back boiler, pilot light again

[DE-ANNE]

pilot will light and stay alight and the heating will ignite and fire up ( come on) but then the pilot goes out ?
Have been told it may be the gas valve ( cost mega bucks cos the system is old) or the therma couple. but it will have to be fitted first to see if thats the problem but if it isnt I will still have to pay for his time and the part ( �60)
so it could be money down the drain..surely this isnt right?
Any help would be great as my mother cant afford to throw money away and still have no hot water..

Thanks,,,,,,desperate in Norfolk!!

[Waterhead]

Ask your engineer if a re-ignition coil can be fitted. It is a spring (or similar) that is held in the pilot light and when the pilot goes out will re-ignite the gas.

[DE-ANNE]

waterhead thanks, this hasnt been suggested by anyone I have called. Maybe the system is too old? but will ask another engineer to see if he can try this.

[chas2008]

thermo couplings do have a certain life expectancy, mine last approx 5 years.
Easy for me to say it but spending �60.00 (coupling is approx �7.50) is a far better bet than ending up replacing the boiler..has to be worth a try.

[DE-ANNE]

Chas... thanks , the system has to be replaced at the end of the winter... just want the cheapest solution to the prob at the moment ... no hot water is the biggest prob.

[gucciman]

could be the gas valve but i doubt it, normally when the gas valve fails it won't light at all.
same goes for the thermocouple, if the thermocouples failed then you usually cannot get the pilot to stay lit.
i would hazard a guess that your pilot flame is weak, prob blocked up with dust, so when the main burner comes on it is lifting the pilot flame away from thermocouple and shutting down the gas valve.
with an old boiler like this a good service often solves the problem, we charge �40 to service a boiler but you can expect to pay up to �70 ish depending on who you use.

[pilotlight]

DE-ANNE, It is possible that your problem can be rectified by a reputable CORGI engineer, without replacing any parts.
If the pilot tip / supply pipe is partially blocked this will explain your problem. i.e. there will be enough gas at the pilot to keep the thermo-couple heated, in doing so, allowing the gas valve to remain open. But when the main gas burner ignites, this ' robs ' the pilot of its pressure, the thermo couple will then sense that there is insufficient heat to keep it open, and shuts down the gas valve.
Ensure that whoever does work on your boiler is CORGI registered.
Hope this helps.

[pilotlight]

oops, gucciman beat me to it.