Boiler Training Course

[newcomers]

Hi,

Been corgi registered since Jan this year and am currently doing breakdowns with the company I work with. I thought I knew quite a bit until I was thrown in at the deep end and went out on my own. IM getting on ok but sometimes I really wish I knew more about the workings of some of the components and how some boilers work differently to others.

Does anyone know of any courses I could that would help me on the breakdown side of things, and also go in depth about the components (div valves etc)

am looking to learn mainly about vaillants, glowworms, potterton, alpha'a and ideal boilers

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

 

[Agile]

Well there is the Mr Combi course at Bedford.

There are differing views about it and it depends greatly on the candidates prior experience.

I would expect that it will only be useful to someone who already has a good grounding in working on boilers.

Do you know how to measure the current in the mains for example?

Tony

 

[ollski]

Study the manufacturer's instructions and then book onto one of their inhouse courses to study the newer boilers, but it's a case of gritting your teeth and learning through experience and mistakes....like even Agile did although he won't admit it

 

[newcomers]

TO give you an idea, I could pretty much diagnose most problems on pre condensing boilers, but I was doing a landlords certificate y'day and It was on a condensing boiler and I looked at it and thought "if something was to go wrong with this, I wouldnt know where to start!!!"

Even things like certain diverter valves, I dont really understand their workings (I know what they do, but not 100% how they do it!!!)

 

[micky p]

i thought i knew quite abit until i went on a combi course at my local college. then i came out of that with 100% more confidence of mending one. You are better off paying a couple of hundred quid and booking yourself on a course at your nearest college that do these courses. i went to accrington college. Some colleges have just 1 make of boiler installed in there workshops but you are better off going to one that has half a dozen or so makes in, then you can learn a whole lot more then on a whole range of makes.

These free courses that manufactures do arn't that good to be honest. I have been on one from alpha and vaillant and they are more interested in selling you there boiler rather than mending it. They show you the ins and outs etc but not technical enough for me im afraid. I want to pull stuff apart and put multi meters on them and test pressures here and there. Sort of stuff you need to do to atually mend one. Manufacture courses show you how to pull it apart but don't go into enough depth on fault diagnosing. which its all about.

 

[newcomers]

Yeah thats the sort of thing I want to do, really find out how it works etc.

For instance, on the vaillant turboxmax 242 (I think) the one with the brass diverter valve at the front right, with the plug at the top, how does that work?

I mean, from the second they open a hot water tap, how does that trigger the boiler sequence and then divert it to the dhw heat exchanger?

 

[kevplumb]

via the servo valve

 

[Agile]

For instance, on the vaillant turboxmax 242 (I think) the one with the brass diverter valve at the front right, with the plug at the top, how does that work?

Thats not the interesting one!

The earlier one with the horizontal one at the back right which moves in two directions to give three positions! Thats the nice one!

Funny, nobody has commented about measuring the current in the mains, not even breezer!

Tony

 

[kevindgas]

all the major manufacturers run training courses
best ones for combi's in my opinion are vaillant (slough), glowworm(belper training center) and Vokera (birmingham)
worcester are useless on combi's and spend too much time telling you how fantastic they are and then give 25minutes of practical at the end of the day (my personal experience)

 

[micky p]

i went on a vaillant course and all they showed me was how to take the diverter valve out and change it........but what you really want to know is why do you need to change the diverter. Is it the diverter!

 

[Paul Barker]

Basically it goes like this.

As far as customer is conscerned there has never been anything wrong with the boiler except this very minor fault bu hey they better ask you to come and check it (meanwhile amnesia about the fact that well known local firm has been out to it 50 times in last 4 weeks and can't sort it out).

You find first fault, buy the part but then another fault is revealed, since it gets past the step of first fault, but this secodn fault is your fault, because there was only ever one thing wrong with it.

So take your choice, don't charge for fixing first fault or start earning points which will qualify you to replace whole boiler free of charge.

Second fault fixed but third fault is now allowed to rear it's head etc etc.

It's all very easy.

I'll never forget the one who had a boiler that didn't work, and all I could eventually get it down to was pcb, woman was stood there as I removed the cover of pcb and hey presto in front of our very eyes it spontaneously ignited.
Later she called my m8 to same boiler and proudly told him how I had set fire to her pcb. AND said to him, do you think I've been had by one of those rogue traders. THAT WAS RICH SINCE IDIDN'T CHARGE HER!

He said boastingly that he had changed her pcb and made £100 out of her and got a job for her son!

Then there was the one who only needed a new OH stat, but when I went to take cover off pcb to wire in a new one woman said "what are you doing" all matronly like. I said changeing your oh stat. Oh no you are not, I'll wait 'till my regular plumber gets back off holiday.

The next week I saw her Worcester 240 being loaded in a skip outside her house and an Ideal boiler on it's way upstairs.

people get one shot at wisdom and if they miss it it's their lookout!

 

[newcomers]

Another thing that made me realise how little I know was a few posts on here, with people fault finding, measuring volts across these 2 terminals and continuity across the other 2 etc etc.......how the hell do I learn that? Its actually really beginning to worry me

 

[Paul Barker]

Come to Scarborough on your hollidays and I'll take you to my boler repair jobs, we only get 2 or 3 a week, we spend the rest of our time taking our tools and materials up and down three flights of stairs and waiting in holiday trafic to get to the merchans and standing patiently behind some but uggly huge totally untalkative (to us, spend hours holding his prime position at the counter joaking with merchant) neandertal waiting to be served, then going back to repeat the process because the cross eyed git at the merchants had one eye on 32mm and the other on 40mm so thought he as picking one when the other went into the bag. You only find this out when you are up the ladder.

 

[corgiman]

The way you learn it is by learning it

you will slowly gain experiance doing jobs, attending some Manu courses and asking this here site.

Rome was not built in a day mate.

 

[corgiman]

Come to Scarborough on your hollidays and I'll take you to my boler repair jobs, we only get 2 or 3 a week, we spend the rest of our time taking our tools and materials up and down three flights of stairs and waiting in holiday trafic to get to the merchans and standing patiently behind some but uggly huge totally untalkative (to us, spend hours holding his prime position at the counter joaking with merchant) neandertal waiting to be served, then going back to repeat the process because the cross eyed git at the merchants had one eye on 32mm and the other on 40mm so thought he as picking one when the other went into the bag. You only find this out when you are up the ladder.

sorry paul not being argumentative but that will help him How exactly?