Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit. When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could see a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out? Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it now!


Thanks

D

"David Hearn" wrote in message
...
Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed
in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to
something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit. When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could see
a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple
comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think
its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out?
Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to
have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it
now!


Thanks

D



Wind up your flue. If it is an old style boiler, then get the flue checked
out to see if it isn't being effected by the wind.


---
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Subject: Boiler pilot light went out
From: "David Hearn"
Date: 24/10/03 19:34 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit. When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

Possibly the pilot light thermocouple starting to fail. Get a universal one
from your nearest shed or plumb centre. Under a tenner and a few minutes to
fit. Best to keep a spare handy anyway as they only last a few years.



When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could see a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out? Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it now!


Thanks

Waste of time having boilers serviced IMO. While the boiler is running tap the
gas pipe where it runs into the burner a few times with a lump of wood. That'll
dislodge any crap in it. You'll see the flame flare orange each time you do it
and then it should settle back to blue. As long as the flame is blue everything
is fine.


Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)
I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish,
unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Baker"
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 8:43 PM
Subject: Boiler pilot light went out


Subject: Boiler pilot light went out
From: "David Hearn"
Date: 24/10/03 19:34 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed
in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to
something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit.
When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I
would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

Possibly the pilot light thermocouple starting to fail. Get a universal
one
from your nearest shed or plumb centre. Under a tenner and a few minutes
to
fit. Best to keep a spare handy anyway as they only last a few years.

Are they really universal? I just want to make sure. We had our old boiler
serviced (requirement of house purchasers) and they replaced the
thermocouple at a cost of £15 or so. I've seen them in Screwfix for about
£4. If I was to buy 2 (just in case they wanted to replace both) - what's
the chance they'll use my ones? If I can get two for £10, that's better
than potentially being charged £30 + VAT.

As for fitting it myself, from what I can see, I'd need to take the front of
the boiler itself off to fit the thermocouple - something I don't really
want to do. I have a healthy trust for gas etc - and whilst I may well be
able to do things with it safely (if asking the right questions and taking
it slowly) - I'm certainly not 'competant'.

When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing
this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could
see a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple
comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its
the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple
looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think
its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out?
Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to
have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it
now!


Thanks

Waste of time having boilers serviced IMO. While the boiler is running tap
the
gas pipe where it runs into the burner a few times with a lump of wood.
That'll
dislodge any crap in it. You'll see the flame flare orange each time you
do it
and then it should settle back to blue. As long as the flame is blue
everything
is fine.

My parents never had their boiler serviced (at least, AFAIK), and I'm
inclined to do the same. However, as we didn't have the boiler fitted, its
old, and it does sometimes burn yellow and things (slight bang from it
sometimes - I think when the boiler turns off possibly) - I'd just like it
checked (maybe pressure checked etc) and then from then on, keep an eye on
it myself.

Thanks

D

Subject: Boiler pilot light went out
From: "David Hearn"
Date: 25/10/03 08:34 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Baker"
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 8:43 PM
Subject: Boiler pilot light went out


Subject: Boiler pilot light went out
From: "David Hearn"
Date: 24/10/03 19:34 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed
in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to
something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit.
When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I
would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

Possibly the pilot light thermocouple starting to fail. Get a universal
one
from your nearest shed or plumb centre. Under a tenner and a few minutes
to
fit. Best to keep a spare handy anyway as they only last a few years.

Are they really universal? I just want to make sure. We had our old boiler
serviced (requirement of house purchasers) and they replaced the
thermocouple at a cost of £15 or so. I've seen them in Screwfix for about
£4. If I was to buy 2 (just in case they wanted to replace both) - what's
the chance they'll use my ones? If I can get two for £10, that's better
than potentially being charged £30 + VAT.

As for fitting it myself, from what I can see, I'd need to take the front of
the boiler itself off to fit the thermocouple - something I don't really
want to do. I have a healthy trust for gas etc - and whilst I may well be
able to do things with it safely (if asking the right questions and taking
it slowly) - I'm certainly not 'competant'.

When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing
this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could
see a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple
comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its
the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple
looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think
its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out?
Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to
have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it
now!


Thanks

Waste of time having boilers serviced IMO. While the boiler is running tap
the
gas pipe where it runs into the burner a few times with a lump of wood.
That'll
dislodge any crap in it. You'll see the flame flare orange each time you
do it
and then it should settle back to blue. As long as the flame is blue
everything
is fine.

My parents never had their boiler serviced (at least, AFAIK), and I'm
inclined to do the same. However, as we didn't have the boiler fitted, its
old, and it does sometimes burn yellow and things (slight bang from it
sometimes - I think when the boiler turns off possibly) - I'd just like it
checked (maybe pressure checked etc) and then from then on, keep an eye on
it myself.

