Boulter Camray 3 Boiler Manual

[Jeffers_S13]

Does anyone have a copy they could send me please.

Thanks
James

 

[Terrywookfit]

What do you need to know.

 

[oilhead]

As Terry says. This is a very basic boiler.

 

[ianmcd]

Just google it loads of sites to download it from

 

[Jeffers_S13]

I've been googling for hours and can only find the Camray 5 manual, and endless fake links to dodgy 'exe' downloads masquerading as the Camray 3 manual. The plumbing in my new (but very old) house is total nightmare to work out, pipes running everywhere and add on bits all over.

I would like to confirm/know flow directions for all 4 connections, this is what I think:

From the front:

1 Bottom left is cold water from header tank and also return from hot water tank - IN
2 Bottom right is return from central heating loop (so cold) - IN
3 Top left is hot water to hot water tank - OUT
4 Top right is hot water to central heating loop - OUT

I would also like to know if a blockage (such as a rotten dead mouse...) would get jammed inside the heater box/matrix? or would it get through and continue on to the first radiator, (it doesnt seem to be as ive had that radiator off and the TRV and the lockshield, all clear).

I'd really like a flow diagram from a manual and or an image of the heater box, is it composed or multiple narrow tubes that would easily get jammed by ancient mouse guts!?

I've fitted an additional radiator, went to refill the system and watched helplessly as what I think was a dead mouse, amongst other floating debris, slithered its way into the pipe that leads to the boiler inlet (No.1 in my list above) before I could stop it. I have been trying to locate said mouse for several days, there aren't many pipes left to blow out or cut open and it's starting to get cold at nights now! I've bypassed most of the house now with a DIY Speedfit loop and have just two rads in the system to speed up checks and reduce water waste...They get warm initially and then go cold as if flow is blocked, pump works fine, had that off and checked it just now. Really my last hope is that the boiler is in some way blocked but only seemingly when water starts to flow and heat up !?

 

[oilhead]

Basically, the two top connections are flow from the boiler and the bottom connections are returns. Both may not be used, but many were installed on gravity systems, so both sets would be used.
I don't think there is anything to convoluted in the heat exchanger. If you saw debris pass into the cold feed, then you never know what has already gone in. Maybe a power flush would help. If the house has been empty, then plenty of time for sludge to settle.
How is your system configured? Gravity hot water or fully pumped?

 

[Jeffers_S13]

Thanks oilhead.

Yes that corresponds with what I worked out so that's good.

I've got it all back together again tonight after flushing the, now, only two rads on the system and the interconnecting pipework. No large lumps of sludge (dead mice) appeared just lots of black lightweight sludge, nothing really to write home about, but better out than in I suppose. With the boiler on (water and CH) the water lines to the water tank get lovely and warm and we have hot water, but the water in the CH refuses to circulate. The pump is whirring away but the water is not circulating, it seems.

Eventually it trips out and I believe I can actually hear the water boiling in the pipes. The heat from the HEx is eventually working its way along the CH pipes (via conduction I guess) and they are too hot to touch.

I'm wondering if my next (and last!?) step is to flush the heat exchanger in the boiler?? I can't think what else it could possibly be!???

I guess I'm going to have to fabricate something to allow me to get a good connection onto the two upper connections and back flush out of the two lower ones, one at a time?

 

[oilhead]

You say the pump is whirring away, but not circulating. What pump is it? If there are allen screws holding the head to the body, close thevalves and remove the head. Check that the impeller is not clogged and is still attached to the rotor. If the water is heating up, I doubt if the boiler is clogged. Much more likely to be in the heating pipework. One final thought, you've not mentioned any valves, so I assume you don't have any .......?

 

[Jeffers_S13]

Yes, I've had the pump out and it's fine, impeller connected and it spins freely.

Valves? there are isolation valves on either side of the pump, they are fully open.

I have blown through all of the pipes between the radiators and the boiler with hose pipe and various Speedfit setups! and water flows freely.

Very late last night I blocked the upper left connection, opened the lower left connection and closed a valve on the pump effectively blocking the lower right connection, I then connected hose to the upper right connection (the CH hot water out of the boiler) and water flowed freely out of the lower left connector. However I'm not sure what this actually proves as I don't know how all the pipes are connected internally! hence I'm after a flow diagram or images of the inside.

To now enable me to eliminate this altogether I have today bought a 2nd hand Camray 3 off ebay for £45! I'm tempted to remove mine and do a straight swap rather than dismantle them both and be left with a mess of parts.

 

[Terrywookfit]

The boiler body is just a tank with 4 tappings welded on and maybe a baffle plate to diffuse the water flow.

 

[Jeffers_S13]

The boiler body is just a tank with 4 tappings welded on and maybe a baffle plate to diffuse the water flow.

This is useful information. I have searched and searched on google and even ebay to try and find an image showing the heat exchanger part and ideally it's insides.

So it doesn't have small or narrow waterways where debris could become lodged and cause it to block up?

 

[Terrywookfit]

No there are no small waterways.

 

[Terrywookfit]

I would be looking for a Dumball anti gravity circulation valve that is partially open.
Are you sure that your pump is doing what it should.

 

[Jeffers_S13]

I would be looking for a Dumball anti gravity circulation valve that is partially open.
Are you sure that your pump is doing what it should.

What is, and where would I find, the Dumball anti gravity circulation valve?

I have again had the old 15/60 pump in pieces since oilhead gave me doubts about my previous check... I took it off the housing by unscrewing the four bolts, wired it up and had it spinning seemingly with no issues, I can grab the impeller and hold it still whilst its supposed to be turning, is this 'normal' presumably it is in case debris gets jammed in it during normal operation? but perhaps it isn't?? so I've been out and bought a brand new Grundfos UPS3 from Screwfix to replace the old one. I will install the new pump and try it before I commit to replacing the whole boiler! I couldn't face it again tonight so I've just spent the evening drinking vino instead

EDIT - So google says it would be near the boiler. There is nothing like it that I can see. Just 28 mm pipes flow and return, the pump is in the return right next to the boiler. The pipes go through a wall immediately next to the boiler and into my office to the first small radiator, just copper pipe and bends (and now two Speedfit bends I put in for ease of dismantling and draining...). Then they head up to the first floor along a room and down to where I've fitted my new radiator in the kitchen and also where I've blocked the circuit off. So there are two radiators the flow and return are bridged by. Even though I'm convinced there are no blocks in these lines to the two rads I am considering fabricating a super basic 28 mm loop from speedfit pipe from the flow and return lines on the boiler now. Then if water doesn't flow around a simple pipe loop then there must be a problem inside the boiler??

 

[Terrywookfit]

Have you checked the tappings on the boiler for blockage ..? I presumed you had.
The pumped return can suffer from "Back end rot" if return Temp is too low.
I would doubt this due to the age of boiler and no leaks !!