Thorn Olympic 38/50B Wall Mounted Boiler

[RedAdmiral2]

I have an Olympic 38/50B wall mounted boiler which has given some problems. A couple of months ago the ignition light went out and would not stay relit. An Engineer fitted a generic thermocouple, which didn't fit properly but seemed to do the job. More recently, we lost the ingnition light again and I called out another Engineer who managed to get hold of a t/couple which appeared to fit but still the light went out when the button was released. At this point the Engineer told me that I would have to replace the boiler and offered to sell me one at £1500 plus VAT.
Questions: I'm a little suspicious that the boiler does need to be replaced, is there anything else I can look at? Also, if it comes to it, is £1500 plus VAT a good deal?
Regards

 

[doitall]

Whether 1500 quid plus VAT is a good price, which it is , for the installer, is irrelevant in my opinion.

If the engineer, haha, cannot fix a simple problem on an antique Thorn, he wouldn't be getting the job if he offered to install it for free.

 

[mickyg]

sounds like you need an engineer not a pipefitter. Seem to becoming a rare breed these days. Everyone running around throwing boxes on walls.
Can't remember the boiler that well, but a simple pilot outage only has a few possibilities, one of them being a good quality service.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

1. Your pilot light might not be reaching the thermocouple properly. Best cured on these by renewing the pilot jet. I blast a little gas through when I am changing them in case theres anything else in the pilot tube that could block the new injector.
2. The thermocouple could be badly fitted. The flame must reach it at the pilot end and the other must be tight in the gas valve. A few times I have found the nut going on to the gas valve can be found to be loose. Simply a case of nipping it up.
3. Gas valve getting all the right signals but the pilot still wont stay on. Right signal being 30mV through the thermocouple when the pilot is lit. Without going in to it too much you need a new gas valve in this case.

Unfortunately most of the above involves work in the gas line so you need an RGI who knows what I just wrote in his head. At least now you will have a clue if someone else tries to B.S. you

I have the exact same boiler circa 1983. These things are bog basic and bulletproof.
In 23 years I have been here it has had 2 gas valves 3 thermocouples and I only service it when I can see a bit of yellow in the flame or too much debris on the burner and thats a total of 5 times.
Yes new ones are cheaper to run but they go wrong more often and are more expensive to fix when they do go wrong.
If I have to spend time fixing my own boiler that means I make less money because during that time I could be fixing someone else's and earning a bit.
My old olympic is staying right where it is, at least until the gas prices double or treble again.

 

[RedAdmiral2]

Thank you Guys! Good advice all round!
doitall and mickyg - I agree which is why I decided to post and get advice.
slugbabydotcom - I've had a good look under the covers and came to the same conclusions as your suggestions. The flame is not strong enough to reach the t/couple and the t/couple has been badly fitted (it's a generic part).
Thanks Again!