Valliant Plus 418 Heat Exhanger broken after hot water tank

[Agile]

What you do is obviously up to you! But presently you are heading towards a bill of £500-£600 which I don't think you should be paying!

My advice is that you do NOT let the installers fit anything unless they agree in writing that you are not going to pay for it.

Then YOU call Vaillant to it under the warrantee!

Either they will agree to replace it ( unlikely but always possible ) OR they will blame the problem on a lack of proper servicing. If the latter make sure you get that in WRITING !

Armed with the Vaillant response, you would contact the installers and ask them to replace it at THEIR cost because of their failure to service it effectively.

If, as is likely, they refuse, then you will have to write them a "letter before Action".

Tony


PS In spite of still no comments here from other engineers, I am still of the opinion the boiler may well be retrievable!

 

[justhomeowners]

Hi Tony

Thanks for that. Word is that the heating engineers have been speaking to Valliant but I'm making a call to them too.

All of this advice has been very useful as I really don't know a thing about heating systems. It has helped narrow things down and I've got some strong questions that I want answering before they go about fitting a replacement part. I'm much better armed with knowledge now thanks to this forum and are grateful for the help.

Many thanks

 

[Dan Robinson]

No need for us to intervene Tony. We're quite enjoying your modesty.

 

[Gasescape]

No need for us to intervene Tony. We're quite enjoying your modesty.

lol:

 

[Tibbot]

PS In spite of still no comments here from other engineers, I am still of the opinion the boiler may well be retrievable!

It's retrievable if the coils are not buckled, water tight and no batches are blocked from the inside. There is no thermal fuse protection on this type (metal jacket) so flue gas temp will need double checking as well.

The labour to replace rear/front pads, seal and cleaning coils, burner etc, with no guarantee will severely reduce the saving.

 

[Agile]

I would take that on with a no-fix no-fee basis!

In practice I would then clean out all the rubbish and reassemble and test before completing the cleaning and replacing the pads.

 

[Safety First]

System must be flushed to bs7593 as a requirement of the benchmark certificate and the manufacturers warranty


Doesn't mean it gas been though

When you say flushed, does it have to be power flushed, or can it be chemical flushed?

Not to wholly hijack the thread, but i am taking quotes for a new vailant boiler and some spec to power flush others say chemical only will suffice *and* will please vailants installation requirements to ensure warranty is honoured. Is there sig. difference in regards OP's situation?

 

[Dan Robinson]

System must be flushed to bs7593.

 

[Safety First]

System must be flushed to bs7593.

Thanks Dan.


Does that mean chemical or power?

Thanks.

 

[Phill Peck]

It depends on the system really.
The requirement of both benchmark and manufacturer is to flush to bs7593.

Which basically means your system needs to be clean, there are a few ways of achieving that whilst complying with bs7593.

Vaillant don't like poor water quality

 

[simond]

This is clearly a case of the condense drain being blocked up, or a hole in the heat exchanger.

The only insulation boards I've seen on a Vaillant anywhere like this one is on a weather compensated unit from 2004 that hadn't been opened for around 8 years.

My money is on the condense drain, we've had ones in the past where the drain gets partially blocked, and when the washing machine pumps out, the water rises in the waste and pushes into the boiler.

Your boiler engineers need to satisfy themselves that it isn't a condense drain problem before you try and use the warranty. A couple of insulation boards (f&r) and a new burner seal might be all that is required here. Either way it would have to be cleaned before the damage could be ascertained.

I hope the poster and other homeowners reading this will now see the relevance of the term 'coincidence'. Tradesmen are nearly always blamed for any defects by simply working in proximity to something.

Sometimes I wish I could just sit behind a desk, and find someone else to blame.

 

[Tibbot]

I hope the poster and other homeowners reading this will now see the relevance of the term 'coincidence'. Tradesmen are nearly always blamed for any defects by simply working in proximity to something.

How true, my latest one is to be blamed for poor DHW pressure months after I installed TRV's.