Vaillant ecoTEC plus 824 Rattling Noise

[iamlee2002]

Hi all,

Today when running the hot water tap i heard a loud rattling/vibration noise. Noticed its coming from the boiler. It's never done this before nothing has changed from yesterday to today with the boiler.

The noise comes when the boiler gets up to its correct temp noise only occurs for about 3 seconds then stops. I had a quick look at all the piping going to the boiler and inside boiler none of these are loose.

I have tried phoning a friend whos a plumber but got no chance as its xmas.

Anything anyone can suggest? I have had a browse on net for similar boiler faults people say heat exchange can cause this?

Is it safe to use atm? or should i knock it off?

Be very greatful for anyones help

Lee

 

[yerino]

Sounds like the heat exchanger is possibly starting to block up.

Does this happen with the central heating as well or just the hot water? Yes, it's safe to use but you'll find that if it gets too blocked up the boiler will overheat and cut out.

 

[iamlee2002]

hi there thanks for the quick reply, it only happens when its calling for hot water, just tried using heating for a hour and noise didnt happen

is it still heat exchange? would it be an air lock or fan etc? seems when the fan kicks in at highest temp it rattles. i thought it was loose pipes first but all of them are fine

only had it serviced last month lol

 

[iamlee2002]

if it is the heat exchanger how much roughly will this cost for plumber to supply and fit?

thanks

 

[fishhead1]

xmas day,about 900 quid

 

[iamlee2002]

hah no i can wait till after xmas no rush, just want a rough idea of the actual cost

 

[yerino]

I would want to inspect the boiler then if it's only happening with the hot water. It could be a partially blocked heat exchanger like I said, but it could also be that dirt/grit has got into the pump.

The simple thing to do here is isolate the water to the boiler, drain off the excess water and take out the heat exchanger to see if it's blocked.. It may even be able to be cleaned out.

If it looks clean I would then be looking at checking the pump. You really need an engineer to look at the boiler to determine the fault.

About 2 hours labour and whatever price you/engineer can get the part for. Look in the MI for a part number for the heat exchanger and see what you can find.

Good luck.

 

[Agile]

Since I have not heard this noise then I would first want to see where it was coming from.

My first suspicion would be that the gas/air mixture was incorrect and if so then I would do a flue gas analysis and reset as necessary.

I might charge an extra £10 over our standard diagnostic fee if called to it as a repair. But less if done as a service but thats done after 7-10 days when it can be fitted in.

Tony