My sister has a problem with her central heating boiler - it's getting
worse and she is getting no satisfaction from the service engineer
(recommended by the Irish Agent) - his original answer is that it was
a problem with the wind and she should put a guard of some sort on the
chimney. He current suggestion is that they create an additonal
opening through the external wall and put in an additional air intake.

The boiler is a Geminox Megalithe (French make) about 4 years old.
Oil fired, with built in domestic water tank. The unit is indoors in
a back hallway off the kitchen.

During the summer, when heating domestic water only, there are no
problems. When the heating is switched on (radiators upstairs +
underfloor downstairs) the boiler cuts out (at least once a day -
sometimes up to 4 times a day). It must be reset (holding down
switch on burner unit).

I don't believe wind is a problem - it blows in both the summer and
winter around these parts and the flue output is not in a particularly
windy location.

The obvious theory is that the additional load - and probably longer
burn times is causing the problem. My suspicion would be a heat
sensor may be too sensitive and is cutting the system off but the
service engineer has ignored this suggestion.

What do folks think of the suggestion of opening up an air vent. The
hallway where the unit is situated should have plenty of airflow. It
has a back door opening to the outside, and is about 15 feet long with
doors to a scullery and downstairs toilet. There does not appear to
be any specific inlet on the unit for air. The Geminox website is not
very informative but seems to indicate that the system does not
support a balanced flue. How can I tell if the flue is a balanced or
normal flue. My understanding of balanced flues is that they serve
both exhaust and inlet functions. Is this correct? Can a balanced
flue be installed on a unit that doesn't specifically support it?
The current flue has a 90 degree bend and goes through an external
wall. If it is not a balanced flue I assume that air is taken from
the general surroundings.

Any pointers or tips would be greatly appreciated - because of access
etc. opening up a hole for an air intake will be a horrible job -
especially if it doesn't fix the problem


Thanks

Frank Davis
Email is Davisfie in yahoo^*CO*(UK