Valliant Ecomax 828E

[bjarvis]

I have a problem with my boiler, and am not sure what the problem is.

I get the error E13 most times I turn on the CH. After this error it turns itself off for 10 mins (this is normal i think) and the radiators start to cool. After it resets it works fine. Not sure if this is a problem is realated to the thermistor? Occasionaly i get a F23 error and have to reset the boiler after which it works fine.

The hot water from taps/shower is fine.

Thanks for any advice you may have, and any diagnostics I can try.

 

[Agile]

I presume you mean an F13 ?

There are no"E" codes unless its really an Ariston!

F13 and F23 are associated with NTC faults or temperature inconsistancies in the boiler operation.

Normal first check would be to measure NTC resistances with boiler cold.

Tony

 

[Deleted member 105431]

The early ecomax that first used the giannoni has e codes. This boiler is around 8 years old.

 

[Agile]

But surely it did not mix E13 and F23 codes ?

 

[bjarvis]

Hi,
Thanks for your help, and for coming back so soon.
It's definately E13 and F23 codes. In terms of how old the boiler is I know it's older than 3 years (which is how long i've been in the flat).
I will try to measure the NTC1 and NTC2 resistance, any idea what they should be cold?
Thanks
Barry

 

[Agile]

Probably about 1300 ohms but its important to ensure they really are cold!

Tony

 

[The831Bunny]

If the boiler noise has increased lately when its firing (kettling), you have debris in your main heat exchanger and/or slow running/blocked pump.

If boiler noise is the same as always then I would replace both flow and return NTC sensors. Known problem.

Cheers

Bunny

 

[The831Bunny]

As aside, the E11, E12 and E13 codes are similar to the ecotec and later ecomax's status codes of S.53 and S.54. i.e. A large temperature difference between flow and return.

Bunny

 

[bjarvis]

Hi,

I checked the resistances of NTC1 and 2. When warm they both read 1.9k ohms and they both slowly increased to 17k ohms as the heating system cooled over several hours.

Does this sounds normal? Should i just replace them both, or is there any other checks i should make beforehand?

Thanks for any advice

Barry

 

[Agile]

It sounds as if I suggested values used on the earlier boilers.

Its an odd feature that I have encountered that although the measured resistances may seem fine they may not track each other accurately enough to avoid the S53/54 problems.

I have mostly encountered that problem after the boiler has dry fired.

This means that if you suspect the flow/return differential is indeed within limits then its best to replace BOTH sensors at the same time. Better to actually MEASURE the temps before replacing parts so that you know whats going on inside the boiler.

Tony

 

[bjarvis]

Hi, well attempted to measure temp of flows, by simply touching a thermometer to the external pipe walls (bit crude i know). The temps seem about the same. I then put it all back together replacing the cable connector and the pcb cover... and it seems to be working pretty ok now. So I can only think that i had a loose connection. Fingers crossed it stays working ok. Anyhow thanks once again for your advice, much appreciated!

 

[bjarvis]

Hi,
Well eventually replaced both NTC sensors and seems to have fixed the problem with the boiler cutting out. The only problem that now remains is the fact that the hot water seems to take a lot longer to get hot than it used to, typically up to 2 mins for the shower or hot tap to get hot. Does anyone have any idea what the issue is? Any further checks I can make?
Thanks in advance
Barry