Welcome to the forum. Although you can post in any forum, the USA forum is here in case of local regs or laws

View the thread, titled "Boiler cutting out before room thermostat reached, help please.." which is posted in Boiler Advice Forum on UK Plumbers Forums.

Status
Not open for further replies.
W

Winkease

Hello there everybody,this is my first post in the forum. I will try to give as much info as possible.

I am having slight problems with my heating. If I set the room thermostat at 22 the boiler turns itself off at about 18 for a minute or two before refiring for a minute or two. It does this continuiosly until it reaches the desired temperature on the thermostat.

The boiler is set to maximum and if i turn it down even the slightest amount while it is firing it cuts out to the pilot light unless I turn it upto maximum again. The boiler is a 1992 potterton prima. 40b which I always thought was a little underpowered for the size of the house, we have always ran it on maximum during the winter months and it has always struggled but not to this degree.

My initial thought a few years back was that the boiler was underpowered and was reaching its overheat limit therefore cutting out early. despite this we have always been warm and still are, but this year it cuts out considerably earlier.

another thing I have recently noticed this year is that the central heating programmer which controls everything is slow to light up (old landis gyr led display of same era). Eg you press the advance heating or boost water button the red led light would show on the programmer and the boiler would fire up immediately. Now if I press boost or advance there is a 2 minute delay before the led light on the programmer comes on and tells the boiler to fire up.

I have not had the boiler serviced recently . i recall a while back the gas man telling me the heat exchanger was very corroded and could fail at any moment though this was four years ago. Could this be a contributory factor? The boiler makes no unusual noises while running and I believe the original motorised head valve is on the system.

Oh one last thing, I had no hot radiators down stairs apart from one .i turned the valve a bit more with pliers as it was stiff and suddenly water flowed nicely to all the other downstairs radiators.this has never done this before,do you think th valve was only half open and blocked with sludge.all my radiators are red hot though the upstairs ones get air locks every now and again which require bleeding.

Not sure if it is worth spending money on an old system, I am considering a new Bosch Worcester combi.

i hope I have given you all lots of info to consider and look forward to reading your suggestions.

many thanks.
 
Check that the small water tank in the loft has water in it.
If this is ok then your pump may be faulty.
 
Welcome to the forum.The delay could be due to the 3 port valve seizing / motor packing up / gears stripped / worn. In itself an indicator of sludge which would mean getting your pump checked as well as the header tank and the feed pipe from it. If you don't want to get too involved post in the plumber wanted section and one of the old lags on here would be able to sort for you.
 
Many thanks for your suggestions,I think sludge is probably a factor. I have located the altech water pump and turned it up to 3 as it was set on 2, this has made the programmer light come on quicker and the boiler fires up straight away. Have been watching the motorised valve when the heating came on and it never moved but the heating is running well,is it possible for it to be stuck in a position which suits water and heating?will check header tank tomorrow when I hide the Christmas presents in the loft. Thanks.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Official Sponsors of Plumbers Talk

Reply to the thread, titled "Boiler cutting out before room thermostat reached, help please.." which is posted in Boiler Advice Forum on Plumbers Forums.

We recommend City Plumbing Supplies, BES, and Plumbing Superstore for all plumbing supplies.

Weekly or Monthly Email Digest

Back
Top