Puma 80 pilot light won't re-ignite

[techno12]

Hi.

Recently the pilot light on my Potterton Puma 80 has started randomly going out. First it would do it 50/50 after the central heating was fired down, then it started doing it whenever the hot water had finished. Now it's just doing it whenever it feels like, so obviously there's a problem.

What I'm finding today is that the spark to reignite the pilot is never being produced - I'm pressing the button repeatedly and no spark. It used to do this for a few minutes after the light was extinguished but then I'd hear a click and the spark would reappear upon pressing the ignite button. I'm assuming that's the "don't reignite for 3 minutes" mentioned in the manual, but for me it looks like it's stuck in a mode where it'll never produce a spark.

Any ideas? I'm going to get the engineer out again on Monday, but I'm really wondering if it's worth persisting with this boiler (it's required a new expansion vessel, and a pump thingy this past 3 years so I think it's on its way out).

What would the going rate be for a new boiler (and powerflush) - just a rough ballpark figure. I'm thinking maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get something new, but if it's several k then I'll try to squeeze some more life out of the Puma

Cheers!

PS It makes mad noises like a steam train a lot of the time when it's working!

 

[bengasman]

Could be a number of reasons; overheating, though I don't know by heart if that is related to the pilot light on this model, dirty burner, problem with fan, thermocouple dying.
Whether you get a new boiler or not, if the system is corroded you need to solve that asap as it is without a doubt the number one boiler killer.
Dumping this one in favour of a good quality new boiler properly installed is going to cost you around 2k, possibly more.
Puma's are not the best boilers ever made, but easy to work on and parts readily available. Sensitive to poor maintenance though.

 

[Agile]

I have repaired many of these boilers which have been declared as uneconomic and usually at a cost of only about £130-£150.

They are certainly not the most reliable model but still quite repairable.

A 24 kW replacement would usually be about £1500 upwards depending on the boiler model chosen.

Tony

 

[techno12]

Just had it repaired, so thought I'd reply to my own thread for future reference.

There were 2 problems..

1) The lead that powers the spark generator had fallen off - explaining why I couldn't relight the pilot.

2) The pump was 'on the way out' - it was very noisy and overheating, causing the gas to cut out.

Cost me £200, which is about what I was expecting.

I've decided to hold off on a new boiler, as it seems as if I'm replacing the Puma bit by bit (fan, pump, expansion vessel - pcb next probably!). I'm pleased that the new pump's been fitted - it's very quiet now.

Looking forward to my first shower for 5 days later on this evening

 

[Agile]

In our local area we would have charged £149.

Anyway I am glad you have had it repaired rather than replaced.

Tony

 

[techno12]

Ah well. Looks like London isn't the expensive place it's made out to be

(I'm in the Midlands)

I heard the guy on the phone saying £105 for the part and I guess the rest was labour (he took about an hour, plus 15 mins to get the part).

I know they're around £80 on the net, but I guess there's a premium for picking it up 'in stock' or something.