Hi
A little info:
The combi boiler & central heating in question is probably around 7 years old, the combi is PROTHERM 80E and up until December 2009 it worked fine.
At the end of December it started to get an intermittent F1 fault code. The manual says that this is either 'no flame detected' or 'overheating of the boiler'. It gives a little info on how to possibly fix these problems. I have had three different plumbers/central heating engineers/gas fitters out.
The first said 'this manual is useless' - I can't fix it (he didn't really try either)- buy another another combi off me.
The second guy tested all the parts internally with a multi meter and that was about it. His guess is either that the ignition unit is on the way out or that the pump is starting to fail. He told us that apart from this problem that the combi is in good condition and that we don't need a new one.
Since then the F1 continued to happen but now it is also getting an F3 error code.
The manual says this is a 'heat exchanger blockage' (either main or dhw).
When this started happening I got a third person out as the first was useless and only wanted to sell me a new one and the second was from a local firm that charge £65 with no guarantee of fixing it.
The third guy essentially did what the second guy did (multi meter etc). The problems are still happening. The third guy has suggested we have a power flush - he thinks this will solve both problems.
The F3 mainly happens when the system has been off for about 8 hours over night and when it is switched on the heat starts rising as it should and then the boiler cuts out with the F3 code. Without resetting it, it starts again and goes through the cycle. It seems to do this about 3 or 4 times and then it will stay on for good.
The radiators all warm up well and there are no cold spots, when it has been on for a long time some of the trv's will whistle but if you change the trv setting the whistling will stop. When the central heating is first switched on after a long period of being off, one the radiators makes a slow tapping noise - I've always assumed this was the pipes expanding. The only other thing I think may be relevant - when we use the hot taps the water is cloudy and its get very hot before returning to a more regular temperature.
So I have some questions:
Will a power flush fix these fault codes?
Has anyone fixed either fault code without a power flush and if so - how?
Is not worth fixing like the first guy said - should I live with the fault codes and save for a new system (when a power flush would be done anyway).
Thanks
Nath
A little info:
The combi boiler & central heating in question is probably around 7 years old, the combi is PROTHERM 80E and up until December 2009 it worked fine.
At the end of December it started to get an intermittent F1 fault code. The manual says that this is either 'no flame detected' or 'overheating of the boiler'. It gives a little info on how to possibly fix these problems. I have had three different plumbers/central heating engineers/gas fitters out.
The first said 'this manual is useless' - I can't fix it (he didn't really try either)- buy another another combi off me.
The second guy tested all the parts internally with a multi meter and that was about it. His guess is either that the ignition unit is on the way out or that the pump is starting to fail. He told us that apart from this problem that the combi is in good condition and that we don't need a new one.
Since then the F1 continued to happen but now it is also getting an F3 error code.
The manual says this is a 'heat exchanger blockage' (either main or dhw).
When this started happening I got a third person out as the first was useless and only wanted to sell me a new one and the second was from a local firm that charge £65 with no guarantee of fixing it.
The third guy essentially did what the second guy did (multi meter etc). The problems are still happening. The third guy has suggested we have a power flush - he thinks this will solve both problems.
The F3 mainly happens when the system has been off for about 8 hours over night and when it is switched on the heat starts rising as it should and then the boiler cuts out with the F3 code. Without resetting it, it starts again and goes through the cycle. It seems to do this about 3 or 4 times and then it will stay on for good.
The radiators all warm up well and there are no cold spots, when it has been on for a long time some of the trv's will whistle but if you change the trv setting the whistling will stop. When the central heating is first switched on after a long period of being off, one the radiators makes a slow tapping noise - I've always assumed this was the pipes expanding. The only other thing I think may be relevant - when we use the hot taps the water is cloudy and its get very hot before returning to a more regular temperature.
So I have some questions:
Will a power flush fix these fault codes?
Has anyone fixed either fault code without a power flush and if so - how?
Is not worth fixing like the first guy said - should I live with the fault codes and save for a new system (when a power flush would be done anyway).
Thanks
Nath
