A few days ago we noticed the hot water was getting really hot. Then we noticed that despite turning the room stat down the radiators were belting out the heat regardless. Then we realised that neither the timer nor the room stat were having any effect. With the timer automatically or manually set to off and the room stat turned right down (it clicks as per normal) both the pump and the boiler were working. The only way to stop things was to switch off the electric power supply next to the timer/programmer.
We left voicemail messages with several Corgi "engineers" from last Thursday but no-one returned our calls till today. Mr George Sweeney of Welwyn Garden City punctually turned up this afternoon but without his Corgi ID card so I would not let him start. He assured me that he had 35 years experience and that he was Corgi registered. He had his little Corgi stickers but had lost his ID card. I could call Corgi if I wanted but he was actually an actor and had just returned from 5 weeks in Florida so I should not expect him to carry his Corgi card! Apparently he is a well-known actor and was in "The Sweeney" years ago as well as in "Citizen Smith". Anyone know him?? However, I became even more worried at the thought of an actor servicing my boiler and repairing my fault. So I did start to call Corgi. At which point he scuttled back to his van with the promise to return "in a week or so" once he had replaced his Corgi card.
It turns out that he is registered as a sole trader with Corgi but why can't these tradesman play by their own rules and just carry the card? He would have been £100 richer if he had! With the public constantly being badgered and frightened into demanding ID etc by the likes of "Rogue Traders" programmes on TV etc, why do they get shirty when someone just does as they are required to do and ask a total stranger for ID before letting them loose in their house?
Rant over!! Now can anyone suggest which part of my system is faulty? Mr G Sweeney suggested the room stat (Honeywell T6160) could be "dusty". Or the 2-port motorised valve (Honeywell V4043H) to the hot water cylinder could be shot as the manual lever showed resistance when he moved it to the manual open position. The other motorised valve to the rads has no similar resistance and just slides efffortlessly into position. The boiler itself is a 1988 vintage Baxi WM 38/3 RS.
Any suggestions please?
I have dusted out the room stat and the microswitch does not seem to shut off the boiler/pump even when operated by hand. So that we don't have to keep switching the power on and off manually too much, I have set the boiler stat dial to minimum and it is still overheating the rads and hot water by staying on with all controls set to off. At least it's not the other way round in this cold weather! I thought the timer/programmer controlled everything before the room stat etc came into play. Any suggestions would be appreciated while I try to get another local Corgi engineer or wait for George to get a new card.
PS he charges £48 (not sure if + or - VAT) to service the boiler. £45-ish to replace a motor valve and £40-odd for a room stat. Any idea how these rates compare?
All comments really appreciated.
Graham46
We left voicemail messages with several Corgi "engineers" from last Thursday but no-one returned our calls till today. Mr George Sweeney of Welwyn Garden City punctually turned up this afternoon but without his Corgi ID card so I would not let him start. He assured me that he had 35 years experience and that he was Corgi registered. He had his little Corgi stickers but had lost his ID card. I could call Corgi if I wanted but he was actually an actor and had just returned from 5 weeks in Florida so I should not expect him to carry his Corgi card! Apparently he is a well-known actor and was in "The Sweeney" years ago as well as in "Citizen Smith". Anyone know him?? However, I became even more worried at the thought of an actor servicing my boiler and repairing my fault. So I did start to call Corgi. At which point he scuttled back to his van with the promise to return "in a week or so" once he had replaced his Corgi card.
It turns out that he is registered as a sole trader with Corgi but why can't these tradesman play by their own rules and just carry the card? He would have been £100 richer if he had! With the public constantly being badgered and frightened into demanding ID etc by the likes of "Rogue Traders" programmes on TV etc, why do they get shirty when someone just does as they are required to do and ask a total stranger for ID before letting them loose in their house?
Rant over!! Now can anyone suggest which part of my system is faulty? Mr G Sweeney suggested the room stat (Honeywell T6160) could be "dusty". Or the 2-port motorised valve (Honeywell V4043H) to the hot water cylinder could be shot as the manual lever showed resistance when he moved it to the manual open position. The other motorised valve to the rads has no similar resistance and just slides efffortlessly into position. The boiler itself is a 1988 vintage Baxi WM 38/3 RS.
Any suggestions please?
I have dusted out the room stat and the microswitch does not seem to shut off the boiler/pump even when operated by hand. So that we don't have to keep switching the power on and off manually too much, I have set the boiler stat dial to minimum and it is still overheating the rads and hot water by staying on with all controls set to off. At least it's not the other way round in this cold weather! I thought the timer/programmer controlled everything before the room stat etc came into play. Any suggestions would be appreciated while I try to get another local Corgi engineer or wait for George to get a new card.
PS he charges £48 (not sure if + or - VAT) to service the boiler. £45-ish to replace a motor valve and £40-odd for a room stat. Any idea how these rates compare?
All comments really appreciated.
Graham46
