Ideal ISAR Boiler - Pressure rising above 3 bar & leakin

[gardenersweekly]

Thanks for you comment, however I have insurance policy which covers the boiler. The fact is the engineer has not dealt with the expansion vessel pressure correctly, which has been stated on this post by other members and I totally appreciate their input. And refusing to replace a PRV which was leaking at 2 bar pressure is beyond my belief even with the little knowledge I know re boilers. The engineer who came out on Saturday is due to come back, so I will ask him kindly to 'properly' check expansion vessel pressure and pipe connected to it. From what has been stated so far the fault lies there. Also, the old vessel I still have in garage, still had pressure in it (less than 0.1bar though) as pressing on valve let air out. I have repressurized to 1bar and it still has same pressure in it 2 days later, so it originally 'probably' only needed to be pumped up. If only I knew then what I know now.

Also if I don't try & use CH, pressure stays the same at 1 bar, so this eliminates other possibilities and I always disconnect filling loop.

 

[gardenersweekly]

UPDATE

Different engineer has been. Sorted LF error code by clearing condensation pipework within boiler. He drained boiler, checked pressure in vessel & added more air as not enough in. He wasn't satisfied with this though, as he was not happy that pipe from vessel seemed to be blocked. He couldn't removed pipe from vessel due its location so tried to clean using wire pushed up it. He confirmed this pipe was blocked, so in effect boiler was operating without expansion vessel being used. He did remove some sludge? but said he may need to come back & remove boiler from wall to access pipe to clean or change. Will see how boiler operates this evening.

 

[hotrob]

hi has anyone checked the exv connection, I have found the them blocked solid before

 

[gardenersweekly]

Boiler pressure has been fine since engineer removed blockage in pipe in boiler connected to expansion vessel. CH stat on boiler (not room stat) turned fully up & pressure ok now. Thanks for all posts to help resolve this issue as we felt we were being forced by insurance company to have unnecessary & costly powerflush of CH pipes & radiators just because of one incompetent engineer. Complaint is now ongoing with insurance company as boiler initially broke down in mid October and refused to assist once their original engineer stated a whole CH system power flush was needed as one of the radiator pipes could be blocked even though when CH did work all rads & pipes to & from boiler got hot.

 

[naz48]

Boiler pressure has been fine since engineer removed blockage in pipe in boiler connected to expansion vessel. CH stat on boiler (not room stat) turned fully up & pressure ok now. Thanks for all posts to help resolve this issue as we felt we were being forced by insurance company to have unnecessary & costly powerflush of CH pipes & radiators just because of one incompetent engineer. Complaint is now ongoing with insurance company as boiler initially broke down in mid October and refused to assist once their original engineer stated a whole CH system power flush was needed as one of the radiator pipes could be blocked even though when CH did work all rads & pipes to & from boiler got hot.

Hi

I am experiencing the same problems as yourself. I have the Ideal Isar HE24. When the CH is on pressure goes from 1 bar to 3 bar with 10-15 minutes. Also when the boiler cools after CH is turned off it appears to have lost pressure not immediately but it does and I have to top pressure up nearly every 2 days sometimes every day dependant on how much CH I use. I have had issues with boiler pressure dropping constantly over the past year. I was advised to check for leaks but I cannot see any leaks around the boiler or the any of the radiator valves. One of the gasafe engineers I normally use suggested it maybe the pump that is causing the problem as the additional symptoms are as follows: 1) Error code L9. I always get this code when pressure drops 0.5 bar. 2) After the CH has been in use a couple of times during the day I get an error code which is 3 hyphens followed by 0 that change alternately. At this point and for many hours later the boiler is extremely hot in the centre and around the sides. This also renders the boiler useless as I get no hot water or CH.

In this event I switch the boiler off and 6 hours more later turn the boiler once it has cooled and it appears to work again albeit prematurely. This is currently persistent routine that I am in currently in order to get CH and hot water currently which is not sustainable.

I don't believe it is the pump at fault but the expansion vessel as reading this thread and other threads regarding the pump for Ideal Isar HE24 the symptoms my boiler is experiencing is similar to what gardnersweekly has described in this thread.

I would appreciate any advice and help in remedying this problem as it has been a struggle recently.

Thanks in advance.

 

[naz48]

Message to gardnersweekly. Please can you let me know what the cost of your repair was

Thanks

Naz

 

[GavThePlumber]

You need to get a Register Gas Installer in, his price will be irrelevant to you.

 

[naz48]

You need to get a Register Gas Installer in, his price will be irrelevant to you.

Thanks Gav,

But I have had a registered Gas plumber in and his response is the pump and my problems are similar to gardernersweekly. I wanted to know how much he paid for the blockage in the boiler to gauge whether it is feasible to repair. If the cost is high then I will look to replace the boiler as I have had too many problems with this ideal isar he24 boiler.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The OP is not in the same region as you and might not have the same fault.

 

[naz48]

The OP is not in the same region as you and might not have the same fault.

Hi can anyone help me with a problem with my IDEAL ISAR HE30 boiler.

