I have been told that the fan has gone and the air pressure switch. Does anyone know where I can get these from as I am being asked to pay over £200 in total for labour and parts.......Where's the christmas spirit hey?

LA, January 2009

Boiler fans rarely fail because of the windings. It's usually the bearings wear out. Whether ball bearings or bronze bushes, both are available at your local ball bearing merchant. The ball bearings must be high temp types and should cost about £8 each. Bronze bushes (usually spherical self-aligning types) cost less that £1 each. All you then have to cost is your time fitting them. As for the switch, usually the hose to it perishes. If it is a microswitch with a flap, that is easily replaced with a standard microswitch from RS Components.

Gervais Sawyer, January 2009

Or http://www.cetltd.com/default.asp

a, January 2009

I go here for cheap parts its a trade secret lol

hxxp://stores.ebay.co.uk/Adlink-Uk-Limited

justeve, January 2009

I used to work for British Gas for 21 years,and had 10 yrs working for myself.This ACS crap has got totally out of hand.I regard myself as very good on all the older type boilers,but threw the towel in when all these Combis and condensing boilers came out.The cost of been Corgi Regd is totally unjust and for that reason ive ragged it in.I know where you are coming from regarding case seals,but its only Corgi trying to scare the crap out of everyone.If youve been in the game then using common sense is all that is needed and you would have to drop a howler to be proved incompetent.I remember an electrician asking that very question if he could work on a Combi because the fault was an electrical one and Corgi replied saying that because he wasnt breaking the gas supply he was allowed to do it.They may have changed their stance since as this was a few yrs ago.If i can help with advice i will if it can save someone a few quid.

Tony S, January 2009

Thanks j & b - I don't really disagree with you about safety - all you say about caution is very sensible and wise - it's just that I can't find the law (we have one about doing our own electrical work) that expressly forbids me from bu**ering up my own gas boiler - I suspect that there isn't one.

All power to your superior skills/knowledge...

Are you following this LA or just bored to death?

Peccavi, January 2009

Definitely dodgy ground it is one of the ACS tests to check the case seal The a p s can still operate with a poor case seal
I say poo too HSE , but always air off caution
owner occupiers could be prosecuted as a result if a serious incident occurred

j, January 2009

"corgi hse requirements would not be happy"... well they can be as unhappy as they like - see if I care.

My challenge to you - post the regulation / law that forbids an owner occupier doing their own boiler repair.

If the case seal were defective (and I'm on dodgy ground here), surely the pressure switch would detect it and prevent ignition? Does ACS not tell you this?

Peccavi, January 2009

corgi hse requirements would not be happy with the comment of breaking into the gas supply its also about gas safety
owner occupiers could be prosecuted as a result if a serious incident occurred
Just a point on some glowworm / potterton boilers could be deemed as dangerous if the case was not fitted correctly and or the seal is defective as products of combustion would escape into the room

j, January 2009

after braking the seal or working on an appliance you must check the burner pressure or gas rate it and be
competent to do so.
competend means you must have past your ACS

b, January 2009

Interesting point about breaking the case seal. The regulations I discover are owned not by Corgi but by the HSE and the only responsibility the Owner Occupier has (and it's not a legal obligation, just advisory) is...

"That all gas appliances and/or flues should be regularly maintained and a safety check carried out annually or at any other time if there is a safety doubt by a CORGI registered installer."

Strangely the HSE do not mention any restriction against Owner Occupiers doing their own gas fitting, just that it's illegal for a non-registered person to accept payment for doing it.

The HSE leaflet says... "You could be entitled to a free safety check. If you are over 60, chronically sick, disabled, deaf or hearing-impaired, blind or visually impaired."

Peccavi, January 2009

Breaking the case of a sealed case boiler would i think would contravene corgi reg unless you can prove being a competent person to do so

j, January 2009

You will be extremely lucky to get any fan for any boiler for under £100.Whatever happened to the good old thermocouple.

Tony S, January 2009

Odd that the fan AND the air pressure switch have failed at the same time. Could the engineer be guessing?

You may be able to replace both these parts yourself - you don't need to be CORGI registered because they're not GAS fittings. Can buy them from local merchants - they may not even need the part number if you have the boiler details.

This site might help you...
http://www.glow-worm.co.uk/products/products_literature.asp

If both fan and switch really do need to be replaced £200 is not that bad a cost - spares for boilers are criminally expensive and fans are often more than £100 +VAT

e-bay often has cheap parts - some reconditioned - but it helps to have the manufacturer's part number.


Good luck

Peccavi, January 2009