British Gas Homecare - Free Boiler Replacement - Choices

[Mikefromlondon]

Some pictures i took of the water I took out of the PRV, I swear I added no clean water to it, or I will be a liar!


The glass on the left is when I first opened the valve,

The glass in the middle is a few minutes later

The glass on the right is fresh tap water for comparrison

Some pictures show small amount off debri at the bottom of the first two glasses, boiler running as usual water flow temp 35deg.

 

[gas_man_gaz]

if this is a sludge photo comp, i see your dirty DV and raise you a primary flow pipe

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• mickyg
• 27 Oct 2010
• 5

How about the isolation valve and flow pipe from a si2

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• gas_man_gaz
• 23 Dec 2012
• 1

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• gas_man_gaz
• 23 Dec 2012
• 1

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• gas_man_gaz
• 23 Dec 2012
• 1

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Never seen anything like what you have encountered! that is definitely deadly!

My PRV is fine, not leaking, or dripping after I operated it, but I know in systems with lots of debri, the PVR will nearly always leak or drip afterwards.

My boiler pressure has been held at 1.5Bars steady, drops when cold, to no less than just over 1 bar, but after I removed some water, the pressure went down to 1 bar so i had to fill to bring it up to 1.5bars.

 

[mickyg]

mikefromlondon> you dont have problems because you have had a sealed system from day one. Thats quite rare in the UK, most peoples system at some point has been or is open vented, which is why we get corrosion.
No doubt you also have reasonable quality radiators and valves. This is one reason i think they dont use inhbitor in germany, sealed systems and quality kit. Also having had the 2 most reliable combi boilers ever brought to market is a bit of a bonus

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Thanks, for explaining that, so this explains why I am getting good service from mine, with very little maintenance. i am sure running it at just luke warm must be helpful in prolonging its life too. i.e. against scaling etc.

 

[Bunnyman]

 

[Bunnyman]

Also just for the record the vcw 221 is a great unit but had a recall to fit a pot jet to the gas burner as they ALL have a problem with the burner pressure increasing,god knows what yours is running at if it's not bin checked?

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Also just for the record the vcw 221 is a great unit but had a recall to fit a pot jet to the gas burner as they ALL have a problem with the burner pressure increasing,god knows what yours is running at if it's not bin checked?

Personally I do not touch any gas side of the things on any boiler! not even on my boiler! and I do not adjust any pressures, but i believe the last time it was serviced was around 1.5 years (May 2011) the time when I had its lower burner surround replaced, it is made of copper and it is like a pre-stage heat exchanger, before the water flows to the top main heat exchanger it gets preheated from the bottom.

This copper surround had got burnt through one side and some heat started to shoot out through the breached side, causing the top plastic cover to melt! yes melt!

That caught my attention so I asked the engineer mate to come over and have a look, so he replaced that and gave it a good service, removed all the burners and wire brushed any debri etc.

Adjusted the pilot flame and checked the gas pressure and adjusted it down slightly, he said it was still within limits but I don't need full pressure and turned it down slightly, and I remember him saying that its original seal had not been broken that means it had never needed adjusted.
but he reduced it so that my new surround last me fairly long time and still provide me fairly hot water.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Also just for the record the vcw 221 is a great unit but had a recall to fit a pot jet to the gas burner as they ALL have a problem with the burner pressure increasing,god knows what yours is running at if it's not bin checked?

Ever since this incident, I get it inspected regularly now, one is due now. And as with the age, it will need more attention far more frequently,

I am now more energy conscious so I might go for newer condensing boilers, but if I am running my heating at 35 degrees it won't give me any advantage would it ? I will be getting my mate to come over to have a quick look and check any gas pressure if need be. Thanks for pointing that, much appreciated.

 

[Dan Robinson]

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• Dan Robinson
• 1 Feb 2012
• 2

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• Dan Robinson
• 1 Feb 2012
• 2

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• Dan Robinson
• 1 Feb 2012
• 2

Thought I had better get my two penneth worth .

 

[Mikefromlondon]

dreadful! like I said I have never seen anything like it.

So what is the substance that the pipes are blocked with? is it hard water deposits? or other debri that may have entered through open vent system from the loft tanks? and what other things can cause this? too much heat for example i.e running the CH very very hot! ?

So what additives would have stopped this formation?

 

[mickyg]

So what is the substance that the pipes are blocked with?

iron oxide mostly. Its basically radiators and sometimes cast iron heat exchangers that have corroded on the inside. Little pieces of metal break free float around and eventually collect somewhere else, or back in the radiator. For any type of corrosion to take place you need a reasonable supply of oxygen, which is why sealed systems don't suffer unless they have a leak, in which case the regular topping up re-introduces fresh oxygen.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Good job it is oxide and not chloride then iron chloride (ferric Chloride)dissolves copper,

So I get that, oxygen reacts with metal (iron) and produces the oxide, but there is a hell of a lot in that, some of it must be the scale from hard water and running at very hot temps like in kettles.

 

[mickyg]

Good job it is oxide and not chloride then iron chloride (ferric Chloride)dissolves copper,

So I get that, oxygen reacts with metal (iron) and produces the oxide, but there is a hell of a lot in that, some of it must be the scale from hard water and running at very hot temps like in kettles.

You wont get much scaling unless your constantly refilling the system, ie a leak, as there is only so much scale you can get from one systems full of water. Its much the same with any combination of ingredients for a chemical reaction. Hence why vented systems with unlimited access to oxygen and metal tend to be the ones that get problems.