M
manxman
I wonder whether any of you gentlemen (or ladies) would be kind enough to come up with some ideas to help me solve an ongoing boiler problem that four separate engineers have now failed to rectify.
The boiler in question is a Worcester-Bosch Greenstar HE 25 combi supplying heat and hot water to a large two bedroom penthouse apartment. Each radiator is controlled by TRVs, which I regularly adjust to control heat, and there are no room thermostats.
For the first year and a bit I owned the flat (which I bought from new), the central heating gave no trouble. Then the boiler started failing overnight with increasing regularity, showing an error code of “EA” (flame not detected). This required rebooting the system, meaning I would awake in the middle of the night or the early hours, freezing cold. Also, the boiler leaked copiously from inside the casing when the heat output setting was not set to maximum or the E position.
Engineers from Manx Gas, the sole gas provider here in the Isle of Man, concluded that the flue had been incorrectly installed and sealed, leading to condensation running back into the system. However, they had little or no knowledge of Worcester-Bosch boilers, so my managing agents appointed another firm to examine the flue, who reached the same conclusion, as did the original installer.
At this point, Worcester-Bosch themselves became involved, and appointed their service agents in the island to examine the boiler. This engineer reached a different conclusion, stating that the flue installation was perfect and that the problem was resulting from an overflowing condense trap, which he cleaned and emptied. The system worked perfectly for the next few months, and then the fault returned (when it happens during the day, the boiler produces a most terrible groaning sound when attempting to locate the flame, and will sometimes switch off and produce the error command “EA” if not rebooted).
At my most recent service, the Worcester-Bosch service agent speculated that the problem could be due to dirty points within the system, which he cleaned, but the problem persists. I am now in two minds as to whether to pay him for the service, as he has failed to resolve the problem after two visits – what do others think?
And with regard to the ongoing problem, any ideas? To summarise:
• The fault is intermittent, and the boiler can work perfectly for days on end, then have a day or two when it misbehaves constantly.
• The fault tends to occur much more when demand for heat is low (one or two radiators switched on, with the TRV set to a low or medium setting).
• The fault may occur more often when there is a strong wind from a particular direction (I am recording every instance now to test this hypothesis).
Any bright ideas as to how this can be resolved? Is it anything to do with the way I am using the boiler or central heating? And who should be liable for paying to have it remedied? Thanks for all your help!
The boiler in question is a Worcester-Bosch Greenstar HE 25 combi supplying heat and hot water to a large two bedroom penthouse apartment. Each radiator is controlled by TRVs, which I regularly adjust to control heat, and there are no room thermostats.
For the first year and a bit I owned the flat (which I bought from new), the central heating gave no trouble. Then the boiler started failing overnight with increasing regularity, showing an error code of “EA” (flame not detected). This required rebooting the system, meaning I would awake in the middle of the night or the early hours, freezing cold. Also, the boiler leaked copiously from inside the casing when the heat output setting was not set to maximum or the E position.
Engineers from Manx Gas, the sole gas provider here in the Isle of Man, concluded that the flue had been incorrectly installed and sealed, leading to condensation running back into the system. However, they had little or no knowledge of Worcester-Bosch boilers, so my managing agents appointed another firm to examine the flue, who reached the same conclusion, as did the original installer.
At this point, Worcester-Bosch themselves became involved, and appointed their service agents in the island to examine the boiler. This engineer reached a different conclusion, stating that the flue installation was perfect and that the problem was resulting from an overflowing condense trap, which he cleaned and emptied. The system worked perfectly for the next few months, and then the fault returned (when it happens during the day, the boiler produces a most terrible groaning sound when attempting to locate the flame, and will sometimes switch off and produce the error command “EA” if not rebooted).
At my most recent service, the Worcester-Bosch service agent speculated that the problem could be due to dirty points within the system, which he cleaned, but the problem persists. I am now in two minds as to whether to pay him for the service, as he has failed to resolve the problem after two visits – what do others think?
And with regard to the ongoing problem, any ideas? To summarise:
• The fault is intermittent, and the boiler can work perfectly for days on end, then have a day or two when it misbehaves constantly.
• The fault tends to occur much more when demand for heat is low (one or two radiators switched on, with the TRV set to a low or medium setting).
• The fault may occur more often when there is a strong wind from a particular direction (I am recording every instance now to test this hypothesis).
Any bright ideas as to how this can be resolved? Is it anything to do with the way I am using the boiler or central heating? And who should be liable for paying to have it remedied? Thanks for all your help!
