boiler not firing up, pump seems to be running

[stolt]

hi there, need some help, noticed this evening that our heatin gisnt working, i can hear the pump in the airing cupboard and put my hand on the outer case and its spinning around. Ive just been up in the loft and the amll header tank is filled up.

I cant seem to get the boiler fired up so should i be concentrating my efforts, the boiler was in the house when it was built about 13 years ago

[stolt]

hi sorry its gas.

[stolt]

hi i was having a quick look at why the boiler wouldnt fire up and i noticed the red switch on the right had lower of the boiler it was poking out, i pushed it in and it fired up. so all good but what does the switch actually do and what would make it trip in the first place.

thanks

[stolt]

1point7bar said:

Pilot flame?

is the red switch a over ride for the ignition?

[stolt]

hmm is that bad that it tripped then at some stage today?

[stolt]

1point7bar said:

If the circuit senses rightly or wrongly no pilot flame it will lock-out.

oh ok, i'm not a plumber (as you have probably guessed) so not sure why it would trip the only possible reason i could think of is the boiler is house in a cupboard and its got too hot, but its been like that for 6 months without any issues.
thanks for taking the time to reply by the way

[stolt]

tc153 said:

thats the over heat reset, what setting is the pump on? have you vented all the rads?

hi the pump is on setting 3 on the dial on the outer casing. i can vent the rads i havent done it since before christmas and as i say i havent had any issues with it since.

[stolt]

tc153 said:

could just be a lack of water in the system? is it a poterton boiler

its a 'ideal' boiler as i say it was in the house when they were built. i'm putting £30.00 a month away to a new one but only started last august so still got a way to go to afford a new one, if i can just keep it going for the next year or so lol

Should i turn the pump down to 2 do you think that would help?

[stolt]

tc153 said:

keep it on 3, helps move the heat out of the boiler, vent the rads and make sure the feed and expansion has water. is the boiler making loud banging noises or sound like a kettle? could be a faulty pump, lack of water in the system or a blockage due to scale/system sludge

hi ok i'll leave it where it is, the boiler doesnt seem to me making any funny noises, although sometimes when the air cupboard is open the pump (i thin) making a sort of metallic noise) hard to explain what it sounds like but its not really loud just notice it when the doors open