Ferolli Boiler
- Thread starter oko
- Start date
Sponsored Links
One does not need a degree in nuclear physics to come to simple diagnostic conclusions.
You are getting CH. From this I would conclude that the fan IS working. I can safely assume (for the time being) that the PCB is OK as well.
In any boiler the fan will function for both CH and HW. Further more there is only a slight chance of the PCB being defective so as to corrupt HW demand.
WHAT is the flow rate? Have you checked how many litres of water per minute? Too much water flowrate and you end up with tepid water. Why else are they making bigger and bigger combis?
Any modulating boiler works on a closed loop control system. At the start of the demand, the sensor checks the output of the heat exchanger and compares it to the potentiometer (front panel) setting. The burner will run at full rate until sensor output approaches potentiometer setting. This results in flame size being downsized to maintain equilibrium. Clearly in HW mode this is not happening for you which could be due to several reasons. These being scaled up heat exchanger, faulty sensor or faulty potentiometer. If someone has changed the PCB AND THE fan needlessly, I would be checking the wiring as well to ensure it is at the correct location and be asking for my money back.
I would start by changing the sensors. Do be prepared to get wet and boiler soaking. This work is not a DIY task. As mentioned before, ask for money back and then seek out a reputable engineer to carry out work.
You are getting CH. From this I would conclude that the fan IS working. I can safely assume (for the time being) that the PCB is OK as well.
In any boiler the fan will function for both CH and HW. Further more there is only a slight chance of the PCB being defective so as to corrupt HW demand.
WHAT is the flow rate? Have you checked how many litres of water per minute? Too much water flowrate and you end up with tepid water. Why else are they making bigger and bigger combis?
Any modulating boiler works on a closed loop control system. At the start of the demand, the sensor checks the output of the heat exchanger and compares it to the potentiometer (front panel) setting. The burner will run at full rate until sensor output approaches potentiometer setting. This results in flame size being downsized to maintain equilibrium. Clearly in HW mode this is not happening for you which could be due to several reasons. These being scaled up heat exchanger, faulty sensor or faulty potentiometer. If someone has changed the PCB AND THE fan needlessly, I would be checking the wiring as well to ensure it is at the correct location and be asking for my money back.
I would start by changing the sensors. Do be prepared to get wet and boiler soaking. This work is not a DIY task. As mentioned before, ask for money back and then seek out a reputable engineer to carry out work.
when you are just used to old glowworm boilers like myself this combi lark baffles me , why aint there just a higher or lower knob for the water ?? haha , i will check the connections , if not ill be giving the engineer a call back , dont think much to the optima boiler anyway , 7 yrs on maybe time for a new one rather than waste anymore money on it !! cheers for the help anyway ill see what i can achieve.
Been intouch with a swell guy at ferroli ( nice people) who adviced me to check the pententiometer (p2) setting and also have the gas pressure tested , i checked all of the above and cos im clever i had kept the old part i set the potentiometer to the exact settings to the old board , this increased the heat in the water a little , i will be calling the engineer out and getting him to test the gas pressure , if this fails to give me hot hot water without a doubt it will be the heat sensor and for a minimal 8 quid ill be happy if that solves it , one things for sure is the engineer will be getting no money !!! and ive had a good lesson in not getting a combi boiler !!! hahaha
Sponsored Links
Mr DP im sensing some sarcastic waves from you again ??? ahhh well its happy days from were im sat , its only cos i enjoy taking a bath for hours on end with the missus i enjoy my hot hot water hense why i wanted it sorting asap ,,, and it is now 
bubye u happy people
bubye u happy peoplewell i have been sitting watching the inside of my boiler 4 what seems like hours. the red light keeps coming on which means it thinks the hot tap is on & shuts off ch 4 3 mins, being a simple female i dont know what this means .......................... any ideas guys???
oko said:
I have recently bought a house and my Ferroli Optima 701 boiler does exactly the same thing - hot water works perfectly but the central heating is lukewarm despite putting the thermostat knob right up to 80. I got a guy out & he seemed to think it was the PCB since there was much clicking going on as if it was trying to come on & not much resultant action from the central heating in response to it. This has helped slightly as the radiators now get lukewarm more regularly than they did before but the heat that I would expect is simply not there. I have also tried bleeding the radiators & topping up the system with water & neither seem to solve the problem. It's almost as if there's a thermostat hidden somewhere else that is set at an extremely low temperature. Can't for the life of me find it though & the engineer didn't seem to think there was one. Glad I'm not the only one experiencing this problem but hope for all of us that it's easily solved as my last bill was over £400.
read my post dated march 14th. HW is OK so PCB WILL BE OK. Unless you have plenty of money PCB is the last thing I would change.
When somebody wants to change a PCB without reason or based on suspicion, client wants to start thinking of getting someone more able.
When somebody wants to change a PCB without reason or based on suspicion, client wants to start thinking of getting someone more able.
The chances are it's the ch thermister. You would also experience some clicking noises. I suggest you find a replacement engineer because I suspect you've paid a lot of money for a pcb you don't need when all you need is a £20 thermister. If you insist on using someone who doesn't seem to know how to fault find on a boiler accurately (from what you've said) then this is what he should check. Remove the green plug from the thermister and check the resistance on the thermister. At cold it should be between 900-1000 ohm increasing in resistance with heat (one of the few boilers that have PTC sensors) If the resistance is high to start with (1100 ohm +) then the boiler thinks it is already hot and will shut down thermostatically. I'm assuming the high rate on the gas valve is OK because you're getting dhw alright. He also needs to check the gas pressure with the ch on. There is a potentiometer on the pcb to range rate the ch (pot 1)but this should only be adjusted if the thermister is proved ok.[/url]
jaysus!!!!!! did it take me 13 minutes to type that????
