VAILLANT ECOMAX BURST PIPE, BAD DESIGN OR NOT.

[macgee]

Hi,
Vaillant ecomax condensing combi, return pipe running from main HE with a six inch rubber hose connecting copper together. This is obviously for ease of maintenance when removing components. Boiler is 4 yrs old and pipe has 1 inch split down it. As far as I know, replacment pipe is exactly the same, (ie. made of rubber) which seems a bit odd as original pipe didn't last too long. Is this a one off, or have other people had the same problems due to s**t design.
Let me know.
Thanks.

 

[fitz1]

my mates has split twice in two years. second time bust the pump.

 

[macgee]

Just s**t design then!!! Amazied to hear that the pump actually burst.

 

[Agile]

No, he said the pump "bust". Badly written though. He should have said the deluge of water caused the pump to fail.

I think the rubber tube was intended as a vibration damper.

They are not a major failure point on that Vaillant model and the dreadful Sonya Duval used them and although all their plastic parts always leak I have never seen a hose split on one of them.

Tony

 

[urakai]

seen a lot of this on these boilers. jubilee clips no good. stick a decent screw in jubilee clip on it with a bit of paste. never leak again!

 

[urakai]

the pump wouldnt burst

 

[fitz1]

sorry folks as agile says.

 

[macgee]

Sorry boys. Miss read answer. Thanks for replies.

 

[Trundles Tricks]

We've already had loads of these go.


When questioned about the use of rubber hoses Vaillant told us that it was to help with expansion and that it was only a small problem.



As soon as we saw the first ones we knew that this would be a recurring problem.

 

[lainton]

Hi,
Vaillant ecomax condensing combi, return pipe running from main HE with a six inch rubber hose connecting copper together. This is obviously for ease of maintenance when removing components. Boiler is 4 yrs old and pipe has 1 inch split down it. As far as I know, replacment pipe is exactly the same, (ie. made of rubber) which seems a bit odd as original pipe didn't last too long. Is this a one off, or have other people had the same problems due to s**t design.
Let me know.
Thanks.

Hi,
My pipe burst a couple of hrs ago and I have the top of the range Eco. I didn't realise until all the power tripped in the house, due to the water going all over the electrics, through the Kitchen ceiling and all over the floor. I took the cover off and it was all pretty self explanatary, the pipe had a split through the centre.
My boiler was fitted by a corgi registered fitter january 2006, and I have a 2 year warranty which has just ran out.
I'm going to go to B&Q tomorrow and buy a couple of Jubillee clips and if I can a Rubber hose, otherwise I will go to Halfords and get one for a car radiator.
I don't know why mine would have burst though. I did top the system up the other day because it was low and I switched the central heating on today, for the 1st time in about a month.

 

[Agile]

There is not point wondering why yours burst!

Its nothing that you or the installer has done!

Its just that its a weak point on those models which use it.

I would have expected that the reinforced nylon hose might have lasted longer but thats usually used for cold water and certainly softens when hot.

Since its such a common fault you might get the makers to repair it free if you make a lot of fuss.

However you clearly know that you can bodge it for less than £10 and you can do it on a Sunday too !

Tony

 

[pannierstan]

I had one go a few months back on an Ecotec. Stuffed the electrics in the boiler to such a point that the simple option bearing in mind it was a rented property was to replace it like for like.
Anyway boiler was 2 months out of warrenty and when questioned they sent me a replacement set of hoses and a PCB.
apparently the hoses have now been modified

The worry is I have an Ecomax myself and don't know whether to fit the pipes to that now.

Stan

 

[gas4you]

It is a problem on the Ecotec range and Vaillant are well aware of it. Strangely enough though Glow Worm use them as well and don't seem to have the problem

Get your installer to talk to the Vaillant rep, I'm sure they will still fix it under warranty even though it is officially out of warranty by this short amount of time.

One of the 2 faults I've had on an ecotec combi was a failed pump, 6 months out of warranty and they still replaced it for the customer FOC

 

[lainton]

It is a problem on the Ecotec range and Vaillant are well aware of it. Strangely enough though Glow Worm use them as well and don't seem to have the problem

Get your installer to talk to the Vaillant rep, I'm sure they will still fix it under warranty even though it is officially out of warranty by this short amount of time.

One of the 2 faults I've had on an ecotec combi was a failed pump, 6 months out of warranty and they still replaced it for the customer FOC

Hi everyone

Thanks for your replies.
I looked everywhere today for a suitable replacement hose and eventually found one in a local motor factors with an internal bore of 19.1mm. It is of better quality than the original hose - more rigid, so it should last longer.
It's now fitted and everything is working fine.
£0.99 for hose & £1.48 for Jubilee clips - bargain.
I noticed that there is another rubber hose on the LH side of the boiler about the same length @145mm, so I am going to contact Vailant tomorrow and let them know that I had one fail and hopefully if its a known problem they may replace it FOC!
Regards
Lee

 

[Jambeg]

I know this is an old thread but this might be of use to someone.

They have replaced the rubber hose with service kit containing push fit copper pipes. It's not cheap though so if you can spare the time it might be worth contacting vaillant, I couldn't so had to pay just under £50 for the R/H assembly from my local spares shop.

I'm going to keep the L/H rubber for now and try and shield it so if it does go the water doesn't go all over the electrical components.

Apparently (according to the spares shop) if any of the pipes go make sure that the fan is completely dry before you switch on 'cause this can fry the PCB if it shorts.

Hope this helps