Vaillant VCW-sine 18 T3 W

[scarletadam]

Hi everyone,

I own a Vaillant VCW-sine 18 T3 W combi boiler. The boiler is about 30 years old I have been told. Up until yesterday the boiler was working fine but today it has packed in.

The problem currently is this : When I switch the heating on the boiler does not "fire up". The pilot light is lite but the flames at the back are very very short blue flames. They normally are high blue flames and you can hear the boiler working. Also there is no hot water being produced.

Any help you guys can offer would be great as I am really struggling!

Adam

 

[DP]

What happens when you run a hot tap?

 

[scarletadam]

Nothing but cold water comes out.

 

[DP]

Reset the pilot i.e., press the red button. Then relight the pilot after about a minute and see if that makes any difference. Failing that could be the pump but that would need to be checked before replacement is fitted. Could be other reasons too why the boiler does not work

 

[Agile]

It sounds to me as if you have had a water section fault for some while and now a gas/control fault has occured.

I think that if you have a working gas cooker to confirm the gas supply is OK then you will need to get a local gas registered engineer to diagnose the problem.

I always get the impression that very few engineers will work on them now but those with Bunny in their screen names here say that most will work on them.

See how you get on and keep us posted in case we can help you further.

I dont think there are any regular advisers on this forum from your area.

Tony Glazier

 

[scarletadam]

Hi guys an update for you,

Tried switching the pilot off and back on again but this does not work. I have a plumber coming out tomorrow to check so will update then.

Adam

 

[scarletadam]

Hi guys,

BAD NEWS!!! My 30 year Vaillant has finally kicked the bucket. Had a gas engineer out today who confirmed that the gas regulator valve had gone along with the heat exchanger leaking too much water. All in all the price to fix is the same price for a new boiler.

Gutted really because I loved my Vaillant.

Subsequenlty does anyone know anything about the boiler make "ideal"? More specifically an Ideal independant 30kw combi?

Adam

 

[Peruse]

Having had 30years service from a Vaillant is all the answer you need, why not stick with Vaillant.

"Ideal boilers" I would not go down that path for a number of reasons.

 

[scarletadam]

To be honest there is nothing more I would like than to have a brand new Vaillant fitted. However I am swayed by price at the moment as my budget is £1500 for the boiler plus installation.

I have read up some reviews for these Ideal boilers and they don't seem all bad. Also had a price of £2000 for a Worcester Bosch to be fitted. is that a good price/make?

 

[Andygasman2010]

Historically Ideal have produced some really bad boilers, have a search for Icos/Isar/minimiser. This had lead to a lot of engineers being put off them including me!

There are many options these days but in my opinion there are 4 to go too. Worcester or Vaillant as 1st choice, and Baxi or Glowworm as second.

There are many other highly rated manufacturers such as Viesmann or Atag but I couldn't recommend them as I have no experience with them.

I wouldn't go for any boiler that is sold in B&Q or any other DIY shop like Ravenheat, Biasi or Ariston as I've had some bad experiences with them. They seem to be fine for 4-5 years then drop like flies and parts can be very expensive.

If you want a decent budget range boiler I'd recommend the Main 30eco combi. It's 30kw 'A' rated, Giovanni heat exchanger, Grundfos pump and all brass manifolds. Plus, it's a Baxi in disguise!

 

[scarletadam]

Cheers for the all the advice everyone.

Had a quote for £1650 for a Worcester 30si combi to be fitted with wireless timer and I have decided to go ahead with it.

Once again thanks for all the advice!

 

[Agile]

If you want a decent budget range boiler I'd recommend the Main 30eco combi. It's 30kw 'A' rated, Giovanni heat exchanger, Grundfos pump and all brass manifolds. Plus, it's a Baxi in disguise!

Are you quite sure about that?

 

[Agile]

Hi guys,

BAD NEWS!!! My 30 year Vaillant has finally kicked the bucket. Had a gas engineer out today who confirmed that the gas regulator valve had gone along with the heat exchanger leaking too much water. All in all the price to fix is the same price for a new boiler.

Adam

I dont believe either of those statements! For a start the water section seems to have failed.

I am sure that he probably did not understand the boiler and just wanted a bigger job of fitting a new boiler.

Hopefully you will not be giving him the job of fitting a new boiler.

Tony

 

[scarletadam]

The first gas engineer who came to the house said that was what is wrong with the boiler. The 2nd engineer who came along also said the heat exchanger had gone as there was a lot of water dripping from the bottom.

Needless to say I have not given the job to the 1st person as the price to fit a Worcester-Bosch was just too high. Looks like I am going to buy all the required parts and boiler myself (I have a relative who works at city plumbing who has managed to get a good discount) and I will just hire a gas engineer and pay for their labour.

 

[Agile]

Check the figures and see but many/most installers will not fit a customer supplied boiler.

I will, but then I offer transparent pricing but many/most add a profit to the cost of the boiler.

It makes no real difference where the installation charge comes from but I always think it best to quote the real installation charge and not make it up by an addition to the boiler cost. But its the customer's fault because many just look at the quoted installation cost and dont realise when an addition has been made to the boiler cost.

Tony