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Help on Vortex please

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Bunker

Serviced an external vortex a few weeks ago, no problems.
Custard rang back a few days later to say there is a nasty stain on the wall next to it...I returned and lifted the lid, found the air vent has been letting by (surprise surprise) obviously for some time. I closed it off, job done.
Custard the rings a few days later and says terrible banging etc and rads over heating..
Popped back today and found the control stat wasnt working so changed that (always have one of those on board). I still heard kettling so opened AAV which hissed and steamed a bit but settled, so shut it off again.

Custard just called again after I got home to say worse than before.

So, new stat (yes in pocket),
AAV knackered,
Kettling.

Im going over there in a mo to change the AAV (gravity system but will snatch it).

Anything else spring to your minds?

aaaarrrrggghhhh
 
Overheating issue due to poor circulation maybe?

Pump? Airlock? Blocked cold feed (shudder)?
 
As op, all rads getting very hot so weirdly don't think it's circ.
 
sounds more like cold feed issue, sucking air in hence the aav needing to work :)
 
Hang the ballcock up and mark the level, snatch the aav and drain a buckets worth of water out and then check if the level has fallen?

see if the cold feed is blocked?
 
Pile of poo boiler.
If the auto air vent leaks it drips onto the circulating pump and frys it!
 
Check where the cold feed comes in with a magnet and see if it sticks. If so, cap off and convert to sealed system.
 
Not long been back, top tip: NEVER try to snatch an AAV on a boiled boiler.....wtf was I thinking. Fortunately an external so was wearing thick leather gloves (freezing cold down here) but still managed some nasty scalds up my arm!! ****.
Anyway, new AAV on but still kettling away. Pump seems to be ok but f&e tank steaming. Cannot find fill or vent, not even any boxing, must be in the wall somewhere!!! Totally stumped. New stat seems ineffective too. This has only happened since I serviced it apparently. Weird.
What if the wrong nozzle went in? I've had this alot recently, wrong nozzles in the pots. Should be a 1.20, what if a 2.00 went in and I had reset the air to suit co2? Still the stat should kick in first eh?
 
would have to be a damn big nozzle to kick the heat up fast enough to kettle it that badly....

i'm betting no auto bypass ?
 
Killy Bing said:
would have to be a damn big nozzle to kick the heat up fast enough to kettle it that badly....

i'm betting no auto bypass ?
Click to expand...

Your right but there was a gate valve in the f and the r!!! I only found these after the steaming geyser incident :)
 
You need to find the feed and vent in the morning. I hate "it was fine until you touched it" jobs.

You only have their word to go on, which judging some of the A holes out there isn't much. I feel for you. Snatching an AAV on a red hot boiler. LOL. I would have liked to have watched, lets put it that way.
 
Is the pump wired back to the boiler correctly? Has the frost stat 'stuck' on? As already said check f+e.

I'd ask cust to have it cold for my arrival to see how quickly it heats up.

Hope your arms are ok
 
hmm,if it is the wrong nozzle then you've found your issue but if not then did you adjust the pump pressure ? could you errr put the pressure to the wrong nozzle size ?

to kettle that badly then the heat must just be sitting in the boiler hence my question about the auto bypass, if the two ports shutting and the heat cant get away.

it isn't the combi is it ?
 
You haven't left the "TEST" button left on have you? Not that it explains everything but I did that once. Ha.
 
Surely it would be need to be massively over fuelled to have that affect on the stat? After saying that though I'd be checking everything I did first to rule it out even though some will expect all their systems woes sorting by getting you to service it and blaming you afterwards.

Does sound more of a system fault than burner issues, what were the FGA readings?
 
Bunker said:
Not long been back, top tip: NEVER try to snatch an AAV on a boiled boiler.....wtf was I thinking. Fortunately an external so was wearing thick leather gloves (freezing cold down here) but still managed some nasty scalds up my arm!! ****.
Anyway, new AAV on but still kettling away. Pump seems to be ok but f&e tank steaming. Cannot find fill or vent, not even any boxing, must be in the wall somewhere!!! Totally stumped. New stat seems ineffective too. This has only happened since I serviced it apparently. Weird.
What if the wrong nozzle went in? I've had this alot recently, wrong nozzles in the pots. Should be a 1.20, what if a 2.00 went in and I had reset the air to suit co2? Still the stat should kick in first eh?
Click to expand...

