How do I check that the Fan is working ?

How do I know if the Thermocouple isn't working ?

My daughter's boiler won't work. The pilot light stays on but when the central heating is turned on or the hot water tap is opened the boiler tries to light and then the pilot light goes out.

I opened the boiler and lit the pilot light .The flame envelopes the Thermocouple. With the boiler's combustion chamber front panel removed the flames go across the main burner and stay lit. They flames increase in size when the tap is opened. I then extinquish the flames by turning the gas off (as they get too big). When I replace the chamber front the pilot light stays lit until the central heating / tap is turned on. When looked at the fan it wasn't turning when the main burner was on. Could this be the reason for the boiler failure ?

Martin Bickley, December 2005

my boiler keeps losing pressure after the heating has been on , i have noticed a constant drip from the overflow pipe when the heating is on , could it be the pressure relief valve is faulty or is there something else causing too much pressiure, the gauge goes up to about 2.5 bar when the heating is on

micky shaw, November 2010

GUYS ..please always use a GAS SAFE engineer to inspect your boilers ..its not always about replacing things ...you need to always check the working components for safety reasons ..that means ALL the components !!! thats why we have quality tested engineers .....THC Plumbing & Heating

Martin, December 2009

I have changed my own fan about 3 times over the past 14 years, recently I bought one reconditioned from e bay from a professional company, once you get it you can easily work out how it fits, all you need is a small cross thred screwdriver. its a doddle.

Turry C, December 2009

I have similar problem, fans keeps stopping and boiler cuts out.

What I intend to do is get my Corgi plumber to replace my fan with new one and get old one exchanged for reconditioned one and store it as a spare for next time the fan packs in. My plumber is a good man and won't mind fitting my fan next time it needs replacing.
My plumber is called RAM and is in Barnsley South Yorks . Really good at his job. Highly recommended.

Ken Rhodes, December 2009

Don't try to fix something that your not competent to do call in a gas safe registered engineer to deal with issues like this, this it what we are here for because you are breaking the law and could possibly face a fine and spend some time behind the bars Remember cowboys don't mix with gas!

Jay, October 2009

are you corgi registered?if not you are breaking the law attempting to repair a faulty boiler

talco, December 2008

these fans are renowned for failure i have had a swiftflow now for 14 years it has been fault free apart from having 3 fans in it i got sick of paying for them so the last time it happened i stripped the fan down removed the bearings which are the only part that fail i then took the bearings to a local engineering company i bought two new high quality bearings at a cost of £7 re-fitted them re-placed the fan and it has now been runnig like that for the past 6 years, which is the longest it has run without having to replace the fan. I would not recommend doing this yourself unless you know what you are doing.

Andy, March 2008

u need to check if the fan is running at all also do you have to push button in and manualy lite pilot light and hold in until is lit if so then if pilot stays lit then the thermo couple is working ok but if there is
a fan normaly fan should run first then pilot lites then main burner lights but sounds like youre fans not working so no fumes are beng pulled up in to the combustion chaber and through the heat exchanger and out the flue so cause the flame to get bigger and come out on to the side but all this should be done by competant person who is CORGI be very care full can be very dangerous if you dont now what you doing

Taz, December 2007

This is the same problem that i had with mine. i got a plumber out who then put a new fan in.
it now works as good as new.

lee, September 2007

i had the same problem with mine today I was waiting on ana engineer coming out to fix mine.
I left everything on as usual while i was waiting and the thing just kicked in and started working again.
Im still getting the engineer out though because as you said I think it is just overdue a service.
But thanks for your advice anyway.

s m, October 2006

In a word, yes. The exact same thing has happened to mine. I've had the fan serviced and now all is running fine. I think it's a fail-safe programme so the boiler doesn't fill the room with carbon monoxide when it is unable to vent it into the atmosphere.
New fan would cost around £200 fitted.........

B J B, October 2006