Faulty boiler

[masma]

We have a Ravenheat combi boiler that keeps going out, it also goes from hot to cold at the taps and shower. It's about 4 years old. We've had it looked at many times and it's cost us a small fortune. The latest diagnosis was that the flue is in the wrong place. Has anyone heard of this being a problem? I don't wan't to be paying out even more if, in the long run, I'd be better off changing the boiler. T.I.A.

[yogi-bear]

Morning Masma,

Being that you have tried to get it repaired and it has cost you a small fortune, i would be inclined to not spend anymore time, effort and money on it............shop around for a good deal for a new boiler.....you may be able to exchange yours in return........and look for a warranty, maybe ask for it free for 3 years to start, so you will be covered if anything was to go wrong with it.( some companies will negotiate a deal.....remember it is a buyers market out there, as everyone wants your business)

Companies like Heat team do a policy where you can cover the boiler for around £120 a year, after that....all parts labour call out etc.........and that would give you peace of mind too.

You could spend some time looking on forums to see if anyone had/has the same fault as your boiler, but if it has been looked at, it may be just unrepairable.

Good Luck to you.

yogi

[yogi-bear]

Oh, forgot to say that and you will get an annual service included in any warranties given out, so the boiler will be kept in the best of condition.

[Old_Geezer]

I'm not a plumber but I'd say iif the flue was in the wrong place you might have a case against the initial installers for putting it in incorrectly.

Know what you mean though, difficult to know what to do for the best sometimes. Only advice I can think of at the moment is to try to get more than one plumber opinion.

[yogi-bear]

Hi Old_Geezer,

Masma says that it;s been looked at many times, so take it that different plumbers MAY have been out to see it. If not, that is a good idea.

Regarding the flue positioning.......if the company that installed are still around, if done many years ago, would they agree after so long a time to come out and assess the situation?, or would Masma need to take legal action, therefore possibly spending more money in the process..........it's a tricky one.

[lindylou16]

IRecommend Heat Team

[yogi-bear]

Morning lindylou,

We're with them and no problems at all........always efficient, courteous and on time.....our boiler's not that old, so just needs an annual check up really, but you just dont know if anything may go wrong with it, you're safe in the knowledge you're covered.
There was a circuit board fault on our particular model, that was addressed on "Watchdog" a few years ago, but the company came out and put in a brand new one completely free of charge.

[Old_Geezer]

My guess was that if it is in the wrong position because they didn't follow the industry/safety rules then they should be keen to put it right. But otherwise, if it follows the rules and has worked ok up until now, then that might be a little more tricky. Did the plumber who gave the "wrong place" verdict give you any details as to why it was wrong ? Or how that was causing a problem ?

Ultimately we are all in the hands of those who are supposed to know their subject.

[buildersmate]

You could try posting on this site.
http://www.diynot.com...viewtopic.php?t=57678
e prepared for people who know their stuff but will need you to undertake simple tests to help try and diagnose (like confirming what the flow-rates are in litres/min. and how long the thing stays on for before doing off).
I doubt the 'flue in the wrong place' scenario. It sounds like a simple explanation from an exasperated plumber to me. If he said to me, 'flue is too long by x metres compared to what the installation manual says' or 'it goes around 3 90 degree bends when it shouldn't do more than 2', then I'd believe him (these are just examples). He is not being specific enough.
I don't know too much about Ravenheads other than what I read - but suspect their reliability.

[gucciman]

we don't rate Ravenheats either, we say this time and time again but i would not have any boiler other than a Vaillant or a Worcester in my house.

Right, water going hot and cold a very common problem. Probably not going to be the diverter valve as they usually either work or they don't i.e. you'd get no hot water at all. Personally I would try changing the hot water thermister first as they are only a tenner and if that didn't work then i'd change the hot water heat exchanger.

I cant see it being the flue but my dad who's also my boss did tell me a story once of a Vaillaint that worked ok on every tap in the house except the bathroom wash basin. Unable to solve it he rang Vaillant who said that's impossible the boiler does not know the difference between one tap or another. On continued inspection he could hear a very slight whistling noise which he tracked down to the flue being slightly loose where it joined the flue elbow. he tightened it up correctly and hey presto all the hot taps then worked fine. totally defies logic but thats combi boilers for you !

[masma]

Wow! thank you all so much for your excellent replies. I'm sure we've had the thermister replaced along with many other parts that haven't solved the problem. I think we'll go down the second oppinion route and if that doesn't work then it'll be a new boiler. We too have had bad reports on the Ravenheat since ours was installed.
We can't go back to the person who put the flue in as this was over 10 years ago.
Thanks again to you all x

[gucciman]

hang on how can the flue be 10 yrs old if the boilers only 4 yrs old?

if you go for a new boiler then opt for a vaillant or a worcester-bosch

the main reason for the water going hot cold is the hot water heat exchanger, if its a plate type heat exchanger they have hundreds of tiny channels which get blocked up with sludge, the hot water can't flow freely thru them so the heat builds up and the boiler goes off on the thermister or safety stats.

[masma]

Boiler was replaced when we moved here 4 years ago, flue was the origianal. Ta for your reply I'll get someone to have a look at what you sugest.

[gucciman]

i would have thought that they should have renewed the flue at the same time with the one reccommended for the new boiler