Message for Rachie,
The part you need takes about 10 mins to fit from start to finish. You'll need a screwdriver and an adjustable spanner and a few towels and that's it.
It is the CH sensor; I got a replacement from Heat Spares Direct.co.uk (the cheapest I found on the net). See my post on Sun 29th Feb for details of where this part is located in the boiler.
The part details below:
Web Site ID: 268920
Manufacture: Ferroli
Manufactures Part Code 800310
Appliance GC Number: 47-267-16
Single_Price £8.23
Quanity 1
Total for this Item: 8.23
**********************************
Sub Total: £8.23
TradeDiscount: £0
Post and packing: £3.50
TradeDiscount: £0
Post and packing: £3.50
VAT: £2.05
Total Payable: £13.78
Any problems e-mail me...Good luck and the more towels the better!
The part you need takes about 10 mins to fit from start to finish. You'll need a screwdriver and an adjustable spanner and a few towels and that's it.
It is the CH sensor; I got a replacement from Heat Spares Direct.co.uk (the cheapest I found on the net). See my post on Sun 29th Feb for details of where this part is located in the boiler.
The part details below:
Web Site ID: 268920
Manufacture: Ferroli
Manufactures Part Code 800310
Appliance GC Number: 47-267-16
Single_Price £8.23
Quanity 1
Total for this Item: 8.23
**********************************
Sub Total: £8.23
TradeDiscount: £0
Post and packing: £3.50
TradeDiscount: £0
Post and packing: £3.50
VAT: £2.05
Total Payable: £13.78
Any problems e-mail me...Good luck and the more towels the better!
Hi there everyone. Thanks so much for all your help & ideas. I did as suggested in a previous posting and located the thermocouples for the CH & DHW (scary stuff poking about in there). I swapped them over and sure enough the central heating worked fine. Cleaning it didn't make any difference. Thanks to sdb5 for suggesting where I can but a new one - that was my next question. Now I would like to replace the existing one. I'm a bit scared about being shocked, even with the power turned off so I want to make absolutely sure I know what I'm doing. The thermocouple is the red wires with a green connector at the end - not the green port attached to the pipe. Is this right? If so, the wires connect to the pipe at the wee port - that bit's fine as I've already got in and swapped them round etc so I know I can do that. What I'm concerned about is where the other end of the red wires go. It's quite difficult to see right in side the boiler behind the electrical bit but it looks like the other end should go in there. Is this right? How likely am I to get a shock if I touch the wrong bit and the power is off? Anyone know where to get a picture/diagram?
I did as suggested in a previous posting and located the thermocouples for the CH & DHW (scary stuff poking about in there). I swapped them over and sure enough the central heating worked fine. Cleaning it didn't make any difference. Thanks to sdb5 for suggesting where I can but a new one - that was my next question. Now I would like to replace the existing one. I'm a bit scared about being shocked, even with the power turned off so I want to make absolutely sure I know what I'm doing. The thermocouple is the red wires with a green connector at the end - not the green port attached to the pipe. Is this right? If so, the wires connect to the pipe at the wee port - that bit's fine as I've already got in and swapped them round etc so I know I can do that. What I'm concerned about is where the other end of the red wires go. It's quite difficult to see right in side the boiler behind the electrical bit but it looks like the other end should go in there. Is this right? How likely am I to get a shock if I touch the wrong bit and the power is off? Anyone know where to get a picture/diagram?Hi Rachie,
You don't need to worry about the other end of the wires. The part you are replacing is the green plug that goes into the copper pipe. It called a sensor on the parts list - I seem to remember there is a picture if you trawl through the Ferroli website. Once you've ordered it from Heat Spares Direct.co.uk all you need to do is:
Disconnect the wires from it (as you have already done), unscrew it using the adjustable spanner and put the new one in. Water will spray out (hence the towles in my previous post) so be ready for it and just screw the replacement part in quickly to minimise the dousing! Tighten it up with the spanner not over tight, re-plug in the wires and turn on the CH and it will work - promise! With the power off you won't get a shock - me typing this should be proof of that! If I managed this anyone can!
sdb5
You don't need to worry about the other end of the wires. The part you are replacing is the green plug that goes into the copper pipe. It called a sensor on the parts list - I seem to remember there is a picture if you trawl through the Ferroli website. Once you've ordered it from Heat Spares Direct.co.uk all you need to do is:
Disconnect the wires from it (as you have already done), unscrew it using the adjustable spanner and put the new one in. Water will spray out (hence the towles in my previous post) so be ready for it and just screw the replacement part in quickly to minimise the dousing! Tighten it up with the spanner not over tight, re-plug in the wires and turn on the CH and it will work - promise! With the power off you won't get a shock - me typing this should be proof of that! If I managed this anyone can!
sdb5
whilst sdb5 is giving you advice in good faith I really wouldn't attempt this yourself. What he/she fails to mention is that there could be a LOT of water that may be at 1 bar pressure. There is a good chance that you could damage electrical components. The job isn't as simple as just unscrew that one and screw in another with a few towels handy for the water.
Sorry sdb5, advice given in good faith this time is bad advice. You got away with it but you can't assume rachie is as competent as you.
Sorry sdb5, advice given in good faith this time is bad advice. You got away with it but you can't assume rachie is as competent as you.
DIYnot Local
Staff member
If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.
Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.
Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local
Sponsored Links
