Rayburn leak

[LMC]

I have a leak from the base of my rayburn nouvelle - gas. There is the presence of water at the base of the boiler so assume its from same... no performance issues but theres obviously a problem.... I would be grateful gfor initial thoughts?

 

[HHP Ed]

Sounds as though the heat exchanger has got a hole in it. But i would get a plumber out if i were you to check the pipework and connections but be prepared for the worse. How old is the rayburn?

 

[shaaarn]

I have a leak from the base of my rayburn nouvelle - gas. There is the presence of water at the base of the boiler so assume its from same... no performance issues but theres obviously a problem.... I would be grateful gfor initial thoughts?

Just wondering how you got on LMC as my Rayburn has also developed a leak tonight and Im wondering whats involved.

Cheers

 

[LMC]

Just wondering how you got on LMC as my Rayburn has also developed a leak tonight and Im wondering whats involved.

Cheers

Back again after several months of watching the leak get worse. Point of no return now... the cooker is working fine and we have hot water and central heating...but leaking pretty badly and soaking it up with towels which cant be good. Have called Aga / Rayburn authorised for berkshire and they put me onto Henley heating and plumbing. engineer coming out tomorrow.........expecting the worse basd on whats on the web for similar issues....

 

[LMC]

Oh... and the rayburn is a nouvelle, gas and circa 1992.....

 

[dontknowitall]

Hmmm ... would it help if we had a whip round for some lilies?

We had a 15 year old 480k which went off to Rayburn heaven (one with two jet burners for cooking and heating).

Replaced it for a new one (£6k - outrageous price). It lasted about 6 weeks before it's first warranty call. Now we need earphones, it's so noisy, despite being installed correctly. Just poor design. I'm afraid I cannot bring myself to recommending one. Plenty of other types and makes around and they're quieter.

 

[LMC]

I am steeling myself for a big bill... if its a dud then I am going to get a quote to replace the Rayburn driven system... so a new sepearate boiler and a new cooker... a Lacanche! Will update after the engineers report..

 

[Roger Welton]

The boilers on the nouvelle's are replaceable (unlike the mk1 and 2 480k) however the cost of materials and labor to strip and rebuild make it uneconomical. And as dkia says 'they don't make them like they used to'

 

[Roger Welton]

new sepearate boiler and a new cooker... a Lacanche! Will update after the engineers report..

This would probably be the most economical solution for both running and install costs

 

[LMC]

Thank Roger. Im not a plumber or an engineer so am pretty clueless here and expect some serious decisions. The situation is untenable and we are replacing three towels in 24 hours soaking up the dripS. We lay the towels on the floor at the base of the Rayburn..if we didnt the floor would be covered. Have teracotta tiles so no wood which is a relief.........quick question to all.... anyone recommend throwing some Radweld at it?

 

[Roger Welton]

Fernox and Sentinel both do a proprietary leak sealer for heating systems, though if its leaking that badly I doubt they would plug it.

 

[dontknowitall]

If you have the space one option might be to install an external boiler and a vapourising Aga or Rayburn.

It's possible to plumb the Aga into the hot water cylinder so the boiler tends only to be used in during the "central heating months". Not as unenvironmentally as it sounds as if the Aga is lit from September to April you will only need central heating on from about November to March because the Aga emits enough heat to keep the chill off the house during Sept, Oct and April.

Just a thought.