Heatline Capriz 25 - Big enough?

[turbodeas]

Hi all,

My plumbing saga continues (see other topic).

My landlord just brough round his "cheap combi" that he promised, and it's a brand new boxed thing called a Heatline Capriz 25. Any good?

I was a little disappointed to see it wasn't an A-rated machine, but it looks solid enough. It's not installed yet, will it be big enough to heat our two bedroom flat with 9 rads (3 large ones) and DHW for kitchen sink and bath?

Just wanted to see what people thought of this, if I need to complain to my landlord he's bought a pup!

Cheers,

Chris.

 

[HARALIAN]

If its 25 kw then yes... but never heard of it !!

 

[Agile]

It will not work the sink AND the bath at the same time!

I assume you already have a combi in which case it will work as well and may work for a few weeks before the system dirt gets into the heat exchanger.

Look at the installer's CORGI photocard before you let him start to fit anything!

Tony

 

[bengasman]

a landlord and a heatline that he bought himself; that sounds like a cowboyjob in the making.

he is now going to phone around with the question:

i already got the boiler, just need someone to stick it in.

no decent RGI will do this and the chances are very high that it will be flung on the wall by some dodgy character on saturday.
check that the "installer" has a valid and current corgi card with his personal name and number on it.
a plumber working for a company can not use his boss' registration number; though he may be competent to do it, it is still illegal gaswork.

 

[Agile]

I would fit a boiler bought by the landlord.

But we would charge more than TWICE the cost of that boiler to fit it.

Landlords dont expect to pay more than £100-£200 in your area.

Tony

 

[mehran]

well at least you landlord did not buy the very cheapest heatline...only the second cheapest

The secret to a long life heatline is a clean system and for it to be range rated to best match your system.

it does not matter what boiler is fitted. it is the installer that makes all the difference

p.s. it has a 2 year warrenty, not 1 like the b&q ones

 

[turbodeas]

I've checked, and the installer has a current Corgi licence.

He told me that he usually works for himself, but this time he's employed by the landlord, and as such will only do what the landlord requests (obviously within reason - it'll all be safe!).

I used to have an ancient Potterton Profile system with gravity hot water, the landlord decided that as well as fix the faults with the system (rads not hot, expansion tank 10inches above boiler!) he may as well install a combi.

On removing the old boiler it turned out that whoever installed that had used a home-made gaffer taped fan-flue sealed into a balanced flue sized hole with lots of that yellow expanding foam!! So today was spent properly filling the hole in the wall, emptying the system and removing the various tanks associated with a gravity system. I didn't see him do any kind of powerflush, although I'm not entirely sure what I should have been looking for!!

I did a search on this forum and it seems the Heatline boilers aren't too bad for the money. To be honest, I've had so many problems with this flat I'm not too sure how long I'll be staying here, so as long as it lasts 6 months or so I'll be happy!!

Cheers for the replies so far, I'll try and put my pictures up of the old cowboy job when it's done so people can have a laugh....

Chris.

 

[Agile]

Power flushing uses a noisy pump and pipes connecting onto the boiler pipes or a radiator. Chemicals like X800 are used and the operator runs all round the house turning rad valves on and off and then reversing the flow every few minutes. It takes about 5 hours to do it properly!

You should ask him later why he did not power flush the system when he starts up the boiler!

He should also notify CORGI who will post a Certificate. They will tell you if you ask if they have been notified.

Tony

 

[EliteHeat]

You should ask him later why he did not power flush the system when he starts up the boiler!

And what should he say when the installer asks him why and what rule or regulation states that he should?

 

[gas4you]

You can flush a system just as good without using a powerflush machine. All it takes is a bit of thought, care and time.

Powerflush machines are over rated and hyped IMO

 

[Agile]

I agree but you run the risk of Softus making stupid comments as he used to when I said that.

However, That was many years ago and technology has moved on so that we now have X800 and magnetic power flushing filters so power flushing is faster and more effective now.

The key however is the time taken!

Power flushing is the fastest way to clean a heating system and does not need a working pump and ideally a heat source to still be in the system.

So power flushing is the best choice for an installer doing a boiler replacement in an occupied property.

Tony

Tony

 

[bengasman]

funnily enough i did a powerflush on a system today where all the rads had been off and rinsed out with mains water, system had been done with chemical, and finally with mains water under full pressure first through the flow and then through the return, and every part was done until running completely clear.
stuck the powerflush on and the guy's jaw dropped when he saw the amount of gunge that i managed to get out.
it seems to me that it is more a matter that a lot of so called experts actually don't know how to do a powerflush properly.

 

[gas4you]

You can put the cold mains down the flow or return, but if you don't isolate the boiler and find out whether the drain off point is on the flow or return and match it up accordingly to create a prper circuit, then the muck will not be removed.

If the powerflush machine cannot cope with a heavy soiled sytem what do they recommend?

A hard flush, ie connecting the cold mains direct through and eliminating the powerflush pump

 

[turbodeas]

Ok guys, you're going to laugh at this one!

Boiler was installed today by a Corgi engineer, all the pipework looks very neat and seems to have been done well.

Had it on for about 8 hours on a new Iflo RF2 wireless thermostat thing set to 20 degrees with no problems what so ever! Lovely hot radiators for the first time in my flat.

Now, the boiler has stopped and the far right LED is flashing. After inspecting the manual this suggests that it's a "gas/flame problem". I switched the boiler off, waited 30 secs and put it back on again as per instruction, and it fired up. But this time only for five mins or so, then the same fault light!

I can't believe this, it's literally been installed for 8 hours and it's broken. Is there anything I can check myself before ringing the installer up to complain??

Many thanks,

Chris.

 

[mehran]

ok...deep breaths....

it is a known problem, there is senor tabs in the trap. what has happen is that water has bridged the tabs and the boiler then gives a gas/flame problem fault light. it is a safety device in case the drain ever becomes blocked.


it takes 30 seconds to fix with a very simple trap mod.

phone heatline on 01773 596611. in the mean time get your installer to check that the drain is run correctly and that the end of the drain does not sit under water as it will air lock the trap.