How long should a combi boiler last?
Discussion
I've got a Vaillant ecomax 835/2e which is showing all the signs of impending death. It won't generate anything more than tepid water when a tap is turned on (burner goes initially full then back to part throttle with status code S53) and the diverter and secondary heat exchanger have been replaced. The CH isn't working properly either, sometimes the rads get warm (not hot) but often some of the feed pipes get warm but the rads don't even if I turn the pump up to maximum - it's never been great since I moved in last year though.
It has been suggested (by Vaillant, and by the plumber that replaced the secondary heat exchanger) that this all means the main heat exchanger is clogged up so not able to deliver water fast enough and the boiler goes into part power mode. The price of this part is so expensive that I might as well just spend a bit more and get another boiler. Six years does not seem a reasonable working life for something like this
Anyway, what's a good make to replace it with? Something like the now 25 year old non-combi, non-condensing, non-breaking down Gloworm that I helped my Dad fit at my parents house in the 1980s (good old days when you could work on gas and electrics yourself) would be good.
It has been suggested (by Vaillant, and by the plumber that replaced the secondary heat exchanger) that this all means the main heat exchanger is clogged up so not able to deliver water fast enough and the boiler goes into part power mode. The price of this part is so expensive that I might as well just spend a bit more and get another boiler. Six years does not seem a reasonable working life for something like this
Anyway, what's a good make to replace it with? Something like the now 25 year old non-combi, non-condensing, non-breaking down Gloworm that I helped my Dad fit at my parents house in the 1980s (good old days when you could work on gas and electrics yourself) would be good.
This was my topic I just realised, the problem with the boiler was that the water pipes through the primary heat exchanger were clogged with gunk. I ended up fixing it for £15 by running a bottle of X800 through the system with all the CH turned off apart from the closest radiator so it ran in a short(ish) loop. It took about a fortnight, but it started working properly again, so I drained all the (by then very black) water and refilled using an inhibitor. It has been fine ever since.
With the small pipes inside the main heat exchanger clogged the boiler couldn't modulate the flame to maintain the temperature as the flow was to slow, so during high demand (e.g. a shower, when it first failed) it cut out due to overheating of the water. You could hear it "kettling" as the water boiled internally.
With the small pipes inside the main heat exchanger clogged the boiler couldn't modulate the flame to maintain the temperature as the flow was to slow, so during high demand (e.g. a shower, when it first failed) it cut out due to overheating of the water. You could hear it "kettling" as the water boiled internally.
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