Ideal Classic NF fan on its last legs

[PaulXX]

The fan on my Ideal Classic boiler (approx 15 years old) is on borrowed time. I've been able to revive it a few times with WD40 over the past few months but it's becoming more and more difficult to get it going now from a cold start.

I've been looking on the internet for a replacement fan assembly and the only one I can find is from Sabre in Kent for a whopping £184.09. There are cheaper fans on eBay but they're for the Classic 2 and only Sabre's one looks anything like mine. And since this involves the flue it would be illegal for me to attempt to fit it myself, wouldn't it?

I am of very limited means at the moment, so what are my best options? I feel that getting a fan at that price, plus God knows how much for labour, is throwing good money after bad when a new boiler is about £600 - but then of course I'd be looking at a bill of anything up to £2k, which I just don't have.

So I'm wondering if these fans can be reconditioned - or if someone out there sells reconditioned units?

 

[diy]

What model is it

 

[gas4you]

Assuming yours is one of a NF30 to NF80 then the fan you need is this

IDEAL 137568 FAN ASSY WFFB0224-004

The price you have found is a pretty good one for a new fan.

To confirm the price is pretty good, go to partscenter.co.uk and enter 463271.

 

[PaulXX]

The price you have found is a pretty good one for a new fan.

To confirm the price is pretty good, go to partscenter.co.uk and enter 463271.

Holy ****!

What model is it

I don't actually know, I can't find anything with the model number on it.

The fan assembly looks exactly like this though:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ideal-Classic...14&_trkparms=72:1301|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

[gas4you]

I think the give away is that the link you supplied says Ideal Classic NF30-80.

Exactly what I assumed in my post.

Pull the front cover down, you should see a number eg 30, 40, 50 etc etc.

 

[PaulXX]

I think the give away is that the link you supplied says Ideal Classic NF30-80.

Exactly what I assumed in my post.

Pull the front cover down, you should see a number eg 30, 40, 50 etc etc.

The cover is off, I don't see a number.

The fan seems to be seized at the moment and is hot. I'm waiting for it to cool down and will try some more WD40.

Could the WD40 have accelerated wear on the bearings? Could lubricating with oil instead help? If not, then I'm pretty sure the fan is going to be completely shagged soon and it's going to have to be either a fan replacement or a complete boiler replacement.

 

[gas4you]

I don't think WD40 would have made things much worse, other than possibly giving muck and dust something to stick to.

It's time to replace the fan unfortunately. If you get it going for another few weeks, would you really be in a better financial position to replace it then rather than now?

You need to hit the problem head on now and fix it

 

[PaulXX]

I don't think WD40 would have made things much worse, other than possibly giving muck and dust something to stick to.

It's time to replace the fan unfortunately. If you get it going for another few weeks, would you really be in a better financial position to replace it then rather than now?

You need to hit the problem head on now and fix it

OK, if I look for a Corgi man to fit it, what would be a reasonable labour charge? Are there any forum people near me? I'm in Selby, Yorkshire.

 

[gas4you]

I would charge my minimum of £60 + VAT plus parts at retail.

Don't know what rates are in your neck of the woods

 

[PaulXX]

I would charge my minimum of £60 + VAT plus parts at retail.

Don't know what rates are in your neck of the woods

OK, given that my budget is tight, I think I may well have to go for the fan rather than the whole boiler. The thing is that I'm currently taking temporary jobs around the country since I left my last permanent job in the summer, so it's very likely that I'll be moving if/when I find something more permanent.

If I go to the expense of putting a whole new boiler in, I'm unlikely to see any of that money back because of the falling house prices. A new boiler is a selling point, obviously, but I still won't see any of the money I've spent on it.

So the issue for me now is - if the fan is replaced, am I likely to see anything else go wrong in the next couple of years? The boiler is 15 years old, after all, but I'm told that these are very reliable beasts, it's only really the fan that ever goes on them. Have I been told right?

 

[gas4you]

So the issue for me now is - if the fan is replaced, am I likely to see anything else go wrong in the next couple of years? The boiler is 15 years old, after all, but I'm told that these are very reliable beasts, it's only really the fan that ever goes on them. Have I been told right?

If I had a crystal ball to be able to answer that, then I would also be winning the lottery every week

No one can give any form of guarantee of that. The most common things I see on Classic's are the fan and the gas valve, with a few pcb's failing.

I certainly wouldn't consider changing the boiler just because the fans gone.

 

[PaulXX]

Oh, another thing is that if I can't get someone to do it next week, it's going to be tricky because I'm working in the West Mids for the rest of January, then in London for all of February.

In which case, I'd be better off draining down the system in case of a big freeze?

Have never drained down a system in my life, but it seems relatively straightforward.

 

[gas4you]

If you can be reasonably flexible, I can't see any reason why you shouldn't get it done next week.

I have 2 new installs to do starting tomorrow that will take all week, but I still attend jobs like yours after 'normal' work hours

 

[PaulXX]

It seems there's only one guy locally who specifically repairs boilers and his mobile number seems to be out of date.

At this rate, I may have to go for the draining down option until I'm back from my weeks away.

If I do have to drain down, I take it that I'll need to empty the cold water tank as well as the heating system?

 

[tonybhoy]

Why not go for a fixed price repair from BG? They're round about the £168 mark or £29 per month which includes the repair and one year's homecare.