Hi,
I have a 30(?) year old Glow-Worm Space Saver 38 boiler which, for the last 10 months (when I moved in) has been totally fine. With all the strong wind recently I've noticed that the pilot light has gone out a lot but I've always been able to relight it and carry on as normal.
Last Thursday I got home from work to notice that it had gone out again. I tried to relight it and it wouldn't. When I eventually did and turned the gas flow upto full (On) the whole lot just went out after about 10 seconds. I thought it was the wind again so I tried a couple more times without success and left it for the evening.
Over the weekend the wind was a lot more settled so I tried it again but still had issues. It doesn't seem to like a sudden burst of gas (i.e. turning it upto full quickly) - turning it from pilot to full will almost guarantee it going out. The only was I can get it to light is the following:
1. Hold down the gas flow dial and light the pilot.
2. After about 30 seconds I SLOWLY release the gas flow dial and pilot light seems to stay lit.
3. I turn the gas flow upto about a third, just to get the main burner to kick in.
4. Leave it for five minutes (which seems to warm it up and make it stable) and then turn it upto about two thirds.
5. Leave it for another five minutes and then turn it upto full (On).
This method seems to work but after I turn the heating off the boiler obviously cools down and then the pilot light will eventually go out (within 20-30 mins). This means I cannot set the heating to come on with the timer.
It's almost like the boiler doesn't like being cool? When hot, the flame seems stable even when cutting out between main burner bursts.
I do intend on getting a gas man out asap to take a look at it, but I just wanted a "second opinion" from you guys just so I know what to expect to be told. Could it be the thermocouple, or something more drastic? (the thermocouple also seems to lead up behind the boiler making it hard to change - is it a boiler off-the-wall jobby?)
Cheers guys,
Paul.
I have a 30(?) year old Glow-Worm Space Saver 38 boiler which, for the last 10 months (when I moved in) has been totally fine. With all the strong wind recently I've noticed that the pilot light has gone out a lot but I've always been able to relight it and carry on as normal.
Last Thursday I got home from work to notice that it had gone out again. I tried to relight it and it wouldn't. When I eventually did and turned the gas flow upto full (On) the whole lot just went out after about 10 seconds. I thought it was the wind again so I tried a couple more times without success and left it for the evening.
Over the weekend the wind was a lot more settled so I tried it again but still had issues. It doesn't seem to like a sudden burst of gas (i.e. turning it upto full quickly) - turning it from pilot to full will almost guarantee it going out. The only was I can get it to light is the following:
1. Hold down the gas flow dial and light the pilot.
2. After about 30 seconds I SLOWLY release the gas flow dial and pilot light seems to stay lit.
3. I turn the gas flow upto about a third, just to get the main burner to kick in.
4. Leave it for five minutes (which seems to warm it up and make it stable) and then turn it upto about two thirds.
5. Leave it for another five minutes and then turn it upto full (On).
This method seems to work but after I turn the heating off the boiler obviously cools down and then the pilot light will eventually go out (within 20-30 mins). This means I cannot set the heating to come on with the timer.
It's almost like the boiler doesn't like being cool? When hot, the flame seems stable even when cutting out between main burner bursts.
I do intend on getting a gas man out asap to take a look at it, but I just wanted a "second opinion" from you guys just so I know what to expect to be told. Could it be the thermocouple, or something more drastic? (the thermocouple also seems to lead up behind the boiler making it hard to change - is it a boiler off-the-wall jobby?)
Cheers guys,
Paul.
