Typical faults for different boiler types

[grill]

Hi again guys,

Im recently Corgi registered and am working for myself doing services and break downs. Am based in Belfast, N.Ireland. Am working for myself so every breakdown is a stressful effort as i dont have the luxury of work colleagues with years of experience!!

Have checked with some companies and they dont seem to do training courses over this neck of the woods just yet.

Does anyone know where i could get my hands on a list of typical faults for different boilers. I know this is probably the holy grail for every corgi engineer but there is a guy called Mr Combi who runs Combi boilers training courses and apparently he hands them out at the end of the course!!!

I conctacted him and asked to buy the list off him but no joy alas.

Dont know if such a thing is available anywhere buy any help on this subject would be appreciated.

I logically work through every problem but it would fast track things to know what usually goes wrong with what

Either that or ill just have to keep trawling through this site!! It has saved me a few times so far.

Apologies for the long post

Grill.

 

[Agile]

If you are not very experienced why not spend a few days and pounds actually going on his course?

Or do you want to be mean and prefer to muddle on?

Tony

 

[Maxxy]

Well, logically thinking - how about phoning round the local gas companies, asking if their people have been on the course and if you can purchase a photocopy! Yeah copyright etc..but i doubt theyll be too bothered if your waving a couple notes


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Edit: yeah ignore the above..i assumed he was a local person giving the training rather than miles and miles away

 

[bster]

I've looked at the Mr Combi course but its only training center is in Milton Keynes I think? bit far from Belfast

I'm going to do a 4 day Combi fault finding course at Filton College, Bristol (which also trains the BG boyo's) - £expensive though !



£500

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Different boiler manufacturers run their own courses. A lot are for free. Some charge but offer incentives such as 'get your fifty quid back when you buy one of our boilers vouchers'
Best ones I went on were Ravenheat and Biasi. Both of these were free and provided food. IMHO it is worth you going the rest of the way to pay for the journey.
I got on one course by putting it nicely that it was in their interests that I know how to fix their boilers. When I got there I found that most of the others on the course had paid money for the same privilege.

Calling tech helpines is a good way to learn as is reading manuals till you are blue in the face and of course, this forum.

The guy in my local spares stockist can often point me in the right direction even though he has never fixed a boiler in his life. I just ask him what do you sell most of for this combi, say for example a Baxi Bahama and he will say something like flow switches and pressure vessels. In an instant you can have a clue what to look for.

Enrol on a 'Radio Amateurs' course at a local college. OK it's not specifically aimed at fixing boilers but a lot of what you do there does help you understand what is going on with a lot of the components that are fitted in boilers and a lot of the stuff you learn there is relevant.

Use your ears! Listen carefully to a customers version of what is or isn't happening when a boiler goes wrong. Ask them to repeat it if necessary.
On the same subject . If a moving part is noisy when in operation put that item on your suspects list.

 

[grill]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies. I would gladly pay the money and go on as many courses as possible. But they dont run them in Ireland, yet, so it will be a flight over and back. Might just have to bite the bullet.

The only way to learn is to get stuck in and make the mistakes at the start and learn from them.

Good point about the radio amatuers course as a lot of my "fear" about not knowing what to do stems from the electrics side of things.

Anyway as long as this forum stays up then it is a good indication of what i should be looking for!!!!

In 5 yrs time ill look back and laugh at this post, hopefully!!!!

grill

 

[voiceofthemysteron]

I'm going to do a 4 day Combi fault finding course at Filton College, Bristol (which also trains the BG boyo's) - £expensive though !

£500

I am the instructor on that course and we teach using all the latest boilers

Also watch out for the speed cameras/vans either end of the flyover

 

[kevplumb]

I am the instructor on that course and we teach using all the latest boilers icon_eek.gif

and the best you could come up with is a OLD vaillant diagram

 

[grill]

To the voice of the mysteron,

Do you hand out sheets at the end of the course detailing specfic faults for specific boilers??

Unfortunately i cant spare the time for a 4 day course at the minute, Catch 22 i know.

Could i even buy the course notes off you?? Im trying to build up a reference catalogue and any relevant info to give me an edge would be brillant.

Thanks again for all your useful comments guys!!!

Grill

 

[Agile]

To Bster,

maybe its too late for you but if you came to London then I could give you a 3-4 day intensive course on repairing combis in the field and our workshop.

That would be totally free including basic accommodation but you would be required to pay for my dinner ( with wine ) each evening at about £36 for the two of us!

Tony

 

[corgiman]

To Bster,

maybe its too late for you but if you came to London then I could give you a 3-4 day intensive course on repairing combis in the field and our workshop.

That would be totally free including basic accommodation but you would be required to pay for my dinner ( with wine ) each evening at about £36 for the two of us!

Tony

I am soo up for that, where do I sign???

 

[chrishutt]

Also watch out for the speed cameras/vans either end of the flyover

So Filton College teaches people how to get away with flouting Safety Rules? Not a very good example to set, is it!

 

[kevplumb]

To Bster,

maybe its too late for you but if you came to London then I could give you a 3-4 day intensive course on repairing combis in the field and our workshop.

That would be totally free including basic accommodation but you would be required to pay for my dinner ( with wine ) each evening at about £36 for the two of us!

Tony

I am soo up for that, where do I sign???

both up for it then son

do you wan't to cope with me tony BTW it would be appreciated

 

[ollski]

Also watch out for the speed cameras/vans either end of the flyover

So Filton College teaches people how to get away with flouting Safety Rules? Not a very good example to set, is it!

Do they Chris or do they encourage you to keep within the speed limits
I found Filton to be ok, certainly have a widely variable quality of instructors and not a massive setup if it still next to the testing centre, but big enough to teach combi basics. Certainly some eye candy at breakdowns which is always a bonus

 

[bster]

voiceofthemysteron

Is the course running yet as there are minimum details on the website and i take it i need CCN! to attend?



Agile

Thanks for the offer i'd love to come down but its a tad too far for me.