This boiler was in the property when we moved in 3 years ago. The only controls we have are a programmer in the kitchen pantry and thermostats on the radiators (which we never move). We found a leak at the beginning of 2007 which was dealt with by a Corgi plumber and he also put inhibitor in the radiators. The central heating radiators would not heat up about 9 months ago and I thought it was due to the pressure being too low, as the heating did eventually come on. This has happened a couple of times since. I have been checking the pressure over the past 2 weeks but the radiators have not heated up on 2 occasions but eventually came on so now I think it is possibly not due to low pressure (leak?). The central heating would not come on this morning - I checked the pressure which was fine. I left the timer on (we have no timer on the actual boiler) and at some point the heating came on. It stayed on for about 2 hours and has now gone off again. I have read threads on your site and it seems to me it could be the diverter valve but hope someone can 'confirm' this before I send for an engineer. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Dottie49, February 2009

does anyone know the flow rate of a potterton 28i

ted king, April 2009

17 2 08 First visit by BG engineer. Diagnosed Actuator which is part of the Diverter Valve. He had to order the part so arranged another visit.
19 2 08 Return visit by same engineer. Fitted actuator but then said the micro switch/flow switch needed replacing. He also said the diaphragm in the expansion unit was defective as he noticed the pressure going over 3 bars quite soon after the heating was switched on. I had not noticed this before so wondered whether he had caused this in some way. We had heating but no hot water that evening.
20 2 09 BG engineer (different one) came and more or less had to start from scratch to diagnose the problem. He seemed very experienced and fitted the microswitches, new PCB and diaphragm (not the one in the expansion vessel). He thought the latter diaphragm was OK but I agreed to keep an eye on the pressure. He explained about the i on the 28i name of the model and suggested I turned off the water preheat as he felt this caused more problems than advantages offered. So the above work was undertaken by 2 engineers over 3 visits - approximately 7 hours - with new parts fitted - at a TOTAL cost of £127. I have no complaints whatsoever as you can imagine. However, I will continue to post just to let everyone know whether the problems have been resolved. This morning (Saturday 21 Feb )I had to run the tap in the kitchen for about 5 mins before hot water came through. Obviously this is due to the pre-heat being switched off. I might decide to switch it back on.

I hope this has been of some help but will continue to post as I think sites like this are very helpful, particularly for women like me with no technical knowledge, but who have to make the decision as to whether to call out an engineer or not.

dottie49, February 2009

Further update. Now 2.15 pm. Heating still on but have tried to run shower and water is cold. Tried to run bath and that is also cold. Does this indicate a sticking or faulty diverter valve do you think. Your comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks

DC

dottie49, February 2009

As an update, I went into the garage at approx 11 am and the pressure was in the red low area. I put the pressure to 1 bar. At this point the heating was 'on' on the programmer but nothing happened. I went indoors and switched the programmer onto 'all day'. I then washed up and had plenty of hot water. When I felt the radiators about ten minutes later they had come on and an hour on, which is now, they are still on. Still no faults showing on the boiler. Still not sure whether this is the separate programmer, leak, or diverter valve. Any suggestions?

DC

dottie49, February 2009

Thank you for responding. The boiler is in the garage. It does not have a timer on the panel at the bottom. Sorry for sounding a pleb but I am willing to learn. How would I know if the fan was running OK. There are no flashing neons on the panel to suggest a fault. As I stated previously, the programmer in the house was on 'on' yesterday when the boiler went off after about 1 hour. I left it on 'on' and when I came upstairs at around 10 pm the upstairs rads were warm - all of them but none of them had been on downstairs. I did wonder if it was the programmer at fault and am having a wireless one fitted next week. However, with that episode last evening it doesnt seem likely to be the programmer. I have put the timer on 'on' this morning but so far there is no response.

Again, thank you.

dottie49, February 2009

need more info does fan run as normal

gaz, February 2009