Halstead finest platinum combi.

[Lurch67]

Hi I was just wondering if anyone can help please, my halstead finest platinum boiler which is getting on a bit has a pressure problem, I swapped over the heat exchanger as I do from time to time as it blocks and normally no problem, but this time I checked the expansion tank and was a little low on pressure so pumped up to 1 bar with bike pump, then topped system up to 1 bar and ran and everything seemed ok as normal but then when cold pressure increased over night so made sure the loop fill pipe was shut off and thought it was passing so worked it a few times and also shut the other end of it so two isolations on it , reduced the pressure to 1 bar and seemed ok, but when it’s used for hot water only and not CH it seems to creep up over a period of time any other way it can increase ? Other than fill loop .
Thanks any ideas appreciated please thanks.

 

[muggles]

Pinhole in your second hand heat exchanger would seem most likely

 

[Lurch67]

It’s a possibility as I have two, one in use and one I use to swap over and then I descale it and use next time, I generally have to change it every on a yearly basis as it gets blocked, the pipe work wasn’t properly flushed when it was fitted years ago.

 

[Lurch67]

Does anyone know if a heat exchanger from a halstead finest, gold, ace high,would fit a finest platinum? Looks like you can buy loads for the other models for as little as £20 but not the platinum OEM number is 451011 in my book with boiler.

 

[muggles]

The part number has changed and is now 082645462. Halstead spares are increasingly difficult to come by, and expensive too. They were a short lived boiler manufacturer who disappeared 10 years ago, so the only spares now available are the ones which were left over when the company closed down.

 

[jeff the gasman]

A skip is only £120! Ahem!

 

[Lurch67]

A skip is only £120! Ahem!

Thanks for that very helpful!

 

[Lurch67]

Replaced the heat exchanger again this morning going to see if this will sort it out.
couple of questions if someone can help please, when is it best to bleed the system ie Radiators , hot when boiler running or cold ?
And if I have to go down the new combi boiler route which is the best boiler to get for reliability and ease of parts in the future please.
Thanks for any help.

 

[jeff the gasman]

Main combi compact is a cheap well built boiler from the Baxi stable.

 

[Lurch67]

Thanks for that will look them up, I replaced the heat exchanger again this morning and checked the expansion vessel pressure, expansion vessel 1 bar, slowly topped up system to 1 bar , put heating on for half hour and ran , cooled down later to 1.1 bar , checked a few radiators and the highest one in the house found no air , tried hot when running and later cold, have both ends of filling loop shut so will see if pressure increases again later over night, have you known to had two isolation values to pass on filling loop before ? Can get the brass valve 300721 cheap enough if that . Halstead 47-260-02 , when best to bleed Rads ? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[ianmcd]

disconnect the filling loop hose after you have topped up the pressure and closed the valves, you are supposed to do this anyway, and you will soon see if one is passing

 

[Lurch67]

Thanks, pressure up again overnight so just took off filling loop hose like you said and yes main brass valve passing the one you need a 7mm spanner to shut, hopefully by just replacing this one will do the trick as the other one is around £88 which is just a ball valve but comes with a brass 3 way valve by the look of it. Thanks for your help.

 

[Lurch67]

Ordered the replacement fill loop valve should be here tomorrow hard to find now, mine is different as most look like they are compression fitted to a shut off valve then the flex hose, mine is a solid brass unit 300721 part, part of the main inlet valve assembly which unscrews off that and has a screwdriver slot to shut off, then flex hose screws on to that the other end which again is part of a larger brass unit £88 if available, so by replacing the 300721 I will still only have one replaced passing valve , is there a flex hose available with built in shut off valves with female screw ends and not compression fittings available anywhere please ?
If I fitted a right angled brass tap connector to each end with short piece of 15mm copper pipe, then a loop pipe with compression valves would do the job so I have extra isolation if needed does anyone think this would be the way to go please ? If thread on tap fittings are the same as the flex hose currently fitted ?