An intermittent fault. what did the storm heating man do?

[alfayorky]

Hello all.

A couple of weeks ago there was a banging noise from the pipes above my boiler and the heating had stopped. The boiler was flashing an error code (volatile lockout). The boiler is a 2 year old Worcester Bosch condenser.

I have emergency home cover with my bank so I rang them. Eventually I managed to arrange for someone to come out the next day.

In the meantime I had turned it off at the mains. By chance I turned it back on thirty minutes later and it all fired up which was a relief as it was freezing that night.

The next day I was due a visit from an engineer from Storm Heating. The heating was still working but the engineer didn't show. The heating went off again that night but another power cycle restored it again....

this intermittent fault carried on for a couple of days until the guy from Storm Heating (arranged by the insurance) turned up. The heating was working when he arrived. He went straight to the pump in the airing cupboard, put his head and hand in and the heating went off. He claimed it was the fault again and that the pump needed replacing. They would order the part and get back in a few days.

Now power cycling the main switch did not restore the heating any more. Some research on the net and it seems the engineer had switched the speed control on the side of the pump to between two speeds. No wonder it went off! I fiddled with the speed control and the pump started and the heating came back to life.

I read that leaving the speed control in this indeterminate position is bad as the boiler will ask for water and not get any.

I left the speed control in position 2 out of 3 and the heating has been working for a week now.

The storm heating people made an appointment to fit the replacement pump and my wife took the afternoon off work. The engineer never showed up and nobody from their office rang to let her know. As they had messed us about before and the heating was running we told them to forget it.

I've since read about storm heating on here and elsewhere. I'm glad I didn't let them try and replace the pump!

Now as to the fault.. what was it? All I can think of was a dirty electrical track in the speed control dial on the pump that caused it to cut out when hot. Now the dial has been moved a few times it has resolved itself. Is that likely?

Thanks for reading my lengthy post. All advice gratefully received.

 

[keithsb]

I had a pump on my old system like that!

It had a small plastic dial which moved a metal arm underneath between a number of switch positions.

Heat eventually caused intermittent connections and the dial disintegrated.

I took the small plastic cover off and replaced the dial with a small bolt, after fixing the switch to position 2. Replaced the cover and blocked the hole with a rubber bung.

Pump ran for 30 years before it was changed when the boiler was replaced.

Keith

 

[alfayorky]

I had a pump on my old system like that!

It had a small plastic dial which moved a metal arm underneath between a number of switch positions.

Heat eventually caused intermittent connections and the dial disintegrated.

I took the small plastic cover off and replaced the dial with a small bolt, after fixing the switch to position 2. Replaced the cover and blocked the hole with a rubber bung.

Pump ran for 30 years before it was changed when the boiler was replaced.

Keith

It was an incident I read very similar that suggested to me it was just the speed control playing up

So the engineer was right, strictly speaking it needs a new pump. However, I'm annoyed that he left the dial in between speeds to shut off the heating. It was almost a week before they rang to say they had the replacement part so if I'd not had a fiddle I'd have frozen to death.

So much for Home Emergency cover...

If it happens again I will do exactly what you did

 

[Agile]

I think that demonstrates just how bad this insurance cover can be.

New pumps are available in B&Q and all plumbers merchants.

Saying he had to order one and return many days later is obviously just a ploy to leave quickly, collect his payment from the firm, and go to the next job and probably to continue his cowboy activities.

I have never heard any complaints about Storm Front but until you tell me where they are based then I cannot contact them to ask for their side of the story.

What I can say though is that Banks are very good are responding to complaints and you should make one citing that your wife stayed off work to be there and they did not turn up or telephone to say they could not make it.

Tony

 

[mickyg]

you should complain regardless, companies shouldnt get away with these terrible practices, it gives the rest of us a bad name. Anyone worth their salt will have a pump on the van, I carry a selection, or at the very least offer to go and get one there and then.
As for the fault, I wouldnt be surprised if you have a myson or CP pump, they have a habit of developing this fault.

 

[alfayorky]

I'm an idiot! I must have been watching a weather forcast or something when I wrote my first post. It's not Storm Front at all. It's Storm Heating!! (I've now edited and corrected the original post).

I should reiterate I didn't see what he did to the pump, I am only deducing it from how it appeared to be. It had certainly been disabled in some way as the previous method of restoring the system no longer worked.

Yes it was quite surprising that he didn't have a pump and nor did company have any in stock.

mickyg - yes it is a CP pump so that is definitely the problem.

I've never considered buying this sort of insurance. I just remembered we had it with the bank account and rang them up. I'm glad it wasn't a burst water pipe, I'd have probably drowned while waiting on hold!

The bank will certainly be receiving a letter!

 

[athomemum]

I think it is important to go to your insurers and complain about Storm heating. Part of the selling package of the insurance is the free servicing of applicances like your boiler. If we do not make them aware of how rubbish storm heating is, they will continue to use them. I had nothing but trouble with them, cowboys spring to mind and in the end went back to my trusted british gas contract.