Am I out of my depth? Boiler pump

[JohnBristol]

Hi,

A little while ago I was having an issue(my other post) with my heating and ended up refilling the system as I had very low pressure. This is now fine (about 1.5bar) but this morning the wife had to have a cold shower and she was not impressed! It looks like my boiler is turning itself off after it starts for a couple of minutes. It is the same if it is just the CH or HW or both.

So with my very amateur plumbing hat on I think it might be a problem with the pump and the boiler is just reaching the temperature limit. Does this sound like a reasonable assumption?

I am at work now but after some Googling I think the pump is a Grundfos Magna. It has 3 buttons, two for up and down(I assume speed control) and a cycle button, which I guess is for changing modes. I can definitely hear the pump making noise and if I change the speed level it gets noisier and quieter if I back it off. From what I can see if the pump is the problem it means either it is clogged up with something and can't circulate effectively or their is a fault with the pump itself e.g. the impellor.

So if this all sounds like it is roughly correct should I attempt to clean the pump, if yes any help or advice would be greatly appreciated or should I get a professional in to assess and then either fix or replace the pump?

If it does need to be replaced do you have any suggestions on a good bang for the buck pump. It is a 4 bed semi.

Thank you in advance

 

[SafeGasInstall]

your best solution will be to call a local plumber to have a look and advice what the problem really its !
usually there is few problems that could stop pump from working correctly

 

[JohnBristol]

Ok thanks for the advice.

Probably a silly question but can I turn the immersion heater on to get a hot shower?

 

[aligorgon]

Yes and yes

Unless of course your shower is electric ;-)

Regarding the pump your diagnosis is feasible but there are other possible causes which if start to mention on here will cause the thread to be shut down.

Take safegasinstalls advice and call someone in!

 

[JohnBristol]

Have booked someone in for Monday. Happy to admit if I am beyond something I can safely do myself.

Think I can live without heating for the weekend but if we didn't have a shower the other half would have gone crazy!

Thank you for the help

 

[jam1979]

let us no how u get on

 

[Gray0689]

Magna pumps are expensive too I'm afraid

 

[JohnBristol]

Brief up date.

The boiler worked a couple of times over the weekend so did not need to use the immersion in the end.

Boiler man came around this morning and showed me how to remove the front panel(Potterton boiler) but said I had to keep some specific panels on in inside to keep a seal(I assume something to do with stopping gas or fire spreading) but having the front panel off meant I could see some lights that show fault codes.

After looking up the codes that came up with him he thinks it is either or both the condensing trap, which looked like it had silt or something in it, or the PCB. He suggested replacing the trap first as this should be done anyway, if that fixes it everyone is a winner, it not then replace the PCB.

 

[Howsie]

He suggested replacing the trap? Interesting.

 

[JohnBristol]

I had a look at it too, it did not look very nice and he said it should be clear.

In the boiler troubleshooting thing it also said check the trap had clear water.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

He could wash it !!!!!

 

[JohnBristol]

I am afraid I did not ask. Is that the sort of thing I could do? It is at the back in the bottom left.

He rang the office and they quote £120 +VAT for supply and fit

 

[SafeGasInstall]

forget about it and get another plumber

 

[SafeGasInstall]

forget about him , and get another plumber

list your work requirement here and a trusted plumber will come over and not rip you of for replacing a condense trap at £120 +vat

[DLMURL="http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/im-looking-plumber-gas-engineer/"]I'm looking for a Plumber or Gas Engineer[/DLMURL]

 

[JohnBristol]

The plumber himself seemed like a decent enough guy and it was the office that gave me the quote. I think he is just given a list of jobs in his area and then goes out and does them. He didn't know a specific price for anything, I guess for fear of accidentally telling me the trade price for something.

What is a reasonable price and I might try to negotiate with the office?
Should I try to clean the trap?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

walk away !!! tbh

 

[JohnBristol]

Fair enough. I have told them I am going to market for the best quote.

She mentioned on the phone that the PCB would be £248 + VAT supplier and fitted.

When I go home I will get the model number and post up on that link you gave me. Hopefully something decent is in the Bristol area.

 

[JohnBristol]

Based on what he said should they or I try to clean it first before replacing it?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

No , if he has washed it with fresh running water from the tap , that is all it needs ! If it has been blocked then is a difrent story ! Please do not attempt to do any work on the boiler your self !!!

 

[JohnBristol]

Ok, I will not do anything with the boiler. He did not do anything with it just showed me that it looked full of silt or something and told me it should look clear and said I needed a new one.

Might I need someone else to come out just to inspect it?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

when you had a look did it just look little bit of clear almost like light yellow, or was it silver dork colour ????

 

[JohnBristol]

I will try to get a photo when I get home but from memory the left side looked a little yello and the right side a silvery silt with brown/grey water above. That is all from memory though I could be off and will get a picture tonight

 

[SafeGasInstall]

ok get the picture here !

 

[aligorgon]

Dont understand why he didnt just clean it...

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Why clean it if you could change it for £120+ vat !!!