Ideal Isar Boiler leaking slightly

[noobizme]

hi guys,

first of all, let me thank you for a wonderful forum. I just hope that someone can help me fix my problem.

I have an Ideal Isar HE24 boiler. All has been ok, but the boiler has some water drops weeping around the pink sealant just above the sump. These water drops tend to weep out more when the central heating or hot water is on and i can only assume that its the water pressure thats forcing itself through the sealer

FYI, if your not sure what or where i'm talking about, i can tell you that this is like a pink window seal (like NO MORE NAILS) going around the bottom of the heat exchanger:-

I'm wondering if I can do anything to stop this?

if anyone can pls help me, then i'd be most grateful.

I eagerly look forward to your replies.

Thanks so much

 

[kevplumb]

its more likley to be condensate

 

[gas4you]

Sadly it is a very common problem with these.

It is condensate that is leaking.

New HE time I'm afraid.

The cheapest option is to call Ideal in on a fixed price repair and if you can stretch that far, go for the option with a 12 month service plan included. You will need it.

 

[kevindgas]

just make sure that the condensate drain is clear the plate underneath the pink seal with 3 screws is removeable to check. make sure the PCB is covered before removing as water will spill out if the drain is blocked.
if it is clear then i''m afraid gas4you is probably right.

 

[noobizme]

hi guys.

thank u so much for your fast replies. I didn't tell you the whole story as i wanted to keep things fairly simple.

As you all will be aware, over the last few weeks we have had very heavy rain. During these periods, several times the boiler turned off, showing the codes LF which means FLAME DETECTION ERROR.

I found water in the boiler case which i tracked to the SUMP. I then opened the SUMP and drained loads of water, thinking that heavy rain was coming via the outside flue which was pointing slightly upwards. I did this on every occasion that the boiler showed the codes "LF". This temporarily fixed the problem.

But last night it happened once again, yet there had been no rain for at least 24hrs. This is when I became suspicious that water was building up somehow internally and after calling my brother who knows slightly more than me, we tracked down the "S TRAP/Condensate drain" and disconnected it from the system. This is where we found huge amounts of soil and dirt which had SOLIDIFIED and it was totally blocked. We used water and cleaned it out. We put it back together and the boiler worked. So all along the "S TRAP" was blocked!!

But as I said that now the seal is slightly weeping. I can only assume that the reason for this is because of the S TRAP blockage and the pink seal becoming weak as water flooded the heat exchanger each time.

Now Ideal are quite expensive with boiler warranty, so can anyone recommend anywhere else?

Thank You

 

[adlplumbing]

pcb has proably got wet try hair dryeir on it first but i could be time look at new boiler if the ideal response can not fix it as your looking 200+ for a new one inc fitting

 

[noobizme]

hi adlplumbing,

what do you mean by pcb has got wet? This leak is weeping via the pink seal at the bottom of the heat exchanger and nothing to do with pcb, unless i'm get confused?

PS: I'll try and get u a photo.

 

[adlplumbing]

yes heat exchanger is above pcb and all the wiring the water has got on this and seeped into pcb area

 

[noobizme]

yes mate, but the water is leaking at the bottom of the heat exchanger, just above the sump, which is above the pcb

 

[noobizme]

okay as promised, here is a photo showing where the water leaking from. Please note that its dry at the moment, but as you can see from the marks, there definately is a very slow leak:-

 

[Garfeild]

First check the auto air vent is not leaking (top,rear right hand side behind the alloy flue) could be running down and dripping from where you see it.
If its deffo the joint in your picture,then its not repairable and will need a new hex.

 

[adlplumbing]

that thing black peice plastic with water on it is the pcb

 

[mcmarshon]

I think chap means boiler works now and PCB not faulty (yet !)

Maybe time to ditch it if HE is duffered as esteemed chaps already mentioned, could be one of those where it will be one fault after another - PCB/Diverter etc.

 

[noobizme]

@ garfeild - mate i'm sorry, but i don't know what this auto air vent looks like. All i know is that the internal flue bend has a rubber around it and when slightly lifted away from the wall, i can see daylight...is this normal?

@ adlplumbing - Thanks, but i'm not concerned about the PCB at the moment as its working fine.

@ mcmarshon - I only got this boiler less than 3yrs ago brand new, so I may have to stick with it unfortunately.

 

[adlplumbing]

still dry it off before it does