Worcester Bosch Heatslave 15/19 - Lockout problem

[gas1883]

does the same engineer look after both boilers??
the photocell should not need cleaning on a regular basis between services, need to find out why it's getting sooty...

Yes the Engineer does look after both, if the Photocell is the cause of the next Lockout, I will give him a call.

 

[gas1883]

If its getting black then it indicates that the combustion is set up wrongly. This can cause an imense problem which will be expensive to correct.

You need to call an engineer to set it up properly.

You suggest you called an engineer two months ago. One would hope that he checked and reset the combustion with a flue gas analyser. If so then call him back as he did not do it properly.

If he did not check it, then call someone else who is more diligent!

Tony

Cheers Tony,

If the Photocell is the cause of the next Lockout, I will speak to the Engineer and ask him if the Combustion is set up correctly.

I will definately get concerned if the Photocell is getting sooty regularly as I know this isn't right, is it caused by a blockage and the flue is not doing it's job properly?

BTW, thanks for all your help (so far).

 

[WDIK]

I will definately get concerned if the Photocell is getting sooty regularly as I know this isn't right, is it caused by a blockage and the flue is not doing it's job properly?

I would consider it unprofessional, to alter affect or change a flue and not,
check the safe and efficient operation of the appliance.
this includes a combustion check.
the sooting is due to poor dirty combustion.

 

[oilman]

It would have been better if you had started a new thread, rather than hijack an existing one. Your problem has NOTHING to do with the OPs problem and you are now into something totally different. As you would put it,


The fact the photocell is getting sooty very quickly can range from a poor oil supply, (probably a blocked filter), to wrong combustion settings, to partially blocked flue. Cleaning the photocell and hoping means you probably now have a rather congested boiler.

 

[gas1883]

We could reset it and it would work for a few hours before going out again. My plumber came back and fitted an extension to raise the flue to cure the problem but this has now made it worse and it will lockout after about 20mins now. My Plumber doesn't have a clue and has spent all day trying to fix it. The boiler worked fine before the flue was moved. Does anyone have any ideas so I can point the plumber in the right direction??

It would have been better if you had started a new thread, rather than hijack an existing one. Your problem has NOTHING to do with the OPs problem and you are now into something totally different. As you would put it,

Duh?? The topic mentions the Lockout and he asked if anyone had any ideas, so what was my reply???

So, I therefore did not hijack the thread as you put it with my own question, it was an answer to the original question, surely you're not telling me it was wrong for me to reply to the question????

How many times do people moan when a new thread is started with an old topic and given a link to the original thread?

Like I said I ANSWERED the question with a possible solution as there didn't appear to be one, what is wrong with that.

BTW, I hope as a temp. measure whilst the engineer is on his way out to people, this quick fix will allow the boiler to provide heating and hot water.

 

[casius66]

Appreciate what you're saying gas1883, and it might keep someone going until the engineer arrives (personally I wouldn't recommend it to my customers) - but they'll be others that'll just keep doing it until the boiler stops and wonder why the boiler man takes an hour or more to clean it before getting it working again when they eventually call him out (or wait for the annual service and casually mention it then...)

If the photocell is getting sooty it's as Agile suggests - poor combustion - and as Oilman suggests there are a number of causes for this. It really needs a boiler man to come out and sort the problem and check the combustion settings

 

[Agile]

So, I therefore did not hijack the thread as you put it with my own question, it was an answer to the original question, surely you're not telling me it was wrong for me to reply to the question????

How many times do people moan when a new thread is started with an old topic and given a link to the original thread?

With many experienced engineers available on this site its unlikely a homeowner will be able to suggest anything they cannot.

People only moan about adding your problem to an existing thread.

In your case, the flue modifications have altered the dynamic resistance of the exhaust and inlet paths. This is likely to affect the combustion settings and it was very silly of your engineer if he did not check and reset your boiler using a flue gas analyser.

Tony