On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 10:09:33 -0700, bigcat wrote:

John wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm told the boiler heat exchanger is partly blocked, laeding to the
flame coming out sideways, licking round the edges of the the
combustion chamber. Is there any way to confirm/deny this, as visually
I cant see anything? The exchanger itself is not visible.

Last time I saw it alight through the viewing window, it looked fine,
with rows of neat upright blue flames.



An old Elan is it?
The fins get clogged with crud and soot then even though the burner operates
fine the flame/hot gases cannot get through the fins so they lick out around
the skirt of the combustion chamber. Easy to see when the outer casing is
removed. Cleaning the fins properly is a very tedious job requiring scraping
every single fin and passage:-(

Yes, sounds like an exact description. Its a Glow worm, probably 1970s.
If the heat exes are cleