Vaillant Ecotec Plus 837 Help

[sibeer]

Hi all,

Decided to register here for some help before calling the dreaded Vaillant Service line. Have had my Ecotec Plus 837 for about 2.5 years, however it hasn't been used for 6 months due to refurbishment.

I left my handyman with the job of refilling the system yesterday and got a phone call to say water was pouring out of the wall. When I got home he had the front panel off and had been trying to run the systems with one of the loop filling taps in the open position. As such water had been pouring out of the pressure release 15mm pipe to the outside. I closed these, drained the system and refilled to a suitable low level on the mechaical pressure guage on the front of the unit.

At first when starting it wasn't igniting at all and after a while was coming up with F75. Googleing this showed it was down to the water pressure not being read as going up in a timely manner. This was confirmed by reading the digital sensor which did not show change during startup.

I tested manually adding pressure to the system when starting up (using the loop briefly) and the system ignited fine, but would not keep running for very long on my two tests before F75 came up again.

Next morning I showed this to my handyman. He proceeded to pull down the electronics flap and pulled a red switch to see if that helped. It turns out that as well as leaving the taps on he had been guessing at what to press to fix it. The red button has Bar written on it and sounds like it is adding water to the pressure vessel. Lord only knows how much this has happened.

When I turned on after this it came up with an F20 error code straight away. The only other check I have looked at is to try moving the pump thread with a screw driver. This would not move easily so I did not force.

Advice on what to do next would be appreciated.

 

[sooey]

You should not have left a handyman to fill this boiler after a drain down.
There is a proceedure to carry out to purge air out of the heat exchanger, if this isn't done properly you risk damaging the boiler.

 

[sibeer]

You should not have left a handyman to fill this boiler after a drain down.
There is a proceedure to carry out to purge air out of the heat exchanger, if this isn't done properly you risk damaging the boiler.

Didn't realise that, would have thought adding the water was as simple as that.

 

[sibeer]

OK, the system is working fine again after emptying the water again, setting the pressure vessel to the correct pressure with a car tyre pump (found online elsewhere) and refilling again.

Does anyone know where to find the guide to purge the air out of the heat exchange as I think I will have to drain it again soon to add another couple of radiators.

 

[ianmcd]

Decided to register here for some help before calling the dreaded Vaillant Service line.

Read more: //www.diynot.com/forums/plumbing/vaillant-ecotec-plus-837-help.368312/#ixzz2uMUXPC8v

You have one of the best domestic boilers available with an excellent after sales service and you slag them off because your "handyman" is a twot ! it doesnt matter what boiler make you have , if you funny around with it like you and your not so handyman have you will get problems

 

[sibeer]

Wind yer neck in

Calling a Helpline dreaded is hardly slagging them of. I know is is a good boiler, hence why I spent double the cost of a cheap one to buy it.

I also like to think I should not "HAVE" to get a plumber out or call a helpline for aftercare to safely empty and refill the system, regardless of how good a boiler is.

Clearly from sooey's comment there is a procedure to release any potential air from the heat exchange. We are on a forum for DIY'ers so advice on where to find a document of that procedure would be much appreciated.

 

[Steelmasons]

I know is is a good boiler, hence why I spent double the cost of a cheap one to buy it.
!

THEN LEAVE IT ALONE AND STOP MESSING AROUND WITH IT.

You shouldn't be removing front case in any event..........it is very easy to dislodge the combustion air tube which WILL effect CO2% , if combustion has been set up fuel lean or gas valve has drifted then there is a possibility of increased CO in flue gas , leave it alone.

Good choice of boiler.

 

[sibeer]

I am not continually messing around with it. I have fixed a previous issue through research and following a logical procedure. I now have to drain the system again and want to do so safely. Every time I add a new finished room to my refurb I am adding it to this system rather than the old one. With four rooms to go that is four more drains and refills. To get someone out each time is both a cost I would rather spend elsewhere and an inconvenience based on availability of decent plumbers.

Maybe fixing and repairing Valliant is a protected skill that three people now don't seem to want to share, but it is not a dark art or brain surgery. Surely there is a service book that tells people how to safely do such a run of the mill procedure?

 

[Steelmasons]

Why would you have to remove front case to fill/drain system? , you obviously haven't got a clue regarding this boiler so take the advice given.

"Red button adding water to the pressure vessel" ...... please......i'm gonna bet all the tea in china the boiler will constantly loose pressure.......

 

[sibeer]

I didn't say I would remove the front case to refill the system. If you have a look at my first post, that was the issue caused when I left my handyman to refill the system. I came home to find he had taken to front off and pressed anything he could find to try stop water coming out the overfill/pressure release (had just left the tap on at the bottom). Learnt my lesson there and would not leave him to do that again, but have (a little) more confidence in my own ability.

sooey stated that you need to purge air out of the heat exchange when refilling the system. I am looking to get info on that procedure before draining again. If that requires removing the front cover then there must be a safe procedure to that. Likewise if sooey is wrong then great, I will just refill the system as I have on my previous three boilers (let water out of low point, open all valves, do work, add anti rust chemical to a rad, fill system from boiler, release any air, etc).

 

[Tipper]

If the boiler is as new as you suggest then you should have the installation manual. If not then download it from the Vaillant website.

Once you've got it read the bit about filling and purging (or similar). It does it all by itself once initiated.

 

[sibeer]

If the boiler is as new as you suggest then you should have the installation manual. If not then download it from the Vaillant website.

Once you've got it read the bit about filling and purging (or similar). It does it all by itself once initiated.

Thanks Tipper. Can't find my installation manual so had a Google and now have the book for installation and servicing from here:

http://www.vaillant.co.uk/mediaarchive/2013/10/ecoTEC-installation-servicing-2009.pdf

Thought with the way people seem to be coming across that the info I needed would be in special Trained Engineer Service Manuals or something rather than freely available.

Guide in there seems to have all I need, though I still haven't found anything about purging air out of the heat exchanger in the refill heating water part. Maybe sooey was referring to a process required when topping the pressure up in the pressure vessel. Think once I have finished my refurb I will get a full service done to be safe, but happy to crack on with draining it myself again now.

 

[ianmcd]

At the last expected drain down make sure you add inhibitor, no point really in doing this after every drain down if they are going to be in short time periods, could you not fit some valves that you could close when doing your alterations rather than draining and re filling all the time ?

 

[Agile]

Thought with the way people seem to be coming across that the info I needed would be in special Trained Engineer Service Manuals or something rather than freely available.

As a DIYer you should not even be taking the case off because it forms the room sealed aspect of the boiler which keeps room air and combustion gases apart.

The service manuals are written for trained gas registered engineers and not for DIYers. They do say that in them!

Tony

 

[Agile]

Sibeer, you say that you are an electrician but you have not quoted what the leakage current measures on the boiler circuit and how much comes from the boiler itself.

Deducing these faults needs careful and logical measurements.

In most cases its a combination of smaller leakage currents which sometimes combine to trip the RCD. Some say satellite receivers cause significant leakage/

Putting the boiler on an MCB only circuit usually stops it tripping.

Tony