Ariston Eurocombi (haven't got a clue what I'm doing, Help!)

[crystaltips17]

Hello all,

Firstly, I would like to point out that I am a woman and most of the stuff on the forums here may as well be Japanese - however, with both MOT and car tax due this month, I can't really afford to get anyone out to look at my boiler!! So, any help would be much appreciated as I am currently sitting in a very cold house...

A few of my radiators had been very cold (furthest from boiler) so a friend advised me to bleed all the radiators. I was advised to do this with the heating on (could this have been the first mistake??) Anyway - 2 radiators downstairs produced 4 pots of brown/black water. All radiators upstairs were air only.

Now, absolutely no heat (inc water) and pressure on system 0.1 bar. Boiler fires up (sometimes) and I can see the blue flames. Top of boiler unit itself very warm (nice to warm cold hands up on!!). Thermostat lights on front of boiler now not lighting up.

Do I need to fill the 'filling loop' (ooh, get me) up??

HELP!!!!

Thanks in advance...
crystaltips

 

[mario500]

Yes you do need to fill up with the filling loop. You need to fill to the one bar mark.

whenever you bleed radiators you will always need to check/refill pressure.

If you have black water in the system you should consider getting the system flushed out at some point.


Allan

 

[Biguns]

crystalips17 wrote

so a friend advised me to bleed all the radiators. I was advised to do this with the heating on (could this have been the first mistake??)

Yes a mistake---Read this

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/bleeding_a_radiator.htm

 

[Agile]

I really cannot understand how a friend could give you bad advice like that. If he did not understand heating he should have kept quiet.

Its a very simple situation that if you take water out then you have to replace it by repressurising the system to about 1.5 Bar.

If the water is black then you have a potential serious problem if its not flushed out and treated soon.

Tony

 

[crystaltips17]

Thank you all for your advice - heating and water all ok now.

HOWEVER....

Got home tonight and noticed that there is water dripping from bottom of boiler and the pressure has dropped. Had a quick look under the unit and it looks like it may be from the 'gas' pipe?!? Is that possible?

Is there a solution that doesn't involve me calling out a plumber?

Sorry to be a pain, and thanks again for any advice....

 

[twgas]

The water may be dripping from the gas pipe, but only after it has dripped onto it from a water pipe/component. A closer inspection is required to find exactly where the water is coming from.

 

[Agile]

To see where the water is leaking from it would be necessary to remove the front cover off the boiler.

But we cannot suggest that you do that unless you are sure you will be safe with the inside exposed!

Whatever you do keep your friend away as you cannot afford to get any more wrong advice.

Tony

 

[crystaltips17]

Evening all,

I have posted 2 photos in my photo album one with the boiler with front off and the other of the area that the water is coming through.

The metal cover in photo 1 doesn't appear to come off easily, I was wondering if it is actually possible to take off? The water is coming from behind here.

Thanks again for any advice.

 

[marcr]

Behind the metal cover is the combustion chamber and should only be accessed by an RGI.
In there a leak could be coming from an automatic air valve, o-ring on a pipe connection or the heat exchanger..........

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

The big metal cover is the front of the combustion chamber, where the gas is burned to heat the water. As Tony says, this should only be removed by a Gassafe engineer for safety reasons.

If the water is leaking from here then sadly I think you have no choice but to engage an engineer to look at it. Might be worth investigating British Gas fixed price repairs unless you have a preferred engineer you can trust.

 

[Happyplumber]

Unfortunatelly everything you need to check is inside the combustion chamber

The heat exchanger is pretty bullet proof on these ,but maybe just leaking from a joint or the auto air vent

If you are stuck i know of an excellent time served engineer in oxford who has been working there for last twenty odd years,send me mail and i can put you in touch with him if you like