Halstead boiler - problem with hot water

[ash01786]

Please excuse me for my ignorance as I do not have much knowledge about plumbing or boilers. I have a 5 year old Halstead finest gold boiler which I inherited when I moved into my house. Up to now I have not had any problems with the boiler but recently I have been having major problems with the hot water. In the morning when I go to the bathroom to use the shower I only get mildly cold water and then it cuts over to freezing which it does constantly. However downstairs in my kitchen the water does get a little warmer but still not hot enough.

At the same time I have no problems with the radiators heating up which seem to be working fine. I briefly spoke to a plumber who told me that I may need to replace the diverter valve in the boiler which controls where the hot water goes to. Would someone be able to tell me how much this would generally cost to replace and whether this plumber is on the right track

 

[Agile]

I wonder why you are so distrustful of his advice?

Although if you have not paid him for it then perhaps he has little responsibility for it.

It does sound as if the diverter has failed. They can usually be repaired and we charge £106 for that but some engineers prefer to replace the whole valve which adds about £80 to the bill.

Tony

 

[ash01786]

Hi Tony,

I am not distrustful I just wanted to get a second opinion but then having read a few article I am now confident that what he originally said and quoted was kind of spot on.

Thank you for your advice on this.

 

[handyman34]

hi anyone out there help i'v had this boiler for 10 years + and had no problems upto about 1 year ogo, the hot water started playing up (not getting hot) and locking out i asked a plumber who was working at the same place as i was he advised me that it could be the hw heat exchanger which i replaced and it seemed to work for about a few months, i then had a problem with the pcb which i replaced now ok, the ch works ok but not the hw i have tryed refurbishing the diverter valve which seemed to do the trick but it has started it's old tricks again, the CH works ok but when you run the HW (with or without the CH) the boiler sound like it is going to blow up and it cuts out (not locks out no light) when you turn off the HW the boiler resets and CH runs perfectly. any ideas.

 

[Agile]

It sounds as if you have a blockage in the boiler.

Usually in the plate heat exchanger but can also be in the pump, diverter valve or main heat exchanger.

Tony

 

[handyman34]

i have replaced the plate heat exchanger, cleaned up and put new bits in diverter valve, the main heat exchanger and pump look like they work ok on CH mode, i did notice that the preasure release valve was blowing off after the CH cycle had finished could be the main heat exchanger, what do you think. many thanks