When CH is on pressure on gauge rises to above 3 bar within 15mins & then leaks via PRV & out thru pipe outside, needing to refill to 1bar when cold. So far had 2 different engineers, 1st said faulty pressure gauge, then he said expansion vessel which he then changed.

Problem still existed, so he suggested power flush of CH system as there is a blockage somewhere. I didnt agree, as all rads & pipework get hot & so does all pipework.
As under insurance they refused to assist any further. So I called another engineer who stated that PRV was leaking even when pressure had only reached 2bar, so he replaced PRV which he said old PRV was faulty. He left system working but had turned down CH thermostat on boiler, so heating was not warm enough. I turned up dial, & problem is still the same.

Since, I have noticed that from system being cold, when turning on HW, CH flow pipe from boiler immediately gets hot & so does flow pipe on nearest radiator.

Finally, this morning, boiler was showing error code L alternating with F, so no HW or CH. Pressed reset button, worked briefly, so tried again and has since been error code free, but with same rising pressure etc.

Can anyone please help/suggest what could be wrong, as this saga started 7 weeks ago.

Thanks in advance

Dan, the reason why I asked the OP is because the symptoms my boiler has are the same as the OPs and I wanted to know a ball park figure on how much it would cost to repair including how much effort it would require a competent gas safe engineer to do repair this. I am fed up with this boiler and have spent hundreds of pound on this over the years (7 years) 3 pcbs, diverter valve (full kit including head), heat exchanger, o rings around heat exchanger changed and now it could be the expansion vessell, it could be the pump. I want to be well informed on what the issue maybe as if it is going to cost me 200 pounds upwards. I'd rather fit a new boiler which would be better for me. I'm hoping on this occasion it is just a blockage in the expansion vessel as the OPs description of their problem is the same as mine i.e. Boiler pressure over 3 bar when CH is on. Losing pressure and have to top up daily. Error codes ranging from L9 to 3 hypens and 0.

If the blockage is relatively simple to clear and the expense to do this is low then I'd rather bear this expense for the time being until I spend on a new boiler. I hope this makes my situation clear, its been really frustrating having to put up with this.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone who has had similar issues and resolved them to share their experiences and will be externally grateful for this.

Thanks

Naz

 

[naz48]

The OP is not in the same region as you and might not have the same fault.

Hi can anyone help me with a problem with my IDEAL ISAR HE30 boiler.

When CH is on pressure on gauge rises to above 3 bar within 15mins & then leaks via PRV & out thru pipe outside, needing to refill to 1bar when cold. So far had 2 different engineers, 1st said faulty pressure gauge, then he said expansion vessel which he then changed.

Problem still existed, so he suggested power flush of CH system as there is a blockage somewhere. I didnt agree, as all rads & pipework get hot & so does all pipework.
As under insurance they refused to assist any further. So I called another engineer who stated that PRV was leaking even when pressure had only reached 2bar, so he replaced PRV which he said old PRV was faulty. He left system working but had turned down CH thermostat on boiler, so heating was not warm enough. I turned up dial, & problem is still the same.

Since, I have noticed that from system being cold, when turning on HW, CH flow pipe from boiler immediately gets hot & so does flow pipe on nearest radiator.

Finally, this morning, boiler was showing error code L alternating with F, so no HW or CH. Pressed reset button, worked briefly, so tried again and has since been error code free, but with same rising pressure etc.

Can anyone please help/suggest what could be wrong, as this saga started 7 weeks ago.

Thanks in advance

Dan, the reason why I asked the OP is because the symptoms my boiler has are the same as the OPs and I wanted to know a ball park figure on how much it would cost to repair including how much effort it would require a competent gas safe engineer to do repair this. I am fed up with this boiler and have spent hundreds of pound on this over the years (7 years) 3 pcbs, diverter valve (full kit including head), heat exchanger, o rings around heat exchanger changed and now it could be the expansion vessell, it could be the pump. I want to be well informed on what the issue maybe as if it is going to cost me 200 pounds upwards. I'd rather fit a new boiler which would be better for me. I'm hoping on this occasion it is just a blockage in the expansion vessel as the OPs description of their problem is the same as mine i.e. Boiler pressure over 3 bar when CH is on. Losing pressure and have to top up daily. Error codes ranging from L9 to 3 hypens and 0.

If the blockage is relatively simple to clear and the expense to do this is low then I'd rather bear this expense for the time being until I spend on a new boiler. I hope this makes my situation clear, its been really frustrating having to put up with this.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone who has had similar issues and resolved them to share their experiences and will be externally grateful for this.

Thanks

Naz

If it helps I had work done over the summer in plastering the walls and had all the radiators (except the bathrooms) removed off the wall. Boiler was drained. I was still experiencing the loss of pressure prior to that but only had to top every two weeks or so and never came across any error codes then. Since the radiators were put back in late summer I hadn't noticed much other than the usual pressure loss but as the CH was in use since October the problems I have explained have been persistent. I am barely coping at the moment an there are days when the boiler is not working at all. I want to make sure I have a rough idea on where the problem lies so that I can make an informed decision.

Thanks and Regards,

Naz