Valliant boiler no hot water unless heating is on

[summertime67]

Hi all and sorry if I dont know all the technical jargon but I need your help

Ive just bought a house after saving up for years, it needed renovations as my son is disabled so i factored all that in and was only left with about 1500 contingency (long story)

anyhoo I have the builders doing the work before I move in and they tell me i have no hot water, the plumber was in replacing a rad so had a look and couldnt get it to work. he says he could try a couple of fixes but wouldnt know which it was until he replaced parts which could cost upwards of 400 but both he and the builder recommend a new boiler which i just dont have the funds for atm, its on my to do list as well as changing all the uneconnomical rads but i really need another few months out of this one before i can afford it

ive been down today after theyve gone and had a look and a play, its a vaillant 242

if the heating is on it fires up and i can get some hot water although its set to max and the water is hot enough to wash up but no hotter

if i turn the heating off i get no hot water

in either case the water light isnt coming on

any ideas??

also they have quoted me 3k to change the boiler to a 35watt one and reposition it in the attic qith a radio control and room stat, and also put thermostat valves (I think they are called) on all the rads, does that sound about right?

thanks

 

[AGAS]

when you say no hot water do you mean a ) no water at all or b) theres water but water cold

is water staying at constant temp ? or going hot and cold ?

 

[summertime67]

when the heaing is on it gets hot and stays that way unless i turn the heating off then it starts running cold again

 

[AGAS]

.

 

[summertime67]

there is water all the time but it only gets hot when th heating is on

 

[AGAS]

to be honest get another heating engineer not a plumber to have a look . what size house have you got ? to install a 35 kw boiler .

 

[summertime67]

a big one lol, im a foster carer and all my kids need their own rooms so its got 5 beds upstairs and 3 reception rooms although one will be a bedroom for my youngest who is disabled

 

[simond]

A radiator is just a steel (usually) box full of water. There is usually scant economical benefit in changing a radiator. You could save there.

Pricing a boiler swap is like me asking you to price me a typical new kitchen. There are too many variables pertinent to your house.

 

[AGAS]

it is an old boiler but if you can't afford a new one i expect this can be fixed for not a lot of cash .

 

[gasbanni]

Should be a simple boiler fix for a decent engineer, I'd get a quote for fixing it before you accept their diagnosis or go down the new boiler route.
Ask the plumber what parts it actually needs to fix it. Or give vailant a call and ask them to call out.

 

[Bunnyman]

I don't normally do this but in this instance you best bet is Try vaillant fixed price repair, £299 and they will fix whatever's wrong with it and 12 months cover on the rest of the boiler as well

 

[summertime67]

so even if something else goes wrong in that 12 months they will sort it ? thank you that will give me plenty of time to save for a new one

 

[Bunnyman]

Yes 08706060777

 

[summertime67]

thank you that has really helped