Are you sure the nozzle size you stated is correct?

1.2/80S will give you a heat output of 41.5 Kw.

2.0/80S will give you 72 Kw output if the boiler can exchange that blast of heat and the largest (unless a special order) external Grant Vortex is not designed to handle more than 46 Kw.

Change the nozzle back to manufacturers specifications or you will have to be replacing the baffles as well.

Of course the above only applies if you used a 2 (US) gallon nozzle as your post suggests.
 
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Im with roger I would go with the frost stat as this overides everything
 
Grant Vortex Pro External Combi internal view.jpgAs I said earlier. This won't cause the problem of it steaming/boiling (as the stat should still cut in and out) but I did once leave the "service" switch on in a boiler I serviced. Which will keep the burner on/off with the stat.
 
IF it is a combi, and you have dislodged its stat for the hot water storage.

would it not continually boil itself ?
 
Killy Bing said:
IF it is a combi, and you have dislodged its stat for the hot water storage.

would it not continually boil itself ?
Click to expand...
Don't think you can dislodge those very easily, they can be a sod to get out.

Overheat would kick in before this anyway?

im going all in on Satronic box.
 
Seen boilers overheating & coming under pressure & water & steam coming out of them if you open a nut - all due to lack of water in the boiler.
 
Thanks for the input so far. No not a combi. Frost stat sounds interesting if that really does bypass the stats (why would it bypass them?).
 
This thought has just occurred to me -
Are you sure the control stat limiter is set to BELOW the max limit point & not ABOVE the max limiter, therefore boiler will always be running well over the maximum heat it is supposed to?
I have seen this done by an engineer twice on one boiler! When you replaced the control stat it would have been an easy mistake!
 
Best said:
This thought has just occurred to me -
Are you sure the control stat limiter is set to BELOW the max limit point & not ABOVE the max limiter, therefore boiler will always be running well over the maximum heat it is supposed to?
I have seen this done by an engineer twice on one boiler! When you replaced the control stat it would have been an easy mistake!
Click to expand...

Someone else said this today, or that maybe I wired it up wrongly with the 2 spades swapped over. Good point thanks
 
Bunker said:
Someone else said this today, or that maybe I wired it up wrongly with the 2 spades swapped over. Good point thanks
Click to expand...

Does sound like perhaps you fixed a fault & maybe caused another. The AAV will leak with extra heat at it anyhow.
I saw a Grant boiler that did similar thing & that was caused by a engineer fitting the control stat to wrong side of limiter. I changed it to correct position & he came back next time & said it was wrong & changed it back! :smile: Out I went again to a badly kettling boiler !
 
Do you mean he had pushed the knob in with the wire underneath the prong? Out of interest, the knob that cane with the new stat didnt have a wire built into it.
 
Bunker said:
Do you mean he had pushed the knob in with the wire underneath the prong? Out of interest, the knob that cane with the new stat didnt have a wire built into it.
Click to expand...

Yes, I haven't looked at them for a long while, so don't know if they are any different, but from memory that is basically what happened, - he had pushed the knob in with the turn movement beyond the prong, above the supposed maximum limit.
 
Best said:
he had pushed the knob in with the turn movement beyond the prong, above the supposed maximum limit.
Click to expand...
Sounds like what I may have done....oops, but still should trip the limit stat surely?
 
Bunker said:
Sounds like what I may have done....oops, but still should trip the limit stat surely?
Click to expand...

Yes, it still has the limit stat, but the Vortex boiler I saw banged & rumbled really badly just due to the control stat in wrong position.
 
This is a very interesting thread, I've had a few faulty on/off switches (4 connections) that has put power to some things and not others, does all kind of odd things :S
But "kettling" can also be caused by a system not being cleaned and muck getting lodged in the boiler and slowing the flow rate causing "kettling", powerflush does the job :)
 
Dannypipe said:
Bunker, you have an update for us mate?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not. The custard called back the bloke who fitted it the next day who rang me (I know him) but he hasnt got back to me since. There was also an oil leak next to the cabinet where he had install it a couple of inches off the wall with a compression elbow on the line - impossible to get to. Im thinking the installer is peeved at me for dropping him in it..I didnt mean to, would have got to the bottom of it but it was the custards choice.
 
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