Ideal Isar He30 leak

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Gruntfuttock, May 8, 2010.

  1. Gruntfuttock

    Gruntfuttock New Member

    I am the sorry owner of an Ideal HE30, which has developed a leak. Pressure is lost and the leak occurs when using CH although the DHW seems ok. Water is dripping from the rear of the the heat exchanger between it and the interpanel on the left more or less above the diverter. Two PCB's failed over the last couple of years along with occasional loop pressure loss so the leak was probably the culprit all along, but it is now noticable. Any ideas on the culprit and how expensive or catastrophic this is would be much appreciated.
     
  2. metaldust9

    metaldust9 New Member

    sounds like your expansion vessal or the pipe off it gone
    not the best of boilers and 2 boards and loosing water u will have to remove the boiler to change it or fix it so probs better to swap it for better boiler anyway if ye got your instrutions it shows you in the installation part, part 62
    but if you go off these lot on here i no nothing,get someone round to have a look but dont comit to nothing with out showing you were the leak is
    good luck m8
     
  3. 4.6 GT

    4.6 GT New Member

    get a fixed price repair. then get it covered on a maintainance plan.Yes they are rubbish, and when this leak's fixed something else will fail in 6months.BG do an on call assist for for about £160
     
  4. metaldust9

    metaldust9 New Member

    yep agree 4 gt but will probs cost about £400 to fix it so probs better getting something like a potterton performa fitted should cost around £900 all in and last yrs as £160 on top of 400 false econemy
     
  5. Bungditin.

    Bungditin. New Member

    Yes in the long run the boiler will cost you so if you can get a new one the BG repair is £160 all in total cost with parts.
     
  6. metaldust9

    metaldust9 New Member

    yep £160 good if covered or buy normal engineer what i said above probs end up with loads probs tho cos once start going other stuff goes
     
  7. Gruntfuttock

    Gruntfuttock New Member

    Thanks for the input guys, it does seem to be good money after bad. A pity, as the boiler wasn't cheap and it's not that old.
     
  8. Chompy Chippy

    Chompy Chippy New Member

    Gruntfuttock, how old is the boiler?

    When I was doing research before choosing a boiler around 5 years ago, my initial choice - prior to research - was the Ideal Isar as I'd always had good results from Ideal boilers in the past - even the boiler I was replacing was an old, very reliable Ideal Mexico.

    However, it didn't take much research to find a common theme with the (first generation?) Isars; PCB damage due to internal water leaks. I can't remember the exact cause - either corroding exchangers, or the burner being located at the bottom of the chamber so's water dripped on to it, or something similar.

    Suffice to say, tho', this is a common and recognised fault. As such, providing the cause of your problem is similar to this, then you should have just cause to claim from the manufacturer.

    http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews153360.html
     
  9. EXPERTGASMAN

    EXPERTGASMAN New Member

    it so probs better getting something like a potterton
    performa fitted should cost around £900 all in a


    ***. Who would fit a boiler for £900 ALL IN!!!??. I'm sure you are going to spend time flushing and cleaning included in price. **
     
  10. metaldust9

    metaldust9 New Member

    me and i said around £900 all in also pott performa £585 +vat means £300 for day or day and halfs work if you go for vokera pro combi £400 so you make £500 for same work anything else is just riping people off
     
  11. EXPERTGASMAN

    EXPERTGASMAN New Member

    OMG. You can't even add up!
    £585+VAT = £687.39, So we are starting at a basic Gross profit of £212.61. Thats assumming that you aren't VAT registered, otherwwise you lose a further £35 approx. Thats also before you have purchased your fittings, pipe, cleansing chemichals etc. Thats also before you have paid your fixed costs, inc Public Liability. Always assuming you have it.........
     
  12. metaldust9

    metaldust9 New Member

    oh rite £212 for a boiler swap which takes a day to do, so 2 a week gives, you £424 pound a week or 1 a day gives u £1100 a week or £4500 a month sounds good dosh to me add to that cookers or full systems and yes i have public liability
     
  13. EXPERTGASMAN

    EXPERTGASMAN New Member

    1 a day gives u £1100 a week or £4500 a month sounds good dosh to me add to that cookers or full systems and yes i have public liability

    SO: you can do a boiler VERY day, plus some Full systems, ,oh, and chuck in a few cooker fits!

    You MAY have PLI, but you don't have a business, mate.

    Your clever calculation still forgot to include the cost of materials and flushing agents, or the ridiculously high fixed costs that we have to bear as, predominantly, one man and his wife businesses.

    I (tried to) read your post on Unvented and G3. I didn't understand what the hell you were saying. Is this how you communicate in real life?
     
  14. Gentlemen, assuming you are both professional plumbers, could you tell the OP some useful info, please?

    Is the fault he is experiencing typical of that model? If so, what should he do?

    My rusty recollections are that Ideal finally (tho' possibly not publicly) accepted that their first Isar model had a design flaw. And that they paid for repairs?

    Depending on the fault, and how old his boiler is, I reckon the OP very probably has a case against them. He could easily take out a small claims against them if they don't help out.

    (He could also mention to them that he'll keep a running commentary on this forum on its progress... That ought to help focus their minds.)
     
  15. andys342

    andys342 Member

    im going to an icos tomorrow which has had a replacement heat exchanger installed by ideal under warranty this week 2 men sent to do the job didn't even vent half the rads or replace inhibitor says something about customer service
     
  16. Gruntfuttock

    Gruntfuttock New Member

    I finally got a BG guy in and it seems that the expansion tank had zero pressure (probably from new)after repressurising...no more leak. The weird thing is that there was no way to determine where the water had been leaking from. It was just somewhere up and between the heat exchanger and the rear plate on the left. The pressure is now stable for the first time. If somebody else has an Isar with a dripping leak, perhaps this post will help. I was also advised to leave off the bottom plate, as leaks on this model can apparently short the PCB (I've replaced twice).
    Thanks to everyone who posted for their insight.
     
  17. Mantor9.5

    Mantor9.5 New Member

    Thanks for the update.

    As I understand it, lack of pressure in the expansion tank will allow the system's pressure to build up (as the water heats up) without being accommodated by the expansion vessel.

    What happens then is that the pressure builds up excessively. Usually, this triggers the PRV to open and release the excess water and pressure. This can be seen by water being ejected from the safety discharge pipe (the end of which should be outside the building at a low level.)

    It sounds from you case as tho' the increased pressure is causing leaks at joints instead?!
     
  18. EXPERTGASMAN

    EXPERTGASMAN New Member

    Mantor is probably on the right track. If there are no leaks now, it suggests that the leak is either on the PRV itself, or on the pipework taking the water away to outside.
     
  19. EXPERTGASMAN

    EXPERTGASMAN New Member

    Okay, just looked at exploded dioagram, and the PV isn't in the right location, according to the OPs asssertion of the location of the leak. Bit weird, (and thought of this as I write) unless its leaking at the PRV outlet connection - and "jetting" to the left.

    Did you pay BG fot the fixed fee repair? If so, shouldn't he have investigated the location of the leak? What is their free call back period, in the event of the vessel losing it's pressure again, or the drip reappearing?
     
  20. Mantor9.5

    Mantor9.5 New Member

    What I was trying to suggest was that the increase in pressure was causing leaks other than that through or around the PRV - or possibly in addition to. In which case the leaks could be anywhere...
     

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