What's the damage? Boiler.

[squizita]

Our old potterton boiler started to make terrifying gurgle clanking sounds. Like someone hitting it from the inside with a hammer.
Sometimes the noise can be heard down the pipes too.

Have turned it off. Plumber coming tomorrow.
Luckily we have some plug in heaters in the shed and an electric shower.

Any ideas what it could be?
Is it going to the big boiler in the sky or could it be repaired?
Bye bye savings for a new car... One can dream...

Ours did this, not a Potterton but a Vaillant - turns out the thing that switches between heating and hot water (this isn't going to be technical!!) had sort of fallen off and kept trying to switch but was skipping (think missing cogs) which caused an almighty racket all the way through the pipes as it vibrated.

Obviously yours could be anything it's a bit like asking how long is a piece of string but considering ours sounded so bad it literally turned out to be nothing and was easily sorted. Hopefully same for you!

I wonder how old it is.

Perhaps it is a 30-year old Flamingo, or a 20-year old Profile

In which case it will be the steam bumping in the iron heat exchanger due to limescale, rust and sediment.

It is possible to clean it out using chemicals, or at greater expense with a powerflush, but if it is limescale, you need a system filter plus a long-term chemical. I have tried using acid cleaners but they are rather aggressive.

My advice would be to start by adding a system filter (get the installer to show you how to empty out the dirt) and a chemical clean. Even if you need to do extra work later, this will do nothing but good and is relatively inexpensive. A chemical clean is an easy DIY job if you like basic plumbing, and can find the drain cock and the feed & expansion tank.

Thanks all! :) Hope it is that easily fixed.