Booming boiler

[hugh jaas]

Dear All,

I have a Boulter Camray Compact oil-fired Boiler controlled by a Gledhill Boilermater II system. It is about 12 years old now and for the last 3 months it has been giving a booming noise. This comes on every few hours (as it heats the water I guess) and the booming continues for 10-20 minutes until it switches off. It is driving me nuts and now disturbing the kids at night. If anyone has any suggestions I would be most grateful. I guess it could be kettling or some ignition problem.

All the best

Simon

 

[Puddle]

Well first thing to do,is get the burner serviced and checked set up correctly still,maybe some adjustments are all that is required and maybe new nozzle and oil filter

imho

 

[hugh jaas]

Thanks Imho

Plumber came out, replaced the nozzle, serviced the boiler and cleaned the photoelectric cell (whatever that does). He also checked the temperatures in and out and they are now fine. Infortunately the booming noise is still there - he suggests flushing the system, but it is a close system - not sure what sludge there could be in there.

Well I am 250 quid lighter and not getting any more sleep!

Any suggestiosn anyone has would be gratefully received!

All the best

Simon

PS - I would replace the boiler -but we are skint!

 

[SimonG]

How are you £250 lighter?

Is the booming as the boiler fires? What was the CO2 reading, oil pressure and flue gas temp?

 

[hugh jaas]

Hi Simon

The 'plumber' said the temperatures were on the high side and he adjusted one of the settings. Not sure what to do now - powerflush at £380 plus vat, new boiler (a loan needed for that nightmare), or Tesco sleeping tablets at £1.45.

BW

Simon

 

[SimonG]

Was he an OFTEC engineer and did he have the correct equipment to do a service? i.e. oil pressure gauge, flue gas analyser etc.

It sounds as though it's a combustion issue, possibly too much air.

Did he say what your CO2 reading was?

 

[hugh jaas]

Sorry Simon, I don't have the paperwork to hand but yes he did all the checks, oil pressure, temperature measurements and is a Kosher plumber. The Boiler (a Camray Compact oil boiler) is now burning much better - no soot deposit or smoke so he did do a good job, it is just the booming sound which I guess is the kettling? He suggested a powerflush.

We also have a boilermate 2 tank which has had intermittent buzzing - I fixed this by replacing some caps 8 months ago on one of the boards and I suspect the other bnoard is on the way out as I get a very quick buzzing sound every 20 mins - never rains but pours!

All the best

Simon

 

[SimonG]

Not a fan of the boilermates.

The only thing is that I wouldn't say booming is a kettling noise and just because it's not sooting doesn't mean it's burning correctly. It could be burning way too lean, which for the moment will give a boom on ignition, but come the colder weather you may find it goes to lock out rather than igniting.
Difficult to tell without hearing it.

Are the pumps ok on the boilermate?

 

[hugh jaas]

Hi Simon

Not sure what else to try. I am thinking of placing the two pcbs in the boilermate - this will cure the buzzing sound. I was just wondering if either of these could be involved in the ignition of the burner? Or is this totally separate? Perhaps the 2 issues are related?

I have sourced both boards for about 30 quid each. Might be better than a 500 quid system flush?

Cheers

Simon:bucktooth:

 

[SimonG]

No the boiler will ignite just on call for heat, if it is kettling it could be boiler stat but would expect high limit to kick in which keeps pointing me back to combustion.
See how you go with your boards.

Simon.

 

[hugh jaas]

Thanks Simon - I will give it a go - if nothing else, the buzzing will be less!

All the best and thanks for your help

Simon

 

[Kev the gas]

Before paying out for new circuit boards,

Ive come across a few Boilermates with a blocked cold feed which will make the boiler sound strange,ie no water in them, try draining water from the system and checking the Boilermate starts to fill up.

If not, scrap it.

Kev.