Worcester Fan Assembly

[Gillp95]

Hello All....

I have a worcester 24i combi. The other day it started to make a noise from the top part of the boiler, a very faint grinding sound. I had a look at the fan assembly and it all seemed to move freely and looked ok (but I am no expert ). It still continued to work fine after that, although the sound was still there but very very faint.
Until this morning. The boiler will not fire up at all and I cannot even hear the fan moving. I took another look and now the fan does not spin as freely as it did the other day. The fan is very stiff and difficult to move by hand.
I have looked at some places on the internet and these can be bought for about £50. The part number is 8-716-146-459.

Now my question is,
1, Is there a simple fix I can do ? (probably not)
2, Am I barking up the wrong tree and it could be something else knackered ?
3, Does the price sound right for a fan assembly ?

Thankyou in advance.

 

[Agile]

It sounds far too cheap for a genuine new manufacturer's spare part!

Its pretty easy to change but should be done by a competent person who is usually a CORGI.

If you lubricate each bearing with motor car engine oil it will keep you going over Christmas. Just dont use WD40 !

Tony

 

[Rob]

If the fan is seized then its fairly obvious this is the fault. To confirm is there 240v at the fan?

£50 soiunds quite cheap although i have bought a fan for a microgenus from HRPC for £27.

 

[Gillp95]

Thanks for the replies so far

I will check the voltage Rob.

 

[ollski]

24i fan is 8-716-120-993-0 and srp of 62.54
24i junior is 8-716-105-652-0 and srp of 50.03

Can't find anything with the worc part number you have.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

The fan is very stiff and difficult to move by hand.

A drop of lubricant on the bearings could get it going until you get a replacement

 

[Gillp95]

Thanks everyone for your help

Lubricating it has done the trick. The bottom bearing was really stiff once pressure was put on it. At the top of the fan is a spring, if I left the spring off, it spun fine. With the spring on, it went stiff. A few drops of oil and the whole thing is running fine, no noise at all

Thanks again everyone. I'm going to see how it goes from now until 2007.

 

[Anitas]

Exactly the same has happened to my boiler. The gas man sprayed it with boiler type grease and it is spinning again. However, he has advised not to turn boiler off (i.e. have radiators running 24/7) until a replacement fan has been ordered. Does that sound right?

 

[ChrisR]

Not really, no! The boiler will go on and off anyway, even with the timer on Constant.
RRP for that fan is now £92 + vat

 

[bengasman]

If you lubricate each bearing with motor car engine oil it will keep you going over Christmas. Just dont use WD40 !

what is the big problem with wd 40?

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

If you lubricate each bearing with motor car engine oil it will keep you going over Christmas. Just dont use WD40 !

what is the big problem with wd 40?

Its better at being a penetrant than a lubricant. After a while evaporates leaving you back at square one. Its hydrocarbon constituents act as a solvent and can actually attack any plastic parts such as O rings or retainer ring seals in the same way that gas can break down certain types of ptfe tape.
I like to use silicone spray myself and a tiny bit of silicone grease when I can get it onto the bearing which will hopefully work its way in over time

 

[Agile]

what is the big problem with wd 40?

As a lubricant it has too little "body" so does not last for long but thats not the main problem!

The propellant is highly flammable and when the boiler is lit can turn into something like a jet engine!!! Highly dangerous!

Tony

 

[bengasman]

interesting. i never try to revive failing fans, as i don't believe it is a lasting solution. good to know why one should not use dw40 though

 

[ollski]

Isn't the propellant good old butane?. I use similar to get the fan spinning over night or a weekend or whatever until I get a replacement. Also free trv pins with it etc, never had a problem or gone back to a leak.....welll not in the last 10 years or so anyway.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Isn't the propellant good old butane?.

I would have warned about the free facial hair trimming capabilities of butane but I saw that the model was one without a permanent pilot.

I got a free hair trim once, off an old glow worm combi I wonder who else has had to learn this the hard way?

Good job you mentioned it, for the benefit of anyone who reads up on this post. I do accept that it is still possible for an accident to occur if someone sprays such a substance and lights the boiler straight away.