glowarm 30cxi

[romany3800]

Hi, I have read several problems and solutions regarding the glowarm 30cxi boiler. We live in a small cul-de-sac of 6 houses, some 3 bed, some 4 bed. As soon as the weather turns a bit colder, all the boilers show F4 or F1. I have had the gloworm engineer round several times, and last time he replaced a part, but the same problem keeps happening. We have to press the reset boiler in-order to get boiler working again, but more often than not, it keeps going back off.
I think I read somewhere that they are not man enough for houses on the larger size, can anyone confirm this? As we have been in our house less than a year, I'm considering asking the builder to change the boiler for something more suitable, but I need to prove that this boiler is not the right one for the house. Any help or advise would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Nancy

 

[picasso]

F1 and F4 could be problems with the gas supply, you need a rgi to check the incoming gas pressures, a 30kw combi will supply around 12ltrs per minute,if you have 1 bathroom it should be ok, any more than that and it will struggle, especially in the winter.

 

[mickyg]

I have had the gloworm engineer round several times,

Are you saying a Glowworm engineer has been 7 times? or a few? What was done?

 

[romany3800]

the engineer has called about 5 times, he said he has checked all the pressures etc re the gas.
I have 1 bathroom, 1 ensuite room and 1 cloakroom, however the boiler cuts out even when only 1 source is using the hot water, ie, only the shower needs to be in use for it to cut out in the cold weather, there are no other people using the hot water elsewhere, and its only on a couple of times that I have turned on the heating and then gone to use the shower at the same time, and then the boiler has cut out.
If you are saying that if I have more than 1 bathroom then the boiler cant cope, would that mean that really in a 4 bed house we should of had a bigger boiler?? If anyone can find it in print that the boiler I have is unsuitable, could they let me know where to access it, as I will let the builder/plumber know, and I may have some grounds to get it changed.
many thanks, Nancy

 

[picasso]

from your post its a little unclear when you say the boiler cuts out, you cannot have heating when the hot water is being used, or do you mean the boiler cuts out completely? I personally wouldent put a combi in 4 bed house but it all depends on the builder/clients budget.

 

[gas4you]

Has he replaced the pcb?

These are notorious for faulty pcb's especially with the F1 code showing up constantly.

 

[mickyg]

So what has been changed in these 5 visits, and what was the conclusion on the last visit? The lead engineer should be involved on the 4th visit, so I find this whole story a little strange. Its not a difficult boiler to work on and most of the parts should be on the engineers vans. I would have been dissapointed to get 1 recall on this boiler let alone 4!

 

[romany3800]

no real conclusion after all the visits, plenty of time spent on the boiler and several tests being carried out, but all appears to be ok.
Will ask for lead engineer next time, its handy to have a bit of inside info, so thanks for that


If using the heating and water, ie shower, the boiler cuts out completely, showing F1 or F4

kind regards,
Nancy

 

[mickyg]

The fault is only gonna be one of a few things:
pcb, spark generator, electrode lead and plug/lead or gas valve, blocked condense trap/outlet. After that it could be the governor on your gas meter. If it were me, I would have changed all those parts on the first visit if i didnt find anything

 

[Kev F]

had loads of trouble on these with the ignition sensors, most fall off into the heat exchanger, also the rubber flow pipe on the left all leak after 12 months.

 

[romany3800]

ok guys, thanks for all your thoughts and experiences, I'm taking it all onboard, unfortunately due to pc packing up, I'm having to use a friends pc, so wont be able to reply quite as readily as I have been. However please keep your thoughts etc coming.

I'm still thinking that at the end of the day the boiler is just not man enough for that size house, I'll let you know how I get on as and when I have access to the internet.

Kind regards, Nancy