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worcester bosch 28i rsf is not igniting?

combi boiler worcester bosch 28i rsf will not ignite when the heating is turned on or when hot water is required this happened a few months back engineer came out and blew in tubes to the air pressure switch this seemed to fix fault. i have tried this but not much luck wont ignite

david andrew ellis, April 2007

home Fix label Heating label_important Home Heating Systems category Worcesterdone

Dave from May 2013

You legend!!! I hope you get this message, 7 years later and your advice is still helping people.

It was indeed the 'nipple' on top of the boiler that needed pushing to reigniter the burner. Brilliant!

Thank you so so much, saved me the £275 call out fee.

Rich, June 2020

Bank holiday Monday no heating or hot water. The rubber pipe was white. But taking off both ends and blowing through it and using the reset button worked wonders. Thank you.

Gary, May 2017

Where is the red pipe? Can you only see this by removing the casing?

Claire, March 2017

Mine was the gas valve when tested with multimeter was the bottom coil was down, was disappointed that you could not buy the part separately and had to buy the complete unit, which was around £130.

Other possible causes
Check gas supply and correct pressure
Could also be leads to the electrodes (check for resistance) or the electrodes ceramic cracked or to big a gap which would not ignite the gas,
Blocked flue
or condensate tank full or blocked pipes.

Pete, December 2016

Blew into pipes, checked boiler pressure and pushed the safety cut off switch on the top to reset it and it worked. Just saved me 80 odd quif or more. Cheers guys

jammymofo, January 2016

I had same. but, what cleared it was a full clean out of the injectors and units of build up of old coke and dirt. not just the edges and around it. the whole insides of it. once done it fired up first time and every time. hot water now properly very hot. hope this also helps.

GS, December 2015

well thanks for your advice i blew from both ends of the red pipe when it was connected and done the same for the white on and all seems to be working now ,i taped the pannell on the bottom left and it ignited still not sure if that is it fixed compleatly but its working now ye ha

Ronnie, February 2015

We have started having the same issue. 28i, good as gold but sometimes just doesn't fire. New APV, processor, fan tubes. Have found the pinching the red tube for a few seconds results in a small click and the boiler fires good as gold again.

But why is this happening and so commonly at that?

Tony, January 2015

Been having the same problem for a couple of months now, engineer came round and told me it was the fan...140 pounds later and still no heating or hot water!
Just tried blowing in the red pipe and still not firing up until I blew in the white one also....Success!
Thanks Guys!!

Darron, January 2015

I had similar prob...solved by oiling fan ..yeehar

Dave in june, November 2014

This forum really helped. What worked for me was two things.

1. The water pressure had dropped. This is fixed by looking underneath the boiler. There you will find a silver pipe with a tap. Turn it on and fill the system. 2.5 Bar max.

2. On top of the boiler you will find two plastic fittings. The rear one is the cap. This I did not use, but the front one is safety switch. The should be a 'nipple' seated inside this. If the nipple has popped up press it in and the gas should ignite.

This should help avoid un-necessarily opening the system up.

Hope this helps people.

Dave, May 2013

just did the blow red tube and it worked after a few attempts - along with a loud bang and judder! Does that sound OK? I have heating and hot water now but it didn't half make me jump!

missbee, March 2013

hi the oil on fan worked!

tim of cheltenham, February 2013

Please can anyone tell me if the same trick works with a 15Ri model? I'm not sure how to take off the front panel.

AP, February 2013

we have just followed these tips we blew down the red hose and nothing happened but we thought the fan felt stiff so loosened it and sprayed some wd40 on it connected back up and it all fired up, thank god for the internet we canget the kids warm again !!!!

mandy and wayne, February 2013

The Red pipe trick works Thankyou, saved me money :)

darren, February 2013

British Gas cannot fix my 9 year old Bosch Worcester 28i RSF. They have changed the air pressure switch, fan and circuit board and it is still cutting out every few days. One of their engineers told me to blow down the red tube to get it working but my boiler is in the loft and I am getting to old to climb up the ladder every time the boiler fails to ignite.
Surely someone has the solution to this problem.
My old Potterton lasted 27 years and never even had a service. Any advice please.

Angela, January 2013

Woke up today with no heating or hot water. Had electricians coming to change MCB so no electric all day either. Called British Gas and Worcester Bosch who could not come out until Wednesday next week and still wanted £376 (BG). Read everyones comments and the red pipe trick it was the blowing that worked brilliantly. Thank you so much for your postings. Can not believe that is all it took and that otherwise we would have to wait just under a week (6 day's) and pay nearly £400. Just hope it keeps going now. I have never tried anything like that before and it was so simple to do. If you have the same problem fast flashing air flow indicator and no ignition light worth a try.

Leigh, January 2013

Hi all

Tried all of the above and my Worcester Bosch 28i RSF still wasn't fully functional.

