mate and went back to school. He progressed through Corgi / Gas Safe and now runs his own very successful Company specialising in industrial gas / cryogenic installations. He installed my central heating during the ' wet ' stage of his career but has progressed far beyond fixing leaking taps and dodgy boilers - but he's still got it all in his bag. Who better to ask ?

The damage to the flue is not the problem...it is the result. The part will obviously need replacing before progression to solving the initial problem ( faulty gas valve / flow - blocked flue etc ). As I said in my previous post, he was unwilling and unable to go any further until the flue problem is cured. Makes sense to me.

Going back to the question...

Do I take the long road of sourcing parts / replacements and take a possible path towards financial ruin or just cut / run / buy a new boiler ?. Either way is going to work out expensive ... I prefer the cheaper option.

over to you ...

Thanks