suprima 30 boiler keep locking out requiring resetting

[thomas_j]

another potterton suprima 30 disaster story!

hi all,

i have a 6 years old suprima 30 boiler from potterton. the last month it has been 'not right'. whilst on the timer, it would come on at the preset times but the duration of staying on (i.e. fired up) is variable - from a few minutes to long enough to, i presumed, reach the pre-set water temperature before the boiler locks-out (red-light flashing). i would then have to manually press on the reset button to get the boiler working again. once it started to work again, the same scenario holds true i.e. it would then be on for a variable duration before locking out again. the same would happen when i set the boiler to be 'on' at all times i.e. it would work for a variable duration before it locks out requiring resetting.

can anyone advice/help as to: 1. what is the likely fault, 2. how to rectify it, and 3. whether it can be done safely as diy.

thank you all,
thomas

ps: i don't know which trade body oversees boilers but potterton suprima 30 should be investigated!!!

 

[gas4you]

On the face of it another duff pcb, but other things should be tested first before jumping to this conclusion.

I think potty have stopped their free replacement/check after watchdog now

 

[corgiman]

ps: i don't know which trade body oversees boilers but potterton suprima 30 should be investigated!!!

They have done

Also do you really think that one problem in six years is bad?
especially with a fairly complex machine that is working for approx 8 to 10 hours a day every day?

do you really think nothing would go wrong?

Have you had it regularly serviced?

 

[thomas_j]

thanks everyone for your replies. since my post, i have discovered many, many more posting about potterton and in particular regarding the suprima range.

i guessed i should count myself lucky to have lasted into the sixth year before the problem surfaced.

@corgiman - no annual check. tho looking back i wonder now why potterton did not even come once after i registered my warranty. of course i did not sign-up to their extended warranty offer figuring i have plenty of time to sign-up to the likes of homecare, homeserve or others.

@gas4you - my gut feeling after extensive reading around the various forums, it must be the pcb. tho i am not averse opening the boiler's 'hood' and have a go at replacing the pcb (one supplier for the pcb that i phoned up said that all the installation instruction is included) i think on balance in light of your opinion, i will get an engineer to come just in case it's due to other fault(s) that needs to be worked out. only thing at the moment tho a few of the recommended engineers (by satisfied friends or colleagues) could not tell me when any of them could attend and i do not want to get a totally 'unrecommended' engineer to attend. ok maybe that's a bit paranoid given that corgi-registered meant that at least they have the required minimum knowledge (that i do not have) to deal with the problem. my fallback would be british gas 'homecare' - pricey (rip-off) but i supposed worth the peace of mind.

will update in due course.

thanks again,
thomas

 

[Garfeild]

It sounds like the classic PCB fault,and yes the fitting instructions are in the box,however you need to test it properly,as a faulty gas valve can throw a spanner in the works.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

no annual check.

Put the money you saved towards the new pcb. This will help you bring things into perspective.
Once this issue is sorted they are not a bad boiler. Its just the high cost of the pcb that knocks people for six.

 

[heatingman]

Last time I spoke to Potts they were still replacing PCB's on boillers under 5 years old, as dated by serial number.

 

[ChrisR]

Last time I sent a customer off to Potty they wanted to see evidence of annual servicing. Boiler was 3 years old. No free board for them.

looking back i wonder now why potterton did not even come once after i registered my warranty.

Why on earth should they?

 

[gas4you]

Try a fixed price repair from BG. About half the price most of us have to charge for a pcb swap.

 

[thomas_j]

would appreciate some further advice regarding thought process i should go through.

i went to the potterton suprima website, which mentioned that suprima 30's efficiency = 70%. right now i think it would even be less than that even if the pcb were to be replaced given that the bolier is into its 6th year.

my previous property had a combi boiler, 9 years without problem. looking around i noticed that newer combi boiler nowadays showed efficiency of 90%.

given the problem that i am having with my potterton, i am thinking whether i should take the opportunity to consider replacing it with a combi boiler. initially i did not consider this option as i read on several posts that once the pcb (if it was the pcb) is sorted, suprima 30 is not bad and would last for a bit longer. but now that i discover about this efficiency information - i wonder whether it would be sensible to consider combi boiler replacement. better efficiency presumably translate to some savings, less CO2 waste. i would also have a chance at choosing a better boiler this time around esp. with british gas, npower and the likes offering discounts, trade-in and 'free install' on new a boiler.

what do others think? is it more of a 'lifestyle' preference or is there a definite argument that combi boiler (a btter one that is) is the way forward?

again, thank you in advance for any advice.

thomas

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

british gas, npower and the likes offering discounts, trade-in and 'free install' on new a boiler.

Don't fall for the sales hype. Look at the bottom line. Warmfront may be worth checking out though as you could be eligible for a grant depending on your circumstances

When you work out the difference in efficiencies is the saving enough to justify the outlay for a new boiler when all you need is a repair?
Don't forget that modern boilers have more stuff in them to go wrong and maintenance is a bigger issue. It may be better to just replace the boiler rather than go for a combi.

The decision is yours after all. I am just letting you know how I see it.

 

[EliteHeat]

i would also have a chance at choosing a better boiler this time around esp. with british gas, npower and the likes offering discounts, trade-in and 'free install' on new a boiler.

If BG start doing free installs on combi conversions then that's the time that we no longer have a viable trade.