Cental Heating System

[Zubar]

Hi,
Our central heating system stopped working yesterday morning, but then started working again yesterday evening.
It was working when I put it on this morning at 5am, but then stopped working again two hours later.
I have turned the boiler knob around to ‘reset’ and then turned it to the right to turn the boiler on, but it won’t fire up!
Any ideas.....?
Many Thanks,
Zubar.

[donny48]

What type or make of boiler is it. Have you got power to it. Have you got fuel.
Is the timer set incorrectly.

[Togo]

Do you have a room thermostat that is perhaps set very low say 12c ? That would allow the heating to come on when it is very cold(say 5am in the morning)but would prevent the boiler from firing again if the house is a little warmer after you have run the heating for a while.

[TWR]

When was it last serviced Zubar? our's act's the goat when the Jets / Pilot light is Fluffed up.

[donny48]

Togo, the poster said it took two hours for the boiler to cut out, If the thermostat was set too low then it probably should have cut out sooner. To take two hours to reach your example would seem poor.

[Zubar]

The thermostat has been adjusted and it makes no difference at all. The boiler is a Glowworm Micron.....

[donny48]

Have you got the manual, there is a fault finding sequence in it. Have you got a sealed system or open vent.

[Zubar]

I just wondered if it could be 'kettling'? We were hearing a lot of banging noises coming from the boiler before it shut down today....

[donny48]

A useful page,
https://www.sentinelprotects.com/uk/support/guides/how-to-stop-boiler-noise
Does any of this apply to you.

[bhg481]

A possible cause of the problem is the thermocouple - the device which cuts off the gas if the pilot light goes out. It's usually easy and cheap to replace (I've done mine myself in the past). They are set to fail-safe, in other words if it goes wrong the gas gets cut off.

[donny48]

Without actually being there it's very difficult to diagnose problems, bhg481 has suggested a possible cause , a very logical cause but there are so many things that can cause problems.

[donny48]

To follow up on possible thermostat failure. Have you got a pilot light when you look at the boiler now. Go through your lighting sequence which should involve holding a switch in for a short while, does the pilot light up at all, does it go out when you release the switch.

[alavahalf]

When I went outside this morning at 04.30am we had the best frost of the year .. to date !
Check the condensate pipe .. it might be frozen, this does shut down boilers...they go into a fail safe mode.

[donny48]

Alavahaf, the poster has already said that the boiler started allright at 5am but then stopped two hours later, this would seem to preclude the condensate.

[alavahalf]

Sorry should have mentioned one thing about the banging .. air in the system would cause banging .. go round all the radiators and bleed them, then reset your pressure on the mains inlet. Just trying the simple things first, may save some money .. sorry got to go out now.

[razza]

Alavalhalf is correct,Ive had this a few times till i insulated it,havent had a problem since.Before i insulated it,I poured hot water over it,soon came back on.

[donny48]

Razza, look at my post at 9.24. The poster really has to check the elementary things first , such as have they got power.

[donny48]

Alavahaf, we do not know , since the poster has not answered the question, whether the system is a sealed or an open vent. The water pressure idea would only apply to a sealed system.

[donny48]

Until there is further input from the poster there seems no point in guessing.

[Zubar]

Many thanks for all of your replies, what kind people you all are! We had a ball-cock replaced on a feeder tank in the loft a fortnight ago, and it turns out the man who did this ( he was from HomeServe) left the water level in the tank too low. The man from GasPlus came this afternoon and resolved the problem very quickly! Phew....
Peace & Love To You All.

[bhg481]

Glad you got it fixed and thanks for letting us know the solution - we all learn from that.