MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Our little flat is fitted with a Sime 'Friendly Format' 80E combi boiler. It's giving us no end of grief at the moment... thought I'd consult the legendary STW massive and see if ya'll could help me fix it!
Basically, here's what's happening: it switches on fine when theres a 'call' to the boiler (such as running the ho****er for a shower or switching the central heating on). You can see the blue flame through the inspection window and you can hear the 'roar' of the burner, and you get hot water/heat... hurrah, all is good.
However, after an intermittent period of time (usually around 10 minutes), you lose heat. If you keep the demand on (so keep running the ho****er etc) and go to take a look at the boiler, you'll see that there is no longer a nice blue flame visible through the window but the boiler is still making a 'roaring' noise as if the burner is lit!?
WTF is going on? I've checked the pressure and it's fine (the gauge is sitting happily in the blue), so it's not that... any other ideas from the good folk of STW?
yours, Mr Brass Monkey 😆
the clue is in the make - Sime! cheap rubbish!
Brand snobbery apart, does it do thin when the demand is from the heating?
If not it soundls like a partially blocked plate heat exchanger, BUT could be thermistors, PCB's, blocked filters,
We have just replaced the identical boiler with the identical problem. Heat exchanger had corroded and cold water was getting on the hot side (apparently). Just replaced with a Worchester Bosch.
crazy thing is, our landlady reckons she just spent £££'s getting it all sorted (she was living in the flat for the past 6 weeks, long story...) Part of that cost was in removing an old electric exchange heater that was plumbed into the system, but still...
Looks like we'll have to get the blingin engineer out again... I wish she'd just replace it with a new more efficient modern one!
Sometimes it is more financially sensible to replace rather than repair.