Vokera boiler issue...

[CD85]

Hi All,

I have a vokera linea 24 which had a few problems but I have fixed them all now as listed below.

Boiler had a new vessel fitted as the old one was leaking water out of the valve when it was last serviced.

The flexi hose was blocked feeding the vessel so that was removed, cleaned and refitted with new fibre washer.

Auto air vent on pump housing was leaking so had the full pump and housing replaced.

Prv was changed as old wouldn't reseal.

Pressure gauge was replaced as the old one was getting water inside it.

And finally the diverter valve has been rebuilt with a repair kit as the pin was stuck solid.

The problem I have now is when I refill the system I get to 0.5 bar and it starts to leak from the prv.

I have checked the vessel and charged it to 1 bar with the flexi disconnected and checked the flexi wasn't blocked too.

Seem as if the pressure gauge is reading incorrectly or the prv is letting go before it gets to 3 bar.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I don't want to spend anymore money on parts if possible.

The heating and hot water are working fine when the gauge registers 0 bar, when the heating has been on for half hour it only registers 0.5 bar.

My thoughts are a blockage in the block where the pressure gauge fits into.

Thanks.

 

[ianmcd]

My thoughts are a blockage in the block where the pressure gauge fits into.

More likely a blockage in the pressure guage capillary tube, did you put silicon grease on the O ring when you fitted it ?

 

[CD85]

I was super careful with the tube as I didn't want to risk damaging it and didn't put anything on the o ring as it was pre lubed.

Really need to get to the bottom of this issue as I keep having to add a bit of water to clear the 04 lockout.

I will be adding fresh inhibitor once I can get it to read correctly/stop it leaking out of pvr.

 

[ianmcd]

Remove the capillary tube and pass some fine wire into it and flush it, they block very easily, blockage wont be in the hydro block

 

[CD85]

Remove the capillary tube and pass some fine wire into it and flush it, they block very easily, blockage wont be in the hydro block

Thanks for the advise, the gauge was brand new and only fitted yesterday to replace the old one which had water in the front of it.

Surely it can't have blocked that quickly? Going to try it anyhow tomorrow.

Thanks.

 

[ianmcd]

if magnetite in the water it will go straight to the guage and block it, there is no flow in there so the tiniest bit blocks it

 

[CD85]

Well I found one of the problems, the prv was letting go too soon. I unscrewed the plastic part from the brass and found the spring was already compressed.. just turned it around until it stopped then refitted. Pressure gauge working now but seem to struggle to get it set to one bar cold. Prv seems to be holding too.

The prv on this boiler does seem odd compared to other boilers I have worked on!

 

[CD85]

Going to isolate the flow and return on the boiler and see if I can clear the tube on the gauge, any tips to clean the tube? Also any ideas what I can do to stop it blocking up again? Thanks.

 

[ianmcd]

Going to isolate the flow and return on the boiler and see if I can clear the tube on the gauge, any tips to clean the tube? Also any ideas what I can do to stop it blocking up again? Thanks.

I wouldnt be closing the isolation valves unless you have a replacement pair, they leak for fun when you turn them back on

 

[CD85]

It didn't leak last time I did the works that way, however I'll just do a partial drain down next time. Thanks for the pointer.

Any tips to stop the gauge blocking up?

 

[ianmcd]

Not really, , if the water is really shoitey not a lot you can do to be honest, doesnt take much to block the guage

 

[CD85]

The water quality isn't too bad given the age of the installation. I do know it's been neglected by the previous owner of the house given all of the issues.

It's odd as even though the old gauge was getting water in the display it was working fine.

The prv has not done a drip since it was rebuilt so that's a good start and I'm not having to add water to clear the 04 fault.

I do have a pressure gauge fitted to a 22mm compression tee. Been thinking about fitting that into the return pipe if I can't get it cleared.

 

[ianmcd]

a sticking pump will also cause the 04 code, quite common with your boiler

 

[CD85]

The 04 error was previously for the water leaking out due to prv not holding. It's been totally fine since the prv was rebuilt giving the spring more tension. Going to try and clean the tube on the gauge today, if no luck I'm going to cut one into the 22mm pipework on the return.

I know the boiler won't last forever but just hoping to get as much life out of it before it has to be replaced.

 

[ianmcd]

No reason why it would need replaced for that fault, easily fixed