combi boiler issue
 

are there any british gas engineers in here or plumbers.....

a friend of mine has got an issue with his combi boiler, when running the hot water downstairs it gets very hot as it should, but when he wants the hot water upstairs for a bath or such its only luke warm...not hot at all..:wonder:

anyone any ideas

(i dont know the boiler make unfortunatly)

Have a feeling this will end up in the DIY section soon.

Anyway, had a similar problem at my house not so long ago, but all the water was only luke warm, turned out the water was flowing through the system too fast and the boiler had no chance to heat it, slowing the flow down at the stop cock sorted the issue, although a slight loss in pressure. My own fault from fitting a new bathroom and turning water off and on constantly, has he done something similar?

cheers for the reply, not that im aware of no... like i say the downstairs water is fine just the upstairs is luke warm, not sure if he has tried the pressure or not, my combi has 3 settings for the pump speed so maybe his will have too, perhaps he could put it down a setting to slow the pump and let it get hotter

Possibly, I'm not a plumber at all, just know a bit of DIY and passing on personal experience. hope it gets sorted anyway

This shouldn't happen as all combi's have flow restrictors fitted to avoid exactly this.

Mog

The pump must be left on max speed or the boiler may cut out.

Mog

It was a Npower engineer who came out when I had the problem and pointed out the fault, worked for me anyway, I didn't pay as have an annual cover policy

Could be the divertor valve but really needs an expert to look at it.

Mog

The water is the same water up and down so the only thing can be the flow rate ,go upstairs turn on the tap on full then slow it down to a slower rate give it a minate then check the temp and get back to me :D

I thought most domestic boilers had one Hotwater output, so this should not happen unless the water is travelling a very long way for short bursts. Would you say the flow rate is the same upstairs and downstairs? Has any intervention happened recently which could have disrupted anthing?

http://www.whatihearyousayingis.com/parrot.jpg

But if the divertor valve is stuck and the central heating is on then you will get a sink full of hot water downstairs then go upstairs and you will get nothing more apart from luke warm water IMHO.

mog

mog how will you get hot water down stairs

Im at work,

I wrote the reply out and got distracted so didnt press submit reply.

Anyway as you feel you are on the ball, good luck.

http://www.ivygateblog.com/wp-conten...****_you-1.jpg

carnt do that mate, not my boiler with the problem:thumb:

You would briefly get a sink full anywhere as the boiler would be already hot from the heating running and then the incoming cold would cool the boiler down stopping any further hot water as the divertor valve hasn't moved.

mog

says water runs ok down stairs

well tell your mate to do it

But without being specific, anyway us plumbers/RS owners should stick together.

mog

errrm gas engineers ;)

LOL...ermmm thats what I meant.

Mog

99% of all boilers have only the one output for hot water the meer fact its hot downstairs and warm upstairs tells me the boiler is fine as it would be both hot or both cold, is the boiler situated down stairs , if so either the pump is not getting the water up fast enough to maintain a good temp in which case the flow will be slow, or simply you need to lag the pipes as its cooling down on the journey from the boiler to the tap, are these some distance apart if so i think theres your answer,.:thumb:

The rate of flow does make a difference to the temperature on my combi. Have not got an upstairs hot water supply though.

Wonder if the water is cooling down in the supply pipes.

Les

thast says what i have just said, if the water isnt getting there at a decent speed ie flow rate , it will loose most of the heat,. and thats down to a weak pump or the pipes need lagging , without being able to see the setup and run a few tests im shooting in the dark,.:notworthy

We have a similar Prob with ours. but sometimes it's all cold water without the heating on. We've Had 7-10 gas engineers out and they all said it's because our Gas Copper pipes are only 15mm wide not the standard 22mm i think he said. So the Gas doesn't flow as fast etc.

Rather spend the money on a Remap. Not told her yet. She's only been waiting nearly 3 yrs for a bath. lol And before you lot say it. (yes she has a shower instead)!!!!!!

:notworthy the gas feed should be a 22mm copper pipe but as they say downstairs is hot so the feed aint the problem, the problem lies from the boiler to the upstairs tap as all the downstairs water is hot so as i said lag those pipes unless your water is running slow upstairs then get a stronger pump!!:luxhello::notworthy:luxhello:man in the trade listen to my pool of knowledge:D

I thought the pump in side a combination boiler only runs the heating side and the mains cold water pressure delivers the flow of hot water :freak3::confused: If it did both wouldn't it have to be a bronze or stainless pump ?

:D i have read my posts it sounds all wrong what i meant , if theres a flow problem get a pump if the flows fine lag the pipes,.:D

Where is the boiler in relation to the outlets?

the boiler is upstairs yet its the upstairs water that isnt getting hot....its not always been like that its been working fine, the problem has only just started in the last week or so, therefore im guessing the pipe lagging isnt the issue, unless its due to the colder weather ?