On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 13:51:29 +0100, "Stoney"
wrote:

I finally got a plumber round to look at my failing gas boiler.
Basically system fires up, then when it reaches required temperature it cuts
out - pilot and everything. There is nothing wrong with pilot, thermocouple
etc and I checked the circuit boards.

Just looking at it, he told me that the fault was the gas valve which would
need replacing. Of course, like all his brethren, he is too busy to do this
in the next month or so, but he said it is something I could do myself.

So, is he likely to be correct in his diagnosis?
Is he right to suggest that this job could be done by a competent DIYer?

thanks in advance for any response

Just had a gas valve replaced on my Potterton boiler, which was done
by Potterton's own maintenance company. The engineer changed the PCB
first (although this was not required IMO), then ran through the
simple diagnostic checks which led him to conclude, as I had, that the
gas valve was faulty. He then made a phone call, popped out, came back
with the valve and fitted it.

The actual fitting of the valve is fairly simple, just a few screws,
but you obviously have to make sure that everything is tight and
leak-free. However, the engineer then used some kind of flow meter to
set up the new valve, which I would not have been able to do.

This was all done for a fixed fee, which was nice :-)

Anyway, having said that, I don't see that this is the gas valve, as
it sounds like it is working every time to actually light the burner
(mine was not lighting). The fact that it goes out when hotter makes
me think it is a sensor issue, as others have suggested.


--
Colin Swan