Thanks

You'll probably find a sticker somewhere on the boiler that lists the BTU
output at different gas pressures. It doesn't make a scrap of difference what
the pressure is other than affecting the heat output. A friend of mine is a
Corgi gas fitter. He told me years ago that although a fair chunk of his income
came from boiler servicing it was the biggest con in the business from the
customer's point of view and the easiest £50 he ever makes. If there's no
actual fault with a thermocouple or other component all he could do himself was
hoover out any dead insects and dust and tap the gas pipe a few times to
dislodge any crap and that's what he advised me to do. My boiler has been here
(potterton RS50) since I bought the house 17 years ago and was several years
old then. It's never been serviced other than as above and works as well now as
it ever did. I've put two thermocouples on it over the years which is a 10
minute job and I've no doubt saved 17 x £50 on servicing which is more than
enough to buy another boiler if this one ever goes wrong.

You only have to remove the sight glass to change the thermocouple and it
doesn't involve going anywhere near any gas fittings. Anyone reading a DIY
group that owns a couple of spanners ought to be able to do that easily enough.
If you're worried about buying the right thermocouple then tell the shop your
boiler model first.

Dave Baker - Puma Race Engines (www.pumaracing.co.uk)
I'm not at all sure why women like men. We're argumentative, childish,
unsociable and extremely unappealing naked. I'm quite grateful they do though.

In article ,
Dave Baker wrote:
Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I
would assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old
Baxi wall mounted boiler.

Possibly the pilot light thermocouple starting to fail. Get a universal
one from your nearest shed or plumb centre. Under a tenner and a few
minutes to fit. Best to keep a spare handy anyway as they only last a
few years.

IMHO, it's equally likely the pilot jet is dirty so not allowing the
correct sized flame and therefore easily blown out. I'd clean it first.

--
*Generally speaking, you aren't learning much if your lips are moving.*

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

"Dave Baker" wrote in message
...
Subject: Boiler pilot light went out
From: "David Hearn"
Date: 24/10/03 19:34 GMT Daylight Time
Message-id:

Our boiler pilot light went out today. Not sure when - the heating was
working this morning, but wasn't by about 2pm when my wife got home and
turned it back on.

I had some trouble getting it to stay lit - I kept the gas button pressed
in
for 30 seconds as per the instructions, but it didn't stay lit when I
stopped pressing it. In the end I turned the boiler thermostat to
something
other than 'Off' (which the instructions said it should be on). When I
released the gas button, the main burner fired up and it stayed lit.
When
the main burner turned off later, pilot was still lit.

Now - any idea what may have caused this? Problem with the boiler I
would
assume - the chance of the gas running out is low. Its an old Baxi wall
mounted boiler.

Possibly the pilot light thermocouple starting to fail. Get a universal
one
from your nearest shed or plumb centre. Under a tenner and a few minutes
to
fit. Best to keep a spare handy anyway as they only last a few years.



When I'd got the boiler working again, I saw that the burner would pulse
orange. It would be blue, then you'd hear a bit of a 'woosh' and it went
bright orange (whole burner) and then went blue again. It kept doing
this
on a 5 second or so cycle. After its been on for a couple of hours, its
burning continuous blue again. Oh, and when it went 'woosh' you could
see a
little puff of something come out the whole where the top thermocouple
comes
out - which worried me.

Therefore I've booked the boiler in for a service on the 3rd Nov - its
the
first time we'll have had it serviced since we moved here in May. Looks
like its not been serviced in a while (though the pilot thermocouple
looks
quite clean and shiny!). We've had a little CO check thing next to the
boiler, and it hasn't gone dark. Since noticing the puff of something, I
moved the CO check thing to just above the thermocouple hole and I think
its
gone a little darker than it may have - but its certainly not "grey or
black" as the thing says to check for.

So - any initial thoughts about the cause of the pilot light going out?
Any
problems you think I've got with my boiler? I certainly don't want to
have
to replace it!

I was already planning on getting it serviced - just made sure I did it
now!


Thanks

Waste of time having boilers serviced IMO. While the boiler is running tap
the
gas pipe where it runs into the burner a few times with a lump of wood.
That'll
dislodge any crap in it. You'll see the flame flare orange each time you
do it
and then it should settle back to blue. As long as the flame is blue
everything
is fine.

The crap is likely to be soot deposits on the surfaces of the heat
exchanger, not anything inside the gas pipe itself, and where's the crap
going to go? When you decoke an engine to you dump the stuff you scrape off
inside the cylinders or the sump? :-)

And if there's fluff bunging up the airways of the burner percussive
maintenance isn't going to help either!

From the OP's description this machine needs proper attention.


--
John Stumbles
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The most dangerous component in a car is the nut that holds the steering
wheel