Boiler Heat Exchanger busted

[Suzan]

Hi guys,

Quick question. Had 2 new rads fitted (system was drained) but I didn't test the hot water or heating after he fitted the rads. 4-5 days later I noticed there was no hot water (wasn't in the house) and I kept hearing clanging sounds after the boiler has tried to ignite then shutdown. Only rad that got hot when heating was turned on is one above boiler, rad in the room next to it got a bit hot when i turned the first one off but not fully hot. Plumber came round and said f&e tank was contaminated and when the system got drained, sludge may have gone into the system and caused the heat exchanger in the boiler to overheat. He cut the boiler off from the gas and just labeled it not usable.

So I have a couple of options. I was gonna go with buying a combi boiler that will require the system be drained and flushed anyway, and he said the current boiler is beyond repair because the heat exchanger is expensive.

I saw on ebay a refurb for £55, and I'm thinking, can we not just power flush the system, then install the new heat exchanger, make sure the f&e tank has no gunk, and all good? Or is this a bad idea? This is a vented system btw. Picture of boiler is attached (worcester bosch greenstar 24 ri)

 

[Riley]

First things first who took the cover off the boiler for the picture

 

[Suzan]

Plumber from Pimlico Plumbers

 

[Riley]

And how much did they charge you for that callout ??

 

[Suzan]

£90

 

[Suzan]

He cut the gas to it, and just put a sticker on the boiler.

 

[Riley]

That is cheap for them. So let me get this straight they came out replaced the radiators for you? Stirred up a load of muck in the system and then cut you off saying the boiler is unsafe. I would be more inclined to think it’s an airlock if some of the radiators are getting some warmth

 

[Suzan]

No i got a gasman previously to come out and install 2 rads. Few days later i realised there was no hot water or anything. My mate thought it was an airlock but we bled all radiators, no air. Some radiators were indeed getting warm, but warm on the top, not the bottom.

 

[Suzan]

And f&e tank had muck apparently that may have got into the pipes. Heat exchanger as you can see from the picture is pretty screwed.

 

[Riley]

So there is a likelihood that there is some sludge stirred up, but if they are getting warm that means that the boiler is producing heat ?? Why did you not get the initial plumber back?

 

[Suzan]

My OH got fed up with the situation and just called this other plumber... a "proper" plumber from a company...

 

[Suzan]

Now not too sure what to do

 

[Riley]

Well For a start I would be complaining to Pimlico as an airlock or sludge in the system does not warrant treating the boiler as immediately dangerous and cutting the gas. My point still remains though if the radiators are getting warm then the boiler is producing heat albeit badly. Tried shutting off all radiators bar one and forcing the heat to that. I would still be inclined to think that it’s air

 

[Suzan]

Can't do too much now as he cut the gas pipe .... :\ I was doing what you said above until that plumber came round and cut everything.

 

[Riley]

Get on the phone to them and complain. Ask them how they’ve got to the answer of immediately dangerous

 

[Suzan]

The plumber said he had to cut the gas off for safety...

 

[Riley]

Of what???? I think there’s more to this. Did they leave you a report of why it was capped off

 

[Aire]

First of all, Pimlico are notorious for ripping off customers and making up faults to get more work, the engineers are told to pull the wool over the customers eyes.

As Riley said, poor circulation does not warrant your boiler to be condemned unless there's more going on then whats mentioned

 

[rpm]

Heard that they were expensive, didn`t realise that they were lying sharks.

 

[Suzan]

My OH has it on his email but I read it. It basically said f&e tank was contaminated, he went to drain the system down but saw the heat exchanger on the boiler and said this is dangerous because the seal has gone. Report says there were clanging noises (he asked me how i'd describe the noise and he wrote it down).

 

[Suzan]

Tbh i don't see why I can't just get a refurb heat exchanger for it, drain the system down/power flush/clean f&e, and fit heat exchanger to the boiler. There were no faults on the boiler - stayed solid blue, just burner indicator started and then stopped (probably recognised blockage?)

 

[Aire]

Given how this problem started after a draindown It's probably more likely an air lock or pump failure. Not saying your system isn't sludged as it might be. But yes it can be flushed. And I don't work on Worcesters so can say for sure but the seal on the top should be replaceable. If not you can replace the heat ex. I wouldnt recommend a refurb off eBay though. A new one Will set you back around £350 + fitting. Not cheap but certainly cheaper than a new boiler.

 

[Suzan]

I mean I'd like to think that plumber had some idea of what he was doing. Things sounded like they were working ok but because of a blockage (you can hear the pipes clanging) the igniter stopped. Bled all radiators and nothing, water was lukewarm but not hot hot and that was in the bathroom and kitchen. So don't think it's air as I vented it even from the circulation pump. Got a Wilo Yonos Pico and it is spinning and working fine (near the hot water cylinder). The plumber said it is the heat ex and I spoke to Bosch and they said they cover that just 120 for labour costs. Not sure if they'll solder the gas pipe the plumber cut off tho ¬_¬

 

[Suzan]

This is from the PP today

"To attend to above property to assess no heating and no hot water. On inspection Worcester Bosch heat only boiler found to be firing but running for a short time before cutting out. System has recently been worked on by a third party.On removal of boiler cover main heat exchanger found to be showing signs of overheating. Burner case seal also found to be unserviceable. System found to have circulation problems. FE tank also found to be contaminated. Advised client that the boiler is beyond economical repair. To isolate gas supply to boiler and make safe. To issue warning advice notice and warning label attached. Recommendations are Powerflush system replace boiler with ideal heat only boiler with system filter new pump"

 

[Suzan]

"new pump" being the wilo yonos pico as I described above, which he said works fine... :\