Potterton Profile 80e keeps shutting down

[Steelmasons]

It begs the question as to why the overheat stat hasn't activated...

 

[Moorf]

Surely it's the overheat stat that's shutting the boiler down?

 

[bernardgreen]

Is it air or is it pockets of water vapour created by the boiler actually boiling water in the heat exchanger before it senses over heating and shuts down ?

 

[Moorf]

That's a good question Bernard, and I don't know for sure to be honest....

Although I think it's probably air, as the boiler gives a glug like its releasing a large bubble of air, which then gets broken up as it passes through the pump sounding like a stream of small bubbles...... If that makes sense?

 

[chrispalmer1977]

Sounds more like it's overheating? Possibly the thermostat...

 

[JohnD]

if the boiler is starting to boil, it will probably make loud bonking noises. At the very least it will start to sing like a kettle.

 

[chrispalmer1977]

My girlfriend often makes loud bonking noises! Maybe she's overheating?

 

[picasso]

She sounded ok to me

 

[Moorf]

I don't think it's boiling as the noise isn't that loud. It's more like a large amount of air releasing and it glugs up into the flow pipe. Difficult to explain via a keyboard....

I'm wondering if the automatic vent (which is situated on the return just before the boiler) is sucking air in and it's accumulating in the heat exchanger before letting go...

 

[Moorf]

A quick update on my problem.

I ended up getting a plumber round and he agreed that there was air in the system and suggested draining down and refilling 'bottom up' from the draincock. I did this with a bottle of Sentinal X400 cleaner and left it for a week. Then I drained down, flushed a few times before filling from the draincock very slowly and added a bottle of X100 and a bottle of X200.

That was a week ago now and the system is a lot quieter, however it is still not 'right'. It runs for while and a gentle hissing sound develops and then it shuts down, glugs and stays off for a couple of minutes before starting over again. Stop, start, stop, start.... sigh...

 

[Agile]

X400 needs to be left in the system for 4 to 5 weeks to have maximum effect!

Tony

 

[Moorf]

The instructions on the bottle are pretty vague.

It says to leave in for at least 2 hours or for best results overnight and then says it can be dosed up to 3 weeks prior to draining. So 2 hours, 24 hours, 3 weeks or 5 weeks?

It's confusing and I felt a week should do, too late now though it's flushed. The water came out fairly clean. Thanks for the advice Tony.

 

[JohnD]

If you used X400, and didn't you get a lot of black sludge suspended in the water when you drained it, perhaps sludge was not the problem. When I've used it in old systems (I am a householder not a plumber) the water went black very quickly. You were running the heating as usual when the X400 was in?

I used to have an old Profile 100, and it bonked and sang before I cleaned it. I got a lot of black out, including on the Magnaclean for some time after the clean and drain.

Are you getting air or gas in the radiators? Is the F&E pumping over, or sucking? (put a half-full jar of water under the vent pipe, with the end submerged)

 

[Moorf]

That's the problem. I can't bleed any air from the rads and I've done the glass of water under the vent pipe and the level didn't change.

 

[dilalio]

Seal the system.