Can you believe this...?

[palacebear]

I'm feeling uncharacteristically sorry for myself today. There's a bit of rant in this post. Apologies in advance!
Along with very many homes in the UK mine has gas-fired heating and hot water systems. The boiler is very old; parts availability is becoming an issue. I was intending changing it next year. Meantime I had it serviced yesterday by an engineer from the biggest gas company in the UK. Whilst the service was being carried out, firstly the electronic timer unit (remote from the boiler) stopped working then a PCB board inside the boiler failed.The engineer informed me he was unable to do any further work as he was NOT ELECTRICALLY QUALIFIED. As pretty much every gas boiler has electric and electronic components, why the heck are boiler engineers being let loose on customers with only partial training??
A second (fully qualified) engineer has been out to me. The failed PCB is obsolete... so as of this morning I have no heating or hot water. With a wedding to pay for next month I'm now faced with the not inconsiderable cost of a new boiler. The company have (very hastily) offered me £700 off a new boiler which is quite a bit more than the 10% discount they currently advertise, and sounds to me like it's compensation for their engineer b*****ing up my boiler in the first place!

[Sleeper]

I know it's illegal to remove the front case off a gas boiler , but , make model PCB or Control board input into Fleabay may make your day....

John

P.S.
I once bought a complete boiler of a tenant in Liverpool for pennies , long story , but it was only 2 years old and was/is the same as mine...only had to change one part since , it's s bit like buying car spares , once you've got them on the shelf Karma says you'll never need them....

[palacebear]

Tried searching on the net. Superseded. Same part no. Completely different PCB. Actually hardly surprising. Found out the boiler is 37 years old so it's had a good life!!

[The vast minority]

Tried searching on the net. Superseded. Same part no. Completely different PCB. Actually hardly surprising. Found out the boiler is 37 years old so it's had a good life!!

A PCB can only fail in a minor way, its probably either cracked or a failed component (more likely) I had this with a new Ideal boiler we had installed in 2001 (never have one of those in the house again) I had 4 PCB's fail in 12 months, in the end I resorted to fixing it myself as it failed on christmas eve. It was a diode on the board that had failed as I quickly found when I opened the black box. I replaced it with a quality diode from of all things, an old electronics education set and it worked for the next 3 years until we sold the house with no further problems.

[biomed32uk]

I have had several control board failures with my Potterton boiler. Fortunately you can get in the control section without disturbing the gas part.

Being an electronic engineer I decided to have a look, some very poor soldering on them and riddled with dry joints - I have an eye for spotting them and always have had.

Proper re flowing of the joints and treatment of the board sorted that out.

Reminds me of an old fashioned Samsung CRT monitor I looked at for someone once, took the back off, tipped it over and about 25% of the components on the main circuit board fell out !.

[Sleeper]

Same as my daily driver , the VW polo pensioners shopping trolley , the rear o/s door has been locked shut for the past year , I believe it's the lack of lead in the solder?

John

[alanworland]

Our boiler packed up recently (10yr old) one guy I contacted after learning the model number said it was too sophisticated for him to tackle!
Anyway, turned out the boiler was fine but the filter in the gas valve was blocked!? No gas.
The boiler is in our loft so this debris (rust dust from pipework?) had travelled up through 2 floors and bunged up the valve!

Alan

[Blaketon]

My late and lamented next door neighbour was a plumber. He would be 83 this year and as part of his apprenticeship, he had to make a toilet tank from wood and line it with lead. He was something of a model engineer and was often to be seen working on his Myford Super 7. When I moved into my house, he told me to avoid a Combi boiler (Too complicated) and reading between the lines, it sounds like the boiler in question could be one?

When my old kitchen was rebuilt, I had a new Baxi put in and so I gather, they are now banned. The old one was a good 30 years old and had been reliable (Just a new thermocouple) and "Touch wood" the new one is 15 years old and has never missed a beat. The pilot light is no longer controlled by a thermocouple but it's still much the same type of boiler as the old one. The timer is very basic and you could actually use one of those things, that you can plus into a 13 amp socket, into which you stick small pegs to switch it on and off.

My parents have a Franco Belge solid fuel boiler. The first one lasted 20 years and the present one is about 15. The new one went straight on to the old fittings and is very simple. The pump is controlled by a 13 amp plug (They could use a timer but have never bothered). Granted it needs coal but there's rarely nobody at home, it'll stay in all night and doesn't take long to light anyway. With good quality coal, there is one tray of ash per day. Simple and dependable; the Morris Minor of boilers.

Just as there is a fixation about exhaust emissions, there is a similar fixation with boilers. If combi boilers don't last so long, as they are too complex to fix, I suggest that's worse for the environment. A customer, who is an experienced plumber (Coming up to 60) says Valent boilers are about the best these days.

[SteveClem]

Made around the corner from us! They used to do 'Glow-worm' boilers like ours. 20yrs old and still going strong.
Trouble with combi boilers is that all your eggs are in one basket and if it fails you lose heating and hot water. We like the hot water tank which has an immersion heater as backup. And the hot airing cupboard is great in the winter.
In our last place we tried a combi. A nightmare!

[palacebear]

...and finally. A new boiler at no cost to me. I've had to pay the installation fee. Delivered on time. Fitted at the time arranged. Job done neatly. Cleaned up properly afterwards. Heating and hot water both WAY better than before. Just in time for the arrival of the 'Beast from the East'

[Shropshiremoggie]

Glad you are sorted. Still no snow here but bitterly cold with biting wind . Think the Beast is arriving Thursday / Friday .

[myoldjalopy]

Think the Beast is arriving Thursday / Friday .

'The Beast'? Not a new, monster, souped-up Moggie, is it?

[Shropshiremoggie]

No way is it a souped up Moggie . Each to their own but I have tried to keep my Moggie as original as I can . Only ‘ Beast ‘ I have is a Westfield which due to engine problems coupled with finances sits in the garage !

[palacebear]

Glad you are sorted. Still no snow here but bitterly cold with biting wind . Think the Beast is arriving Thursday / Friday .

Had a little dusting of snow here in Kidderminster this morning. It's cleared off the roads now, so I'm taking Max out for a quick run... any excuse for a bacon buttie

[Shropshiremoggie]

Well done pb , enjoy your sandwich .

[SteveClem]

On the subject of the weather and heating, we've always loved our log burner but recently the wood quality from our local guy has been disappointing. The latest load was full of hibernating wasps that woke up when I brought the logs in and stressed the dogs out. Wife wasn't too chuffed either.
Anyway, I've bought a tonne of wood briquettes to try and they are fantastic, burn really hot and last for ages. Also clean,easy to stack and no wasps! Highly recommended.