Re: OT: Anyone know anything about combination boilers?

["Mark Hetherington" <mark.egroups@xxxxxxx>]

--- In ukha_d@y..., patrickl@t... wrote:
> --- In ukha_d@y..., "Mark Hetherington"
<mark.egroups@m...> wrote:
> > I had a combination boiler installed 3-4 years ago when I
replaced
> > the central heating system. It has been fine until a few months
ago
> > when it became increasingly difficult to get a decent flow of hot
> > water. Now that the heating is off for the summer I have noticed
> that
> > the boiler is heating the radiators to a very high temperature
> while
> > I am getting tepid hot water from the taps.
>
> Similar symptoms, different boiler.
> In my case it was the changeover valve which was stuck. This valve -

> internal to my boiler - switches heated water between either the
> radiator circuit or the hot water taps circuit.
> When stuck in the heating position, attempting to draw hot water
from
> the boiler will warm the radiators - continuously in my case (I
don't
> understand why) - and when stuck in the hot water position, your
> heating won't ever come on.
> The major difference is that you seem to be getting _some_ hot
water -
>  whereas I got none.

I am not getting much and it takes a lot of messing around with the
tap to get any at all.

> Perhaps it's possible for the valve to jam in a
> part-open position?

Sounds very likely. When I do get warm water (It stopped being hot
water a while back) the tap is almost merely a drip so maybe that is
sufficient to get through what gap in left in the change over valve.

After spending half an hour tonight trying to get a bowl full of
water for washing up I noticed that the boiler took a while to
recover and made 4-5 pressure runs after I stopped running the taps.
I am used to it feeding excess pressure into the heating circuit
after a tap has been used but it is usually only one cycle.

Would have been much better if it had stuck in hot water position
rather than heating since I can survive without radiators this time
of year.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will make sure the plumber checks this
first when I can arrange for him to be here.

Not really my week this last week with the boiler getting worse then
my car packed up at the weekend :(

Mark.




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