Sime Halstead problems..please help

[colddarren]

Hi there,

we have a SIME HALSTEAD boiler, and up untill now it has been great..but of course it is now Winter so it is playing up. I know nothing about boilers so I will tell you what is happening.
Basically the boiler keeps going out...for no reason. We will have a night of warm central heating then wake up in the mornign to find it is cold in the flat and the boiler has gone out and thus also no hot water. Taking it off timer does not seem to work and to get it to reignite takes us switching the boiler off and on. Mostly it doesn\\\'t reignite, but sometimes it does..and you can here the pilot light trying to light.
Once it is going then it provides heat and almost instant hot water. Thing is as soon as you stop using the hot water, and leave the central heating on..it will eventually go out...and you go back to check the boiler and it is cold again.
The pressure is very low also.
There seems to be no manual switch to relight it either. Also the thermastate on the wall is now useless.
Anyone know why? and how to remedy it?
Most grafull for any advice.

 

[kevplumb]

top the pressure up and learn to type

 

[colddarren]

how do you top the pressure up.

Sorry typing is useless...about as bad as my plumbing skills...

 

[kevplumb]

look for a silver braided pipe near the boiler thats the filling loop if its not near the boiler look for two silver valves on the pipework

then post back

 

[colddarren]

hey..

found two pipes with what I think are silver valves..
on is marked CH flow...and one is marked CH return.

 

[kevplumb]

no braided silver pipe then sounds as if you have found the isolaters

 

[colddarren]

well in that case I can't find anything that resembles a braided pipe...
better leave it guess...don't want to make it worse.
thanks for your help...
I'll call someone out soon.

 

[kevplumb]

have a look in the drawers on top of the cupboards etc

 

[colddarren]

ok cool...in the cupboard under the boiler there is a silver braided pipe linking two taps...

what now?


thanks by the way...

 

[kevplumb]

describe the taps

 

[colddarren]

just two white taps that are attached to each other via a silver pipe...
The right hand tap has what looks like a screw valve under it...otherwise it is exactly the same as the other tap.

 

[kevplumb]

get a screwdriver and turn the valve slowly and watch the pressure guage
when it gets just above 1 close the valve

 

[colddarren]

will try, but the heating seems to have come on now...so will wait till it goes cold again and the pressure drops...
thanks very much for all your help.
do you really live in Afganistan??

 

[breezer]

do you really live in Afganistan??

well he is my neighbour

 

[kevplumb]

yeah stop leaving that grenade launcher in my pig sty