halstead combi boiler

[voddyman]

Hi, I have a Halstead Ace combi boiler which is approx 6 years old and I have been losing pressure on it and it is also making a tea kettling noise [it sound like steam being released] after the shower has been on for a while in the morning but cant see anywhere inside the boiler as to where the "steam" can be coming from.
I've had a Gas Safe engineer whose has done the following things to it :-

Fitted a new expansion vessel and pressure release valve which seemed to ok at first, but boiler started losing pressure again. He then replaced the inlet valve to the boiler that takes in the mains water for topping up the boiler and also the valve on the main pipe, the reasoning behind this, was just in case the valves were by passing and continually pressurising the boiler forcing the relief valve to kick into action. Unfortunately not any of the above jobs has stopped the boiler losing pressure and the water is still coming out the overflow/pressure release pipe outside. There is NO leakage from the system from any of the radiators or the pipes that I can see, plus it only seems to lose pressure after the boiler has actually been operating. The engineer and myself are starting to run out of what exactly could be causing this. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

look at your plate heat exchanger sounds like its pin holed

 

[voddyman]

Hi Gas Man, Ist of, thank you for your quick reply, it's much appreciated. If what you say is the problem, i.e. the plate heat exchanger. have you got a rough idea as to how much that type of work would cost. The reason I'm asking is that I dont want to keep continually throwing money at this boiler, even though it's only 6 years old because I would rather just get another boiler fitted. On that subject, could anyone recommend a good fitted combi boiler within a £1000 budget?.
Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Puddle]

On that subject, could anyone recommend a good fitted combi boiler within a £1000 budget?.

On that budget,would go for the repair

Should get a few more years out of the Halstead yet

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

agree with puddle,the halsteads not a bad boiler

 

[voddyman]

Cheers Guys, thanks for replies. Have you got a rough idea how much it would cost to get the plate heat exchanger replaced in the Halstead.

Also sorry to be a nuisance, but what boiler would you recommend if I do go down the road for a replacement boiler.
Sorry to keep asking so many questions, but it's great for me to finally start to get some help and answers to my problems.
I wish I'd found this forum a few months ago.

 

[oldplumber]

other things to check. obvious but could have been missed, did the engineer check the expn vssl was correctly pressurised?, another likely cause if the boiler was kettling is your pump may be failing allowing water in your heat exchanger to boil, your gas rate could be to high so check it and the brner pressure (gas meter could have failed giving high gas rate), so check meter pressure under load, your overheat or limit stat could have failed, you may have dirt trapped in your prv seal giving a pressure drop, and as mentioned the plate heat exchanger could be leaking. Give the list to your heating engineer for some inspiration before you finally buy a plate heat exchanger.

THanks and gratitude to J Reginald (cos I'm not that good yet, but getting there with my positive attitude to life)

 

[voddyman]

I shall pass on all these answers to my heating engineer and let him mull them all over. Many thanks to you all.

 

[andy b]

Hi Voddyman
did you get your Halstead sorted.I have the Ace High which after a long draw of hot water hisses and boils then goes into lockout.
Help appreciated
Andy

 

[voddyman]

Hi Andy, Sorry but I've not got it sorted yet, it seems to have settled down at the moment which is probably because I've not got my heating on anymore. I'm going to get the engineer to have a look at the heat exchanger as suggested in here when i get the boiler serviced in the summer as that seems to be the most logical answer to the problem. My best advice would be to get your engineer to try what has been said in the replies I've received in here already and by a process of elimination we should find out what the problem is. It's really frustrating this problem as I have had the engineer try 2/3 different things but to no avail which is annoying because the Halstead is a decent boiler when it's working ok, but like my engineer told me, what he doesn't like about them is that they are quite expensive for parts to repair. Sorry i couldn't be of much help to you mate, but as I said I'm hoping to get it sorted out in the summer. If however you get your repaired first I would really appreciate it if you come back on here to let me know how you cured it.
Many Thanks

 

[easyt]

I know nothing about boilers. My daughter had a similar problem with her Halstead combi. I arranged for my heating engineer to pop round there after servicing my system. He spent 10 mins and in that instance it was muck under the PRV seal.

(No charge to my daughter - probably snuck it on my bill )

 

[andy b]

ive had this problem for two years now and thought i had eliminated it once, well i had for a period.I took out the heat exchanger and let it soak overnight in a brick cleaning acid.I then flushed it with a hose pipe, put it back and it worked ok for around 9 month.Maybe its blocked again and it needs another flush.I have priced the part up with Halstead and its £100 if it turns out its knackered.I do not suffer the problem in winter when the central heating is also on just when i have hot water only setting on.If your feeling brave maybe you should have a go at cleaning this yourself!
Thanks for your reply
Andy

 

[shaky]

Cheers Guys, thanks for replies. Have you got a rough idea how much it would cost to get the plate heat exchanger replaced in the Halstead.

Also sorry to be a nuisance, but what boiler would you recommend if I do go down the road for a replacement boiler.
Sorry to keep asking so many questions, but it's great for me to finally start to get some help and answers to my problems.
I wish I'd found this forum a few months ago.

wwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwwwwwww www

 

[hyypia77]

Hi , with regards to a replacement combi (if you are going down that route) i would have to say a Dimplex combi 24 , 30 or 38 - depending on your needs , backed up with a 5 year guarntee and a good price , probs looking at about 7 - 800 quid tops , fitted about 6 now and there aftersales has been a dream , they would be my choice everytime

 

[andy b]

new heat exchanger has done the job
thanks

 

[andy b]

Hi Voddyman
you might be interested to know that i got my boiler fixed today.Mine suffered exactly like yours.The problem was the Printed circuit board.Apparently halstead upgraded this board because of lots of boilers suffering the same.The board was only telling the pump to overrun 4 secs after the hot water was turned off(shower or bath)whereas the new board tells the pump to run on much longer thus cooling the plate heat exchanger quickly and not overheating.
Hope this helps you
Andy

 

[voddyman]

Hi Andy, That's excellent, I'm going to get the engineer to fix this problem when he comes to do the annual service in the next couple of months and I shall let him know what you have told me. Thanks again.

 

[notaplumber]

Hi Andy,after months of frustation trying to find the loss of water pressure to my Halstead Ace, I stumbled upon a plumber who advised me to put One and a Half bars pressure into the expn vssl.Previously, I was told only to pressurise it to point 7 of a bar.I dont know if this is the right thing to do or not, but after months of pulling my hair out , the boiler is now working perfectly.When doing the re pressurisation procedure, I used a tyre pump, and how accurate the gauge is I really dont know.Also ,for safety sake if you are going down my road,suggest you consult a professional.