M
mister.duffy
hi folks,
have been having a non-critical issue with our boiler for a while and have had a number of conflicting diagnoses from people so i thought i'd seek out some genuinely objective advice.
the boiler was new when we bought the house 5 years ago, and about 2 years ago it started sending black sediment out of the hot tap. after collecting some of it, it appeared to be mineral in nature rather than metal but without a lab i can't be sure of course. either way it's definitely not coming from the mains as it's only the hot taps, and no one else around here has the same problem. we have also had some 'kettling' noises from the boiler. the only 'fix' that was suggested to us at this time was to replace the exchanger.
the second issue that developed (aout 18 months ago) was that while the hot water taps were working fine all the time, the shower (which runs directly off the system and in in the next room to the boiler) wouldn't get hot unless the boiler was put on continuous. no other hot water outlets were affected.
the third issue, which has just occured and is critical, is that when a hot tap is opened, the boiler clicks repetitively like a relay or switch is going on and off very quickly. it seems to be coming from either the spark generator or the gas control valve and certainly seems to be affecting the part of the system that activates the hot water independently of the heating. it's as if the activation pressure threshold is flicking up and down. as a result, the boiler never actually fires up because it's not getting the chance.
even when manually turning the boiler on, although the heating works, opening a hot tap causes the clicking to start and the boiler fails.
i don't know if this is the latest symptom of one problem or whether they're unrelated.
sorry if i've not used the correct terminology - i normally fix computers, not boilers, but i've got the service manual and have flicked through it.
cheers.
have been having a non-critical issue with our boiler for a while and have had a number of conflicting diagnoses from people so i thought i'd seek out some genuinely objective advice.
the boiler was new when we bought the house 5 years ago, and about 2 years ago it started sending black sediment out of the hot tap. after collecting some of it, it appeared to be mineral in nature rather than metal but without a lab i can't be sure of course. either way it's definitely not coming from the mains as it's only the hot taps, and no one else around here has the same problem. we have also had some 'kettling' noises from the boiler. the only 'fix' that was suggested to us at this time was to replace the exchanger.
the second issue that developed (aout 18 months ago) was that while the hot water taps were working fine all the time, the shower (which runs directly off the system and in in the next room to the boiler) wouldn't get hot unless the boiler was put on continuous. no other hot water outlets were affected.
the third issue, which has just occured and is critical, is that when a hot tap is opened, the boiler clicks repetitively like a relay or switch is going on and off very quickly. it seems to be coming from either the spark generator or the gas control valve and certainly seems to be affecting the part of the system that activates the hot water independently of the heating. it's as if the activation pressure threshold is flicking up and down. as a result, the boiler never actually fires up because it's not getting the chance.
even when manually turning the boiler on, although the heating works, opening a hot tap causes the clicking to start and the boiler fails.
i don't know if this is the latest symptom of one problem or whether they're unrelated.
sorry if i've not used the correct terminology - i normally fix computers, not boilers, but i've got the service manual and have flicked through it.
cheers.
