Baxi Megaflo boiler - 'crackling' noise and heat loss

[hastings]

Hello,

I have recently had a Baxi Megaflo boiler fitted. After a lot of effort the radiators were balanced and appeared to work okay although there was a bit of ‘crackling’ noise from the boiler (this was particularly bad when the hot water was switched on) and was believed to be air in the system which I was told should be expelled in time through the automatic vents.

Obviously during the warm spell the heating was very rarely used and now I have come to need the heating again I have noticed that there are a few problems. To begin with the ’crackling’ noise is a lot louder/heavier and now happens when the central heating is on as well as the hot water.

I have had a Baxi technician out to have look at this as I believe through desperation my fitter thought that the boiler itself may have been faulty. The technician diagnosed the problem as being not air but a resistance to flow in the return pipe. He indicated that this could be a very big job in trying to locate and resolve the problem. After 6 months of renovation we couldn’t face more upheaval.

The second point is that the top floor radiators of my three story house do not get any heat to them at all now. All of the other radiators around the home heat up quite well initially and then after a hour or so several of them cool off completely.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can maintain heat to all the radiators and hopefully to reduce the ’crackling’ noise around the pipes near the boiler.

I don’t want to call the fitter out again as I have lost all faith in his ability and can’t take any more of his excuses.

 

[Agile]

Hello,

I have had a Baxi technician out to have look at this as I believe through desperation my fitter thought that the boiler itself may have been faulty. The technician diagnosed the problem as being not air but a resistance to flow in the return pipe. He indicated that this could be a very big job in trying to locate and resolve the problem. After 6 months of renovation we couldn’t face more upheaval.

Whilst the problem on heating could be due to that it does not explain the crackling on the hot water useage if its a combi boiler. If its not a combi then its unlikely the cylinder heating coil would be a restricted flow circuit. There may be dirt in the pump impeller and I would wonder if the Baxi guy looked at that.

What you have not said is if the system was power flushed or otherwise cleaned. All the exidence points towards a dirty system. A stand alone power flush is about £350.

Your reluctance to call the installer back seems to indicate that they are not a professional gas registered firm who take customer satisfaction seriously and that their technical competence is questionable as they cannot diagnose a simple fault.

You can ask Gas-Safe to come free and inspect the installation. 0800 408 5500 !

I wonder if you have fully paid for the installation as you could be in for considerable extra costs if you call someone else and they have to power flush the system.

Tony

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

megaflo = system boiler.

need to check the inlet filter for debris, also divertor valve. sounds like you have dirt in the system which is restricting the flow.

this would not be covered by warranty as its dirt.

 

[Agile]

Dirt in the system is not covered, not because its dirt, but because its not the manufacturer's dirt.

I am surprised the Baxi man did not apparently mention the likelyhood of the problem being due to dirt.

His visit should have been a chargeable occurance. I hate manufacturers who dont charge because it means that people like me who properly clean the system have to pay part of the cost of supporting cowboy installers.

Tony

 

[Baxi-Remeha]

heateam will fix appliances and then void warranty until problems like dirt are rectified.

 

[Agile]

That kind of attitude by a manufacturer does nothing to encourage a wide boy installer to actually do anything to clean the system.

Tony