Potterton Puma 80e CH problem

[cmulhere]

Hi all,

Just about to move house and the boiler has started playing up!!

Potterton Puma 80e. HW seems to work fine but boiler is more noisy than normal.

CH, when turned on the boiler ignites OK, then makes noises as though air is trapped somewhere. After 10 seconds or so water, then steam, comes out of the valve on top of the boiler. The boiler flame goes out. The steam lasts for about 10 seconds then stops, a few seconds later the boiler lock-out light comes on.

Pressure is on 2 according to the guage underneath the boiler.

First time this happened earlier today, the initial splurge of water from the valve was enough to go 2' high and reach the ceiling covering it in nice black water!

Any ideas. As you can imagine, I don't want to spend a fortune getting this fixed!!

Regards,

Chris

 

[kevplumb]

diverter stuck

is the pump running

 

[gassafeman]

Bleedin hell Kev, your quick.

 

[cmulhere]

Good question.

How do I tell if the pump is running OK?

I just touched it (HW tap running for a few mins whilst washing up) and the metal front on the pump was very warm to touch!!

Is the diverter a easy/quick job?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[gassafeman]

How do I tell if the pump is running OK?

Look up FAQ's.

Is the diverter a easy/quick job?

The whole divertor is not quick or easy. The wax capsule is both quick and easy - if you know what you are doing.

Paul.

 

[kevplumb]

How do I tell if the pump is running OK?

undo the black nut on the front and pull it out have a cloth handy

you should be able to spin the shaft with the nut

if you switch the water on you will feel the shaft spinning

no the diverter not impossible to change

 

[cmulhere]

Thanks for the quick responses guys....

Don't feel confident enough to fiddle with this....

I took the black cap off the front of the pump and undone the nut and pulled out about 1cm, but this was red hot, so didn't venture any further.

Have just noticed that the pressure has now dropped just below 1, presumably because I am venting off steam whenever I try the CH.

Anyone cover the West Kent area that can give me a price?

Or would I be better off gong for somethig like a BG fixed price repair (any idea how much they are?)

Regards,

Chris

 

[twgas]

try turning the boiler off and leaving it to cool, then try the pump again

 

[solman]

its quite common for pressure gauges to give false readings and low water sensors to block on pumas but by your description it could be a pricey repair call heateam part of bai/potterton for repair with 1 year warranty

 

[kevplumb]

I took the black cap off the front of the pump and undone the nut and pulled out about 1cm, but this was red hot, so didn't venture any further.

try turning the boiler off and leaving it to cool, then try the pump again

and did you

 

[cmulhere]

Hi Guys,

I did try the pump, and I thought that it looked OK.

Bit the bullet and got BG to come round (the same day that I called them). They diagnosed the pump straight away, and 24 hours later we are back up and running.

Thanks to all that offered a solution to this. If only I knew what I was doing, I could have acted better on your advice

Thanks again,

Chris