Hello,
I have a WB Greenstar 24i Junior combi boiler. The boiler was installed in 2010 and up until a few days ago didn't give me any major problems. However earlier this week I turned on my bath's hot water tap and noticed the water pressure was extremely low. The water was also incredibly hot. I turned on the hot water tap in my kitchen and encountered the same problem. I checked the pressure gauge on the boiler and it was reading around 1.5. I checked the mains cold water feed by running the cold tap in my kitchen and that was fine so that ruled out any supply issues.
I then hit the reset switch a couple of times on the boiler, hoping this would rectify the problem but it didn't.
I called my usual plumber to take a look and he seemed puzzled at first. He then I asked me how I generally use the boiler. I said I just use the hot water. He asked me if I use the central heating and I told him I don't and haven't used it for about a year. I explained to him that I avoided using it because I thought it would preserve the boiler and extend its life and mainly because I couldn't afford the extra fuel costs (was a carer for my mother up until a few months ago).
Upon hearing this he told me that by not using the central heating for such a long time I've clogged ("furred"?) the boiler up and done some damage to it. When we did fire up the central heating, the pressure gauge went into the red zone after about 7 minutes and the boiler started discharging water outside. My plumber said something about the vessel going.
My plumber suggested that a magnetic cleaning device should be fitted/descaling solution used in order to clean up the boiler. He told me I probably won't see any improvements for about 6 months and I'd just have to get used to the low pressure stream of water.
Fast forward to today and the boiler seems to have woken up. I've got normal hot water pressure back again. However after taking a slightly longer shower (around 50 mins) I came out the bathroom and heard a high pitched sound. It sounded like an alarm going off. I couldn't determine whether it was from the boiler or outside. But when I finally turned of the hot water in the bath, the noise stopped immediately.
So it looks like it was from the boiler after all. Despite this, there were no lights flashing on the unit and pressure was around 1 (still in the green zone).
It's been a few hours and I've since used the hot water for simple tasks (washing hands, tea cups etc) and the high pitch alarm sound hasn't returned.
My questions are as follows:
1.What could be wrong with the boiler? Have I really ruined it by not using the central heating for a year or so?
2.Is it likely that the return of normal hot water pressure will only be temporary?
3.The high pitched alarm sound concerns me a lot. What could be reason behind this?
4.What would be the best way forward? Should I attempt to clean up the boiler with the magnetic device/descaler and hope for the best or just install and new one and look after it properly?
5.Will the boiler in its current state explode whilst in use? I am quite worried that this might happen.
My plumber has suggested me after considering my low income that in the long run it would be better to install a new (same model) boiler and use it how it is supposed to be used. He said if I had simply used the central heating more frequently I wouldn't have the problems I do now. I was also told that once I start replacing internals on my WB it gets very expensive and I'll eventually need a new boiler anyway.
I'd be grateful for any input. Thank you.
I have a WB Greenstar 24i Junior combi boiler. The boiler was installed in 2010 and up until a few days ago didn't give me any major problems. However earlier this week I turned on my bath's hot water tap and noticed the water pressure was extremely low. The water was also incredibly hot. I turned on the hot water tap in my kitchen and encountered the same problem. I checked the pressure gauge on the boiler and it was reading around 1.5. I checked the mains cold water feed by running the cold tap in my kitchen and that was fine so that ruled out any supply issues.
I then hit the reset switch a couple of times on the boiler, hoping this would rectify the problem but it didn't.
I called my usual plumber to take a look and he seemed puzzled at first. He then I asked me how I generally use the boiler. I said I just use the hot water. He asked me if I use the central heating and I told him I don't and haven't used it for about a year. I explained to him that I avoided using it because I thought it would preserve the boiler and extend its life and mainly because I couldn't afford the extra fuel costs (was a carer for my mother up until a few months ago).
Upon hearing this he told me that by not using the central heating for such a long time I've clogged ("furred"?) the boiler up and done some damage to it. When we did fire up the central heating, the pressure gauge went into the red zone after about 7 minutes and the boiler started discharging water outside. My plumber said something about the vessel going.
My plumber suggested that a magnetic cleaning device should be fitted/descaling solution used in order to clean up the boiler. He told me I probably won't see any improvements for about 6 months and I'd just have to get used to the low pressure stream of water.
Fast forward to today and the boiler seems to have woken up. I've got normal hot water pressure back again. However after taking a slightly longer shower (around 50 mins) I came out the bathroom and heard a high pitched sound. It sounded like an alarm going off. I couldn't determine whether it was from the boiler or outside. But when I finally turned of the hot water in the bath, the noise stopped immediately.
So it looks like it was from the boiler after all. Despite this, there were no lights flashing on the unit and pressure was around 1 (still in the green zone).
It's been a few hours and I've since used the hot water for simple tasks (washing hands, tea cups etc) and the high pitch alarm sound hasn't returned.
My questions are as follows:
1.What could be wrong with the boiler? Have I really ruined it by not using the central heating for a year or so?
2.Is it likely that the return of normal hot water pressure will only be temporary?
3.The high pitched alarm sound concerns me a lot. What could be reason behind this?
4.What would be the best way forward? Should I attempt to clean up the boiler with the magnetic device/descaler and hope for the best or just install and new one and look after it properly?
5.Will the boiler in its current state explode whilst in use? I am quite worried that this might happen.
My plumber has suggested me after considering my low income that in the long run it would be better to install a new (same model) boiler and use it how it is supposed to be used. He said if I had simply used the central heating more frequently I wouldn't have the problems I do now. I was also told that once I start replacing internals on my WB it gets very expensive and I'll eventually need a new boiler anyway.
I'd be grateful for any input. Thank you.
