Optia FF 50 doesn't stay on continuously...

[dips]

Hi Guys

I've had a problem with my boiler ever since I moved in, over 2 years ago, I'm thinking of getting a pump installed for the shower attachment so I thought I'd better get the boiler sorted out first.

When I switch my central heating on, I put the stat on about 22, I notice that the boiler doesn't stay on continuously until the required temperature is reached, it keeps turning on and off. The same happens with the hot water, when the water goes cold, the boiler doesn't stay on continuously until the water is hot but will keep turning on and off until the water is hot.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Dips

 

[gas4you]

The boiler will not stay on continuosly as when the temp of the water in the boiler reaches the temp as set by the boiler stat it will shut off until circulation drops water temp and it cuts back in again.

If on the other hand boiler keeps cutting in and out every 20-30 secs or so then you may have a fault.

 

[namsag]

As gas4you says this is normal unless your boiler is firing up every 30 seconds.

An Optia is a re badged Ideal Classsic from plumbcentre

 

[dips]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the reply, the boiler only stays on for 1 or 2 mins max, then turns off again, and does the same thing again after a couple minutes. It's the same with central heating.

Dips

 

[gas4you]

When it first fires up after you switch heating on or hw does it stay on for longer then change to every 1 or 2 mins?

Have you tried turning up your boiler stat to around 3/4 of full temp?

 

[dips]

Hi Dave

No, it's 1 or 2 mins from the start.

Basically if the hot water is cold, and I turn the boiler on it will run for a couple of minutes and turn off, then when i try the water it's still cold, only once the boiler has turned on and off every couple of minutes for about 20 minutes does the water become hot. And then at that point the boiler obviously stays off for a while since the water is hot.

Yes I have turned the boiler stat up, but I just found the heaters became really not but the boiler was still turning on and off all the time. The stat range is 1-6, it's currently on about 4.5

Dips

 

[gas4you]

Is there any difference in the time it stays alight for if you set the boiler stat to 1 or 6?

What speed is your pump set at?

Sorry for the basic questions but trying to eliminate the simplest things first

 

[dips]

Hi Dave

Changing the stat setting doesn't seem to make a difference to how long the boiler stays alight. When we first came to the property the stat was on about 3, same problem, I whacked it up to about 5.5, still the same problem, I eventually left it on about 4.5

The water pump is a Grundfos UPS 15-50, there are 3 positions, |, ||, |||, it's currently on ||. The pump is positioned with the dial on the right hand side and the Grundfos writing is upside down. The dial in the middle has the slit in a vertical position.

Dips

 

[gas4you]

2 is normal, if there is no difference in boiler stat being set on 1 or 6 I would suspect the boiler stat or possibly the pcb. Check whether the boiler stat phial ( I think they still have these on this model) is pushed in fully, or if it is a clip on sensor, that it has not fell off.

Your optia must still be fairly new, did you realise they come with a 3 year warranty from Plumb Center/Ideal?

 

[dips]

Hi Dave

What is the boiler stat phial? What does it look like? Where is it? I have the instructions in front of me, there are things like 'Overheat Thermostat', 'Thermostat Control', 'Thermistor Sensor Lead', 'On/off switch', 'Limit Thermostat'... but nothing says phial.

Is it the case that only Ideal Boilers or Plumb Center supply these boilers? So should I be able to phone them and find out when it was purchased?

Dips

 

[gas4you]

Forget the 'phial', me being too old fashioned What you need to look for is the thermistor and check this. If it is ok then could be a pcb fault or still be a thermostat fault if it isn't registering the difference between 1 & 6.

If you call Ideal they will tell you when it was made from the serial number. I would think it is still under warranty as I don't think they have been around for 3 years yet

 

[dips]

Hi Dave

So is the thermistor, the clip type attachment on pipe coming out of the boiler? It's a clip thing that's wraps around the pipe and is fastened with a screw and has a green and yellow wire coming off it into the boiler. If so, this is on quite tight and doesn't move.

I will phone Ideal tomorrow with the serial number and see what they say.

Dips