Hot water fire up/fires off interval pattern every 2-3 mins - Normal?

[Trac]

Hello,
Is it normal that when i switch the hot water on to heat up, it fires up the boiler (the flame ignites) and then switches off (flames off) after a couple of minutes.
This process repeats ever 2-3 minutes, firing up and then switching off; this is a little time sequence that i noted:
fires up/on 4:53 off 4:57
on 5:02 off 5:04
on 5:09 off 5:11
on 5:16 off 5:18
on 5:23 off 5:25
on 5:31 off 5:33

my question is: should the flame stay on once it is fired up of is this on/off pattern normal?
I have just moved into this property so do not know if this is normal or not - i do get hot water but it's this recurrent patter of firing up/firing off that seems odd.
Any ideas would be most appreciated,
THank you

 

[chris watkins]

No it is not correct as it is wasting gas every time it does that.
Most moden boilers may do this a couple of three times when first turned on (heating or hot water) but should then settle down into a steady burn. What you have suggests that there is not enough water flow rate through the boiler.
How old is your boiler & cylinder ??

 

[nysk2008]

time to get someone in I think - could be a number of things

 

[Trac]

Thank you - at least now I know it's not the normal pattern!
the boiler is a kingfisher, quite old i think, possibly 10-20 years old - i have just moved into the property and did not anticipate having a new boiler Ch system installed but if this can be repaied then this might be the best short term solution for the next few months.......would you have any idea how much a repair to the water flow would cost and/or the installation of a new system like a modern combi?
also would there be any recommendations on this forum in terms of who can install/repair - British Gas or a local independent?
THank you both for your help and ideas. Much appreciated

 

[Killy Bing]

Ppost up in

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

to get a local forum member to come look at doing a repair and diagnosing the problem.

same goes withwhen you want the boiler replaced.
advantage with us is we happily give our time to help fellow engineers and customers on this forum, as such we all do out best to privide the best job possible, not get our money and run!

It could be something very simple indeed.

oh and local independent over british gas every time in my opinion!

 

[Mike Jackson]

Thank you - at least now I know it's not the normal pattern!
the boiler is a kingfisher, quite old i think, possibly 10-20 years old - i have just moved into the property and did not anticipate having a new boiler Ch system installed but if this can be repaied then this might be the best short term solution for the next few months.......would you have any idea how much a repair to the water flow would cost and/or the installation of a new system like a modern combi?
also would there be any recommendations on this forum in terms of who can install/repair - British Gas or a local independent?
THank you both for your help and ideas. Much appreciated

If it's an old system it may be gravity hot water which can behave as you describe.

I would get someone in to give it a good service and report on the condition of the system.

 

[stevetheplumber]

probably got the cold start or preheat on

 

[Trac]

probably got the cold start or preheat on

Thank you all of your help and advice.

we had BG out who said we need a completely new system - i'm a bit unsure as it could just be a problem that could be repaired or is it just BG just wanting to sell a completely new system and install it at what price they suggest? they've already booked us in for a quote and for their engineer to call around and passed on a £400 off coupon in advance.

From what i have described in terms of the interval pattern, does this sound like this could be repaired as opposed to a completely new system installed?

Is this a job that is actually repairable, maybe a new valve or part required?

If a new system is indeed required, what is the best way/most cost efficient way of going about finding a local surrey based engineer/plumber to install and advise of the appropriate boiler.

Thank you all and happy new year

 

[Dotty]

Easily done

Post a thread in the 'I'm looking for a plumber / gas engineer' section of these forums remembering to include your location - [DLMURL="http://www.ukplumbersforums.co.uk/im-looking-plumber-gas-engineer/"]I'm looking for a Plumber or Gas Engineer[/DLMURL]

 

[lame plumber]

you can ask on this forum in the i need a plumber section

 

[chris watkins]

Thank you all of your help and advice.

we had BG out who said we need a completely new system - i'm a bit unsure as it could just be a problem that could be repaired or is it just BG just wanting to sell a completely new system and install it at what price they suggest? they've already booked us in for a quote and for their engineer to call around and passed on a £400 off coupon in advance.

From what i have described in terms of the interval pattern, does this sound like this could be repaired as opposed to a completely new system installed?

Is this a job that is actually repairable, maybe a new valve or part required?

If a new system is indeed required, what is the best way/most cost efficient way of going about finding a local surrey based engineer/plumber to install and advise of the appropriate boiler.

Thank you all and happy new year

If you have a old floor standing Kingfisher you may well have gravity hot water in which case the boiler may well cycle on & off as the heat can not exchange into the cylinder quickly enough for the boiler to stay alight. What did BG say, why did they say that you needed a new boiler ??
Strongly recommend that you get at least a couple of other plumbers to have a look & provide quotations / options as to what can be done.
You would almost certainly benefit in terms efficiency & therefore the running costs if you had a new boiler & cylinder + proper controls.

 

[tamz]

Firstly the BG guy who came out will get something that they (BG) don't want you to know about for booking in a quote. It is called kudos. Much better than neptune points :wink:
Speak to a local engineer (or 2) and get their opinion.
Personally speaking from what you have said, you have an inefficient old system that may cost more to run but costs very little to nothing to maintain.
You have to weigh up the pro's and cons of swapping it.
But then again i liked my cortina. Best car i ever had :wink:

 

[Trac]

Firstly the BG guy who came out will get something that they (BG) don't want you to know about for booking in a quote. It is called kudos. Much better than neptune points :wink:
Speak to a local engineer (or 2) and get their opinion.
Personally speaking from what you have said, you have an inefficient old system that may cost more to run but costs very little to nothing to maintain.
You have to weigh up the pro's and cons of swapping it.
But then again i liked my cortina. Best car i ever had :wink:

Thank you Tamz, it is an old kingfisher - some say they run forever! Though I have this issue it is not actually broken -
I have ran a few tests on the hot water/central heating system, first central heating only, second central heating and hot water, third central heating only with the following results:
When I selected heating only there was no cycle of the flame fire on/fire off and the central heating worked as normal.
However, when I switched Heating and Hot Water on together the flame fired on/fired off in the following sequence:
6:53 Flame fired on 6:58 Flame fired off
7:00 on 7:04 off
7:07 on 7:11 off
7:13 on 7:41 off
7:19 on 7:23 off
When I then switched the hot water off and kept the central heating on I got the following fire on/fire off cycle:
7:38 on 7:41 off
7:43 on 7:47 off
7:50 on 7:55 off
The fire on/fire off cycle seems to happen when I have only hot water and also when I activate the hot water when central heating is on, and also when I switch the hot water option off and leave the central heating on. If I select central heating (without hot water) the system works as normal with no cycle.
Any ideas what the problem is and what possible repairs will be required?