When i disconnected the red tube and blew into it i heard the clicking the boiler fired up but then when i reconnected and pinched it numerous times i still got nothing.

I traced the red tube as it changed to steel pipe up the side casing which changed back to the red tube and then which attached to the fan. I pulled the red tube off the fan and blew straight through that red tube, the steel pipe and the bottom section of red tube for blockages and it was all clear.

I then checked the fan itself and it was a little stiff. I loosened it up and got it running a lot easier and then connected everything back up.... Now working like a dream - Success!!!!!!

Jim Smith - Wannabee Gas Engineer!!!, January 2013

Hi all, the blow in the red tube trick... is this whilst the boiler is switched on? Tried it when the boiler is off (I'm the cautious type). TIA

Andy G, November 2012

Brilliant!!! thank you so much for advice. You have just saved me a fortune. I tried pinching the red tube...nothing, then read a bit further and felt for the safty valve and woosch....I'm back in business, boiler ignited and everything working spledidly

Sue, September 2012

Have tried all of the above, blowing into the red hose, which then triggers the electronic ignition to try and start up, however flame will still not ignite. On top of the boiler there are two little plastic knobs, one with red cap over it and the other a seemingly stationary knob with a crosshair on it. Running out of patience but not willing to call out engineer as of right now, any suggestions? Thanks

Dan w., June 2012

My Worcester Bosch 28i RSF combi boiler.when running water it tries to start up,fires up then goes out,it keeps doing this,this happens for about 5 minutes then it suddenly fires.When the heating comes on its the same,it tries for about five minutes,clicking on then off,then it fires up and runs ok for the whole time its been set for,at this stage water is fine also.I have tried the red pipe trick,but its not worked.Aslo had a plumberin he replaced the flame guard,but still no luck.

harold, February 2012

had the same problem with igniting my worcster 28i boiler. did what people say removed front cover to show the two pipes in bottom right corner, i pinched the red my pipe for 5 seconds repeated this twice and all was in working order.

alan, September 2010

The red hose trick worked for me too. My 28i boiler is 5yrs old and just stoped working yesterday, there was no flame in burner viewing window. Worcester wanted £210 to send an engineer out. I disconnected the connection from top of red pipe and blew down it so i heard a clicking sound, then reconnected it and it just started working perfectly again. Many Thanks!

Mike, August 2010

Thanks!!!!!!!! i knew the internet was good for something. Red tube trick just saved me a call out as well. How pleased am i ???

Paul, May 2010

Bob H and Dave, thanks a million, been having same problem on and off for months now, and each time the engineer came round, he'd charge £80 and £60, repectivley for about 10 mins job. first time using this site and tried the blowing of the red tube (unbeleivable) boler just fired up!
I have a worcester 24i.

Thanks again

Cliff

Cliff, March 2010

Just had the same problem. Running with hot water tap and nothing, central heating wasn't working either.

Opened up the front and tried the Rubber tube trick, nothing happened, then shuffled the thing it was attached to around a little and gave it another blow. Next time I tried it all fired up perfectly.

Thanks for saving me an expensive call out, very much appreciated.

Dave, March 2010

Hi Guys, Ive got this boiler and had similar problems. I,ve not tried taking the rubber tubing off but hell if it works why not!
I would suggest two things
1) These boilers are fitted with a safety cut out system, so firstly check that the safety switch has not been activated. This is situated on top of the casing.There are two things (sorry cant think what to call them) on top. One has a little plastic cover on it, and the other does not. The "does not" is the safety valve.If there is a small plastic protrusion coming from it that means the cut out has been activated and you need to push the plastic protrusion back in. Once youve done that you should be good to go.
2)Yes its the red tubing trick with a twist. Try pinching the tubing for 3-4 seconds and then release. Again you should be good to go.
Hope that helps

Bob H, February 2010

Got same problem can hear the system go on and can hear flow and a humming noise coming from the boiler but no hot water or heating. Am I supposed to see a light/flame in the small glass viewing area? As I have nothing in there, I have tried turning the heat control knob fully anti clock wise then fully clockwise but cannot see any flame or hear any activity. I have tried pulling off the red tube and blowing into it and can hear the click on and off so that does not seem jammed. I can just see me getting somebody out and paying an extortianate amount for what maybe a easy/small job. Had the pump replaced about a year ago. Damn this boiler.

Bryan, January 2010

Try the air pressure switch. My boiler did exactly the same and I spent money on a new fan assembly, only to find this wasn't the cause. Take the front panel off the boiler and look to the bottom right of the boiler where you see 2 hoses. One red and one white. Gently pull the red one off the connection and blow into the hose. Then reconnect the hose this should light the boiler, if not just repeat the process. Then order yourself a new air pressure switch

liz, April 2009

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