Our boiler light has gone out 4 times in 2 days what is the problem? please help

[foxy1]

hello

our boiler light does not seem to stay alight very long, this morning it is only staying alight for about 20 mins then going out. what do you think is the cause? does this mean the washing machine will only wash cold water whilst the boiler is not alight?

Any advice would really be appreciated.

Thank you.

Tanya

We used to have this problem in our flat. Is the boiler outside?

I think a washing machine heats the water itself - I could be wrong though.

I agree with mercy about the washing machine, but I'm not 100% either.

Is the wind blowing out the boiler light? I had a boiler that was fine for 11 months of the year but for one month, the light went out loads just because of the particular way the wind was blowing.

Ours started doing this then it would not light at all.
We have had no heating or hot water now for around 6 months as I can't afford the £500 bill for a new circuit board etc it needs.
My washing machine only does cold too.

It could possibly either be the gas thermocouple (not too expensive) or the gas valve (part is expensive) which has gone on the boiler and that is why your pilot light won't stay on.

Agree with Mercy that the washing machine heats its own hot water.

£500 for a circuit! that's loads, ours was £150 odd but £250 with labour.

i use diy.not for help with boiler problems, they're ace!

Depends what washing machine it is, but the boiler could simply have dusty pipes, as you are able to get it lit but not keep it lit.
Have you tried hoovering out the bits you can get to??

Well you should be OK with the washing machine, unless it is very old they should all be cold fill.

We had a similar problem with out boiler last year. Eventually, we were unable to relight it at all. Plumber number 1 said new boiler, plumber 2 said he'd give it a good clean and come back a few days later to see if it had worked. It did. Try to get hold of a decent corgi plumber and see what they say.

LotF - that seems expensive to have the PCB replaced - what boiler do you have? It's not a Potterton is it?

I work for a small plumbing company so could compare prices for you if you like?

Have you checked the water pressure? It may need topping up.

You need to check whether your washing machine is 'cold fill only' (in which case it heats its own water) or hot and cold fill, in which case it takes hot water from the system and won't heat its own. I think most these days are cold fill only, but you should be able to tell from teh pipes on the back - if there's a blue one and a red one it's taking hot water from outside.

Is it the pilot light? The little flame in a small window?

If so, it sounds like the thermocouple needs replaced. This is a safety device which stops the gas coming through if there is no ignition which is basically the function of the pilot light. It stops unburned gas spewing into the house.

The therrmocouple only costs a few pounds but you need a gas fitter to fit it. So you will have the call out charge plus time which really should be no more than half an hour.

Your washing machine will heat its own water but will take longer.

HTH

It could be something really simple.

We had a similar problem in our old house -it turned out it was because of the tiniest speck of dirt ( a teeny metal "shaving" off a copper pipe left behind after some plumbing work ). So basically it needed a brief clean inside.

this is all great feedback. with regards to cleaning it - is this something we could do or does it have to be carried out by a plumber? what is a plumber call out charge? for half an hour? have no idea. thank you

I personally wouldn't want to attempt to clean it myself. I would be worried I'd damage something else in the process - making it even worse/more expensive to repair. Please make sure that if you do call a plumber out, he is Corgi registered and shows you his card. There are alot of 'cowboys' out there.

I think callout charges can vary but you should expect to pay anything between £60 - £100 plus VAT plus parts (that's in the Bristol area). You may also be charged for a full hour even if he was only there for 30min IYKWIM?

Ooh yes! Please help me Mishy!!
It IS a Bloody POTTERTON!!

Its the bit that kept going on Watchdog that I need!

what was on watchdog? we have a potterton that needed the circuit board replacing, it's common fault apparently

Oh, this keeps happening with ours too and it is nearly new - only installed two years ago! Maddening isn't it!

Ours is about four years old.
The curcuit board or 'brain of the bolier' needs replacing.
They kept on blowing so people called watchdog and potterton said they would pay for repairs/parts or reimburse those that had already paid for the parts - BUT....

Only if you have evidence of 6 monthly boiler services, even though they admitted there was a fault with the boards.

I had mine done yearly and did not get him to stamp the stupid service card so am not eligible for reimbursement/parts paid for by potterton.

Will see if I can find the bit and get a link on for you.

Here:

www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/tv_and_radio/watchdog/reports/homes/homes_20070220.shtml

Ours kept going out and it turned out to be the fumes blowing back down the pipe because something was wrong. The gasman said if we'd left it the house would have filled with gas and killed us all

Best play safe with boilers and get someone out ASAP.

Mine did that too. Seemed to think it was overheating and cut out. I have a British Gas service agreement and they have practically rebuilt the boiler but couldn't find out what the problem was.

They did install a hydrofilter, an electromagnet which is attached and breaks down built up limescale. It did help. Cost about £150 but a lot cheaper than a new boiler. Worked fine for about 6 months and started to cut out again 3 days ago.

LotF - we had a customer who had to have her PCB replaced on her Potterton Suprima 60 boiler and the part cost £188.79 + VAT. It was a pig of a job for the engineer and took him 5 hours to change. In total the bill was just over £400 including VAT. The problem with plumbers/Corgi engineers is that the labour usually costs more than the part. You should try and get a few quotes/second opinions. How have you managed without heating and hot water for so long?

Our customer also tried to claim her money back from Potterton but they said that the deadline for claiming had passed and she was no longer eligible even though she could prove she had her boiler serviced every year!

Covenhope - I would suggest getting a carbon monoxide detector fitted. They usually cost around £25 and should take no more than 15-20 minutes to fit if not less.

We had a new boiler fitted.

There is something called the Magic Boiler scheme which is meant to provide a grant on new boilers.

Mishy - Coping is getting very hard now as the house is freezing and the cold water is getting colder and colder!
Have to wash at the sink after boiler the kettle and take the kids to Mums 3 times a week for a bath!
Boil kettle for washing up too, will need a new kettle soon!

The quote I got was from a place I have used before, he said £497 or something inc.VAT, fitted and to replace a small switch that has conked out at the front of the boiler. The siwtch is supposed to move itself, but it doesn't, so was jammed into always on, now it does not wok at all!

Hoe does that quote sound for that stuff?