Potterton Lynx 2 Hot Water Problems

[DIYrichmond]

Morning all, I'm hoping you may be able to give me some advice.

I have a Potterton Lynx 2 that has had a few recent faults and I am hoping to get advice on whether to continue to maintain the system or to replace the system.

Yesterday the boiler failed while providing hot water for a shower, the most obvious problem was the smell of burnt electronics and a quick inspection of the PCB confirmed that something had burned out. I replaced the PCB with a refurbished unit that came with a years warranty.

The boiler appeared to work however some issues appeared within 24 hrs. Firstly the system has twice asked to be reset and also has a tendancy to cut out when providing hot water for periods over about 5 mins. The last time that the hot water cut out it was solved by turning the hot water tap off and back on again 30 seconds later.

The water pressure is low at the moment at around 1bar but this is within the boilers stated working conditions.

I know that this boiler is old however I also have seen that the model seems to be held in high regard.

Does this sequence of problems point to a particular component failure? Is it likely that with maintenance the boiler can serve for another few years or is it best to replace it sooner rather than later? Also are there any thoughts on what the cause of this problem may be?

Many thanks,

Martin

 

[powell30]

Junk it......

 

[Agile]

This is generally a reliable unit and is capable of continued good service if properly maintained.

However, by trying to fix it yourself and using a repaired PCB you are obviously not someone who gets the boiler regularly serviced or calls a professional and gets him to attend to all the faults present.

In that case if you will not pay the cost required to bring it back into good condition then spending more and getting a new boiler to allow to fall into disrepair will give you a couple of years of reasonable service.

Tony

 

[DIYrichmond]

Junk it......

Powell30, thanks for a concise response. Do you say this because of the age of the unit or another reason?

This is generally a reliable unit and is capable of continued good service if properly maintained.

However, by trying to fix it yourself and using a repaired PCB you are obviously not someone who gets the boiler regularly serviced or calls a professional and gets him to attend to all the faults present.

In that case if you will not pay the cost required to bring it back into good condition then spending more and getting a new boiler to allow to fall into disrepair will give you a couple of years of reasonable service.

Tony

Tony, thank you for your comments but with respect, your capacity to understand somebody on the internet based only on one post is letting you down.

I bought the house with this boiler earlier this year and thus the boiler was serviced around 10 months ago before I owned it. I intended to service the machine at the 12 month point however it has not reached this stage yet.

As for why I used a reconditioned part, well, it may have worked, it may not have worked; as it turns out I have a hot water service which is better than nothing but not suitable for the medium/long term all for the princely sum of £50. So a refurbished PCB has given me the time to consult with professionals, get tradesmen in the area to look at it and consider my options. While this appears to be something that you have a problem with it seems like a good deal to me.

Anyway, you now have 2 posts from me which I would expect would enable you to establish my favourite colour, shoe size and family history. Let me know what you come up with.

Back to the initial query though, is it worth doing further work to this boiler or is it best to take Powell30's advice and just 'junk it'?

 

[scatmanjohn]

Junk it......

Totally agree.

 

[DIYrichmond]

Powell30 and Scatmanjohn, thanks. I'll scrap the boiler in the new year.

 

[Agile]

Junk it......

Powell30, thanks for a concise response. Do you say this because of the age of the unit or another reason?

This is generally a reliable unit and is capable of continued good service if properly maintained.

However, by trying to fix it yourself and using a repaired PCB you are obviously not someone who gets the boiler regularly serviced or calls a professional and gets him to attend to all the faults present.

In that case if you will not pay the cost required to bring it back into good condition then spending more and getting a new boiler to allow to fall into disrepair will give you a couple of years of reasonable service.

Tony

Tony, thank you for your comments but with respect, your capacity to understand somebody on the internet based only one posting is letting you down.

Anyway, you now have 2 posts from me which I would expect would enable you to establish my favourite colour, shoe size and family history. Let me know what you come up with.

The average person faced with a broken down boiler calls British Gas or a local independent to fix it.

It is a rather unusual person who spends considerable time trying to fix their own boiler and looking for a way to buy a part at the lowest possible price.

I dont know your shoe size but based on your perchant for buying repaired second hand boiler parts I would deduce that you may buy your shoes from the Oxfam shop during their sale!

As to the boiler, there is nothing I can add to what I said above. It will be cheaper to get it repaired but being older would be expected to fault from time to time. A bit like repaired old PCBs!

Tony

 

[DIYrichmond]

<snip>

The average person faced with a broken down boiler calls British Gas or a local independent to fix it.

It is a rather unusual person who spends considerable time trying to fix their own boiler and looking for a way to buy a part at the lowest possible price.

<snip>

Tony

Tony, I'm disappointed! You have 3 posts from me now and yet you still haven't managed to come to a single accurate conclusion about what sort of person I am. I expected so much more...

I'll take the 'unusual person' comment as a complement given that after an unexpected failure of the HWS at about 10am on Sunday it was in a functional condition by 1pm, hardly a considerable amount of time. An independent tradesman may have been able to do that for me but I suspect I'd have been very lucky if they had.

I wonder if you missed this little gem from earlier:

As for why I used a reconditioned part, well, it may have worked, it may not have worked; as it turns out I have a hot water service which is better than nothing but not suitable for the medium/long term all for the princely sum of £50. So a refurbished PCB has given me the time to consult with professionals, get tradesmen in the area to look at it and consider my options. While this appears to be something that you have a problem with it seems like a good deal to me.

I've now got the time to carry on doing things I want/need to do as well as a HWS and CH system costing 3hrs of a sunday and £50. Hardly a tragic waste of time and money is it?

You now have 5 posts from me so your next challenge is to:

-Name my star sign
-Deduce the 3rd letter of my middle name
-Explain why you jump to ad hominem comments from a strangers first post. Would it be an arrogance derived from 850 people thanking you; a lack of social skills that means you have the time for writing over 30000 posts on the internet or would it be in compensation for not being the big man in real life?

 

[nickso]

don't worry too much about agiles ramblings.

he is a well known antagonist and idiot on here. he preys on others that post looking for advice. when he doesn't use his usual highly condescending tone on them they give away thank you's. many later regret it i'm sure.

 

[libby lou lou]

don't worry too much about agiles ramblings.

he is a well known antagonist and idiot on here. he preys on others that post looking for advice. when he doesn't use his usual highly condescending tone on them they give away thank you's. many later regret it i'm sure.

Full of yourself aren't you?, I'd sooner listen to Agile allday long than you, your answer wasn't helpful, just antagonist, always ready to pick at people, any chance you get You perfect person.

sorry for the interruption.

 

[nickso]

don't worry too much about agiles ramblings.

he is a well known antagonist and idiot on here. he preys on others that post looking for advice. when he doesn't use his usual highly condescending tone on them they give away thank you's. many later regret it i'm sure.

Full of yourself aren't you?, I'd sooner listen to Agile allday long than you, your answer wasn't helpful, just antagonist, always ready to pick at people, any chance you get You perfect person.

sorry for the interruption.

not full of myself at all, glazier on the other hand is. i couldn't give a **** what a scrounger like you wants to hear either.

 

[Agile]

You now have 5 posts from me so your next challenge is to:

-Name my star sign
-Deduce the 3rd letter of my middle name

I expect that you are an Aries. ( If really not then it would be a Taurus )

Someone who uses a repaired PCB at Christmas would have the third letter of their name as "R".

What I dont know is how you obtained a repaired PCB after 10am on a Sunday morning!

Tony

 

[DIYrichmond]

You now have 5 posts from me so your next challenge is to:

-Name my star sign
-Deduce the 3rd letter of my middle name

I expect that you are an Aries. ( If really not then it would be a Taurus )

Someone who uses a repaired PCB at Christmas would have the third letter of their name as "R".

What I dont know is how you obtained a repaired PCB after 10am on a Sunday morning!

Tony

That post represents quite a change of tone from the last couple, you feeling alright?

It was very easy to get the part once I'd had an hour to get some advise, check the old PCB and come to a decision.

I googled the manufacturer and component number then searched for stockists in London, after 3 or 4 different sites I found a place that was open, nearby and had the item and would provide a warrenty. Just out of curiosity, had I phoned you as a normal customer and told you my boiler was broken how long would it take at this time of year for you to either fix the boiler or bodge it so you could fix it properly later?

Unfortunately your guesses to the other questions were wrong; and yes, I did see what you were doing there. I'd stick to plumbing if I were you, detective work does not seem to be your forte.

 

[Agile]

I try to get to someone with no heating/HW the same day if they call me before 1130. On Tuesday evening I got to someone with a live leak in 22 minutes.

I would have tried to repair your old PCB as a temporary expedient if I dont have a replacement with me.

In about 95% of cases I can get it working if I am given all the relevant information in advance.

Is an Aquarius in the same group as an Aries?

Tony