Post by lurcher on Apr 9, 2024 18:43:55 GMT 1
On Sunday night we arrived at our secondaire at about 22.00 after a fairly smooth ferry ride from Portsmouth to Caen and an uneventful drive of about 300miles. We left the house five months ago to spend the winter in UK. Everything was going so well with the TV switched on to catch the next episode of a series. My second job is always to make sure the boiler is running to provide hot water and CH. To my dismay the boiler appeared to be alive but after a short burst of activity it ceased to work. Indicator lights were showing as normal so there was no clue as to the problem. I gave up for the night, my wife produced hot water bottles and I switched on all our electric heaters. The log burner was running good and hot.
The next morning I tackled the problem of locating the fault and putting it right. At this point I checked the cost of a replacement boiler and discovered it was 5500€ plus any fitting charge. This made me even more keen to fix the fault. Off came the front fascia panel and fault finding began in a thoroughly logical fashion. I was fooled immediately by the boiler bursting into life but only for about 30 seconds. Most of the following evidence came from feeling the pipe work to discover the hot pipes were very hot as far as the water pump. In our UK houses I had faced stuck pumps in the heating systems and they were invariably solved by opening the pump spindle inspection cover and forcing the pump to turn with a screwdriver twist. In this case I followed my instincts and opened the cover slightly and was not surprised to receive few drips of water. The spindle end had the usual slot and I gave it a turn. To start with it was tight and clearly was the source of the trouble. As I turned it more it suddenly became free and spun easily but I was rewarded by a shower of hot water from around the spindle. Most of the water was collected by my plastic basin and other handy containers supported by an array of old towels. I expected it to stop but the pressure was maintained so the water jet continued. I grabbed the cover and pushed it through the hot water and screwed in back in place. No more leaks were evident so I tested the boiler and it worked as normal. then it has behaved.
Since then it has behaved well delivering warmth throughout the house and plenty of hot water.
Now this is where other members might be able to help, please. My worry is that the pump was badly worn and could seize up again with a possible catastrophic failure. Hunting on the Internet has led me to think that Frisquet, the boiler manufacturers, do not have a system to supply me with either a new pump or a repair kit. I suspect that a Professional company may be the only route to a replacement. Do you think that the pump in the photos could be fixed without removing it from the boiler or could it be repaired by removing the impeller section with the main plastic housing still in its place? The boiler is 20 years old but I do not want the huge cost of a full replacement.
I hope to add some photos in my next posting. Thanks for reading this long story.
The next morning I tackled the problem of locating the fault and putting it right. At this point I checked the cost of a replacement boiler and discovered it was 5500€ plus any fitting charge. This made me even more keen to fix the fault. Off came the front fascia panel and fault finding began in a thoroughly logical fashion. I was fooled immediately by the boiler bursting into life but only for about 30 seconds. Most of the following evidence came from feeling the pipe work to discover the hot pipes were very hot as far as the water pump. In our UK houses I had faced stuck pumps in the heating systems and they were invariably solved by opening the pump spindle inspection cover and forcing the pump to turn with a screwdriver twist. In this case I followed my instincts and opened the cover slightly and was not surprised to receive few drips of water. The spindle end had the usual slot and I gave it a turn. To start with it was tight and clearly was the source of the trouble. As I turned it more it suddenly became free and spun easily but I was rewarded by a shower of hot water from around the spindle. Most of the water was collected by my plastic basin and other handy containers supported by an array of old towels. I expected it to stop but the pressure was maintained so the water jet continued. I grabbed the cover and pushed it through the hot water and screwed in back in place. No more leaks were evident so I tested the boiler and it worked as normal. then it has behaved.
Since then it has behaved well delivering warmth throughout the house and plenty of hot water.
Now this is where other members might be able to help, please. My worry is that the pump was badly worn and could seize up again with a possible catastrophic failure. Hunting on the Internet has led me to think that Frisquet, the boiler manufacturers, do not have a system to supply me with either a new pump or a repair kit. I suspect that a Professional company may be the only route to a replacement. Do you think that the pump in the photos could be fixed without removing it from the boiler or could it be repaired by removing the impeller section with the main plastic housing still in its place? The boiler is 20 years old but I do not want the huge cost of a full replacement.
I hope to add some photos in my next posting. Thanks for reading this long story.
