Baxi Boiler Peace of Mind!

[GarethWilliams]

Hi there,

1) I have a Baxi Bermuda 572W back boiler.

2) About a week ago my wife and I noticed that there seemed to be more light coming from behind the front fire than normal when the boiler was on. Upon closer inspection we noticed that the flames were burning orange and seemed much larger than normal. Also there is a rushing sound rather like as if there is wind blowing down the flue which stops when you turn the boiler off.

3) Nothing at all has been done or changed in the past 6 months other than that I bled the kitchen radiator as it was hot at the bottom and cool at the top. I can't imagine this would be related to the boiler problem though.

4) We can't be 100% sure when the problem started although we did both notice it independently of each other on the same day so I am pretty sure that it started around a week ago.

5) It happens when the boiler is actually lit and heating. In its 'standby/off' state, the pilot light always remains on as normal and other than the large orange flames there are no other problems. I have noticed a slight drop in temperature of the radiators, although I assume that this would be due to the fact that the boiler is heating with a lower temperature flame so it seems to figure that the water would be cooler when entering the heating system?

6) It's probably worth mentioning that the front fire still works perfectly normally and operates fine - whether that's relevant or not I don't know.

I have booked a CORGI registered engineer to come and service the boiler as someone suggested that it may just need a service due to soot build up in the burners but he can't attend until next week. We are actually about three weeks away from moving house and we're worried sick that we may have a big bill for a new boiler so I am enquiring on this forum to (a) gain some peace of mind that it's straightforward and (b) see if there's anything we should check out/do before forking out for the service.

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice you may feel is relevant.

Gareth.

 

[Lagerkhan]

Could just need a clean or could be the gas valve £50 when i fitted one 2 months ago + LABOUR of course

 

[ChrisR]

The last few of these I've seen with luminous flames have been belting out Carbon Monoxide into the room. Only one had an alarm, which it set off.

Turn it off and get it seen to before you die.

 

[nickso]

as chris says or the burner could be cracked and causing an equally dangerous situation.....switch it off until someone gets to it.

 

[GarethWilliams]

The last few of these I've seen with luminous flames have been belting out Carbon Monoxide into the room. Only one had an alarm, which it set off.

Turn it off and get it seen to before you die.

I should have said that it goes without saying, we have had the unit turned off since the problem occurred.

Although I am not a professional gas engineer I hope I do not come across as being that stupid! Basic chemistry tells me that orange flames are gas being burnt inefficiently and as such not complete combustion, leaving certain elements unspent.

The reason for approaching this forum is to be knowledgeable enough to not be ripped off by someone looking to sell a new boiler. As such all constructive advice is greatly appreciated.

Gareth

 

[ChrisR]

I hope I do not come across as being that stupid!

Since you admit that you won't be doing any work on the appliance, I can't see what could possiby fall into the category of

anything we should check out/do before forking out for the service.

Apart from turning it off - completely, fire and boiler.

A Service is the cheapest attention possible. Maybe something you haven't had done this century....

 

[namsag]

34 year old boiler sooted up and is immediately dangerous, causes, water leak on heat exchanger, lint arrestor blocked with dust, burner split, burner injector over sized through use and age. Full strip down with flue canopy and side cheeks removed , Heat ex brushed out from top bottom and sides, burner split and washed out take about an hour to do properly . But if parts required it is a new boiler as they are no longer available

 

[GarethWilliams]

I have tried to approach this forum with an open mind after reading the arrogant and aggressive posting of many members but sadly it seems that the evidence on display is only too true.

I fail to see why this forum section exists at all if all that can be imparted from the experts are insults and derogatory comments. If you don't want to give advice why bother to log on at all, ChrisR?

I am sure that the majority of users knew exactly what I meant when I explained the reason for posting on this board - I want to be informed about the possible cause before taking advice from someone who I don't know anything about other than an advert in the Yellow Pages. By using the phrase 'anything I should check out' I meant 'anything I should know about' in terms of information/knowledge and by 'anything I should do' I was meaning to enquire if there were any obvious checks or signs I could look for physically on the unit to try and have a better idea of the cause.

In an ideal world we would all have £1500 to throw at a brand new boiler just before moving house but sadly I am not so lucky!

Thank you to the other posters who have offered more constructive comments - your advice is much appreciated.

 

[Agile]

I have tried to approach this forum with an open mind after reading the arrogant and aggressive posting of many members but sadly it seems that the evidence on display is only too true.

I have not replied before to your enquiry here!

Firstly, you must understand that your attitude seem to be that you are expecting to be ripped off ! To the the vast majority of honest and reasonable gas engineers that give FREE advice here that is not a good starting point!

Your dangerous symptom of an orange flame is that of a boiler which has not been properly serviced lately, if at all recently. Whilst many modern boilers only need servicing every 2-3 years, a back boiler is one that absolutely MUST be serviced annually or in certain environments more often.

You seem to want to rip off a CORGi by calling him to service a boiler which is well beyond a normal maintenance period. We charge a lot more to deal with a sooted up BBU than we do for a service. Even a routine service takes 1.25 hours if its done properly!

Tony

 

[nickso]

I have tried to approach this forum with an open mind after reading the arrogant and aggressive posting of many members but sadly it seems that the evidence on display is only too true.

I fail to see why this forum section exists at all if all that can be imparted from the experts are insults and derogatory comments. If you don't want to give advice why bother to log on at all, ChrisR?

I am sure that the majority of users knew exactly what I meant when I explained the reason for posting on this board - I want to be informed about the possible cause before taking advice from someone who I don't know anything about other than an advert in the Yellow Pages. By using the phrase 'anything I should check out' I meant 'anything I should know about' in terms of information/knowledge and by 'anything I should do' I was meaning to enquire if there were any obvious checks or signs I could look for physically on the unit to try and have a better idea of the cause.

In an ideal world we would all have £1500 to throw at a brand new boiler just before moving house but sadly I am not so lucky!

Thank you to the other posters who have offered more constructive comments - your advice is much appreciated.

so lets be clear then.

1) you ask for our opinion on your back boiler which you think is faulty.

2) we give an opinion......i fail to see how it was insulting or derogatory.

3) you then take the hump with said opinion because you dont think it was said nicely or something. in your original post you said the fault was apparent a week ago but dont actually say if you stopped using it in that time and that you have kept using the fire as well.....chris and i tell you to turn it off and your not happy

4)

 

[Trance Nation]

Mate, no offence here but we see this thing day in day out. You r no different to a lot of other average householders - boiler goes unserviced till it breaks down. The info you have been given may have just saved your life, do not use the boiler or the fire and get it serviced immediatly.

Out of interest when was the last service carried out ?

Good luck anyways, hopefully a service is all that is req'd to cure the problems.