RIP Glow Worm 38cxi
Jake
We woke yesterday morning in a cold house with no hot water to wash
with --- the boiler had died in the night.
It's a Glow Worm 38cxi that's a year and a half old. Until now it's
been fine. Now though it has no sign of life. No lights on at all,
which indicates a PCB problem to me.
I've called Glow Worm who've been very little help and had no sympathy
at all. Despite the fact we have a one month old son wrapped in
blankets all day trying to keep warm.
Anyway they're sending an engineer out next Tuesday but I want to fix
it before then if I can. What's the best bet? Call an independent
plumber and pay for the parts even though it's under warranty? What
about a DIY job where I get a new circuit board and see if that fixes
it?
For future protection what are people's thoughts on insurance for the
boiler?
Jake
Jim Alexander
"Jake" <jakeh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168614674.3...@38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all,
>
> We woke yesterday morning in a cold house with no hot water to wash
> with --- the boiler had died in the night.
>
> It's a Glow Worm 38cxi that's a year and a half old. Until now it's
> been fine. Now though it has no sign of life. No lights on at all,
> which indicates a PCB problem to me.
>
> I've called Glow Worm who've been very little help and had no sympathy
> at all. Despite the fact we have a one month old son wrapped in
> blankets all day trying to keep warm.
>
so you haven't gone out to get an electric heater yet? Do so now, its
cheaper than meddling with the boiler.
> Anyway they're sending an engineer out next Tuesday but I want to fix
> it before then if I can. What's the best bet? Call an independent
> plumber and pay for the parts even though it's under warranty?
in that case DEFINATELY don't meddle
>What
> about a DIY job where I get a new circuit board and see if that fixes
> it?
>
Not clear whether you are saying you have a contract with GlowWorm and
the're coming Tues (which isn't good) or you don't have a contract with
GlowWorm and the're coming Tues (which isn't bad) because some people will
have a contract with GlowWorm which defines the response time which GlowWorm
needs to achieve.
> For future protection what are people's thoughts on insurance for the
> boiler?
If you are not confident with the risk of losing heating and especially hot
water then then get a maintenance contract.
For example, and I'm not advocating or recommending a BG maintenance
contract, but the baby would probably make you a priority case.
Jim A
Ed Sirett
I'm not trying to egg you on beyond you level of competence also you don't
want to upset GW as it's still under warranty?
I presume that you have the service manual to hand?
Was does the fault finding chart say in section 13 starting on page 39?
Do you have external power?
--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs here: http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards
raden
<jakeh...@gmail.com> writes
>Hi all,
>
>We woke yesterday morning in a cold house with no hot water to wash
>with --- the boiler had died in the night.
>
>It's a Glow Worm 38cxi that's a year and a half old. Until now it's
>been fine. Now though it has no sign of life. No lights on at all,
>which indicates a PCB problem to me.
>
--
geoff
Jake
replaced this morning and it's working again fine.
He charged £160, which included 120 for the new fan. Glow Worm were
going to send an engineer out on Tuesday for £105 just for labour -
parts free, under warranty. So I've spent an extra 55quid but I've got
three days with heating and just had a lovely hot shower.
Must remember to cancel the Glow Worm engineer...
I asked the plumber whether it was worth him servicing it while he was
there. It's "a load of bullshit" according to him, so I didn't bother.
Hopefully I'll get another 18 months hassle-free hot water from it now.
Thanks for the feedback by the way.
Jake
JoeJoe
came to fix under warranty did not have a spare fan, as "they all but never
fail". That got me thinking, and I asked him to investigate further. It
turned out that: 1. The flue was fitted pointing downwards towards the
boiler, and 2. the plasterer that roughcasted the external wall did not
cover it before doing so (all was part of a big building work by the same
contractor). The engineer then recovered two handfuls of gravel from the
fan's casing that caused it to fail... It failed after a few days of
torrential rain.
PS: we are all having a "reunion" meeting at the Small Claims Court next
month....
"Jake" <jakeh...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1168695320....@v45g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
Jim Alexander
>replaced this morning and it's working again fine.
>I asked the plumber whether it was worth him servicing it while he was
>there. It's "a load of bullshit" according to him, so I didn't bother.
Well if that's his opinion I'm not going to disagree however the
manufacturer's recommendation is annually. In fact the second year parts
warranty requires the boiler to have been serviced after 12 months. Well
done for your persistence but I think you got off lightly as you nearly also
bought a PCB.
Jim A
Doctor Drivel
> Hi all,
>
> We woke yesterday morning in a cold house with no hot water to wash
> with --- the boiler had died in the night.
>
> It's a Glow Worm 38cxi that's a year and a half old. Until now it's
> been fine. Now though it has no sign of life. No lights on at all,
> which indicates a PCB problem to me.
Are you actualy getting power to it?
Glow Worm are replacing a component to do with the DHW side of CXi. It has
been failing too frequently. They don't like the material used, and will be
replacing it with a part made from copper. Not sure what the part is.
Phil L
If I were you, I'd say bollocks to the cover too...it's cost you £160 in the
past 2 years, this equates to £80 per year....BG charge about £150 per year,
so you are quids in already...I've never had a problem with mine in 6 years,
apart from it going off occasionally, which requires a simple reset....also
as your boiler gets older, they want more and more to cover it - you'd be as
well putting the £150 PA in a high interest account and having a new one
fitted every 6 years.
an old lady I know paid into this 'scheme' for 5 years and when the boiler
eventually required attention, BG just turned up and pointblank refused to
do anything with it and said that she needed a new boiler as hers was 'past
it'...she rang a local plumber who charged her <£100 for fitting a new part
and it's still going strong 3 years later.
raden
<neverc...@hotmail.com> writes
My last boiler (fitted myself) lasted 18 years and was still working
fine when I replaced it (free gift from a gas shop)
In those 18 years, the secondary heat exchanger went (because I flushed
the system prolly) and the fan needed replacing (which of course cost me
nothing)
Even if they had cost to have someone do the work for me, it would
prolly have cost me a total of £400 max
Insurance contracts ?
an expensive waste of money
--
geoff
Tony Bryer
> Well if that's his opinion I'm not going to disagree however the
> manufacturer's recommendation is annually
Though IIRC the manual on my CXi is somewhat muddled when it comes
to servicing - it gives you instructions on removing the burner,
then goes on to say that normally you wouldn't do this. I'll
confess that mine hasn't been touched since installed.
--
Tony Bryer SDA UK 'Software to build on' http://www.sda.co.uk
Jake
> 1. The flue was fitted pointing downwards towards the
> boiler, and 2. the plasterer that roughcasted the external wall did not
> cover it before doing so (all was part of a big building work by the same
> contractor). The engineer then recovered two handfuls of gravel from the
> fan's casing that caused it to fail... It failed after a few days of
> torrential rain.
Having thought about this some more I think the problem with mine was
very similar. I think rain water has entered the flue and broken the
fan. On the morning I found it broken there was a puddle beneath the
boiler. I'd seen it dripping in the past - albeit very slowly - from
"inside" the boiler. There must have been a massive storm the night it
broke and it flooded the fan.
Is this one of them things or should it be covered as it's somebody
else's fault?
Jake
JoeJoe
My boiler (and I suspect others) have a small hole at the bottom of the flue
just before the boiler itself to allow for rain water which manages to enter
the flue to drain into the overflow of the system. However, this is only
meant for very minimal amount of water (a few rain drops), and is why the
flue needs to be fitted pointing downwards in the first place. Also, you may
want to have a look inside from the outside to make sure that nothing
managed to enter and block it (leaves, etc).
Tony Bryer
> The flue was fitted pointing downwards towards the
> boiler,
On a condensing boiler it should.
Mary Hinge
Jake wrote:
> Having thought about this some more I think the problem with mine was
> very similar. I think rain water has entered the flue and broken the
> fan. On the morning I found it broken there was a puddle beneath the
> boiler. I'd seen it dripping in the past - albeit very slowly - from
> "inside" the boiler. There must have been a massive storm the night it
> broke and it flooded the fan.
The Glow-worm CXI is a condensing boiler and as such is designed so
that condensate produced by combustion will drain down the flue, back
into the heat exchanger and out of the condensate drain, and therefore
any outside water ingress into the flue should not cause a problem.
If you found water obviously leaking from inside the boiler this would
indicate a leak which if not rectified could result in another failure
(more likely a failed PCB than fan though I would have thought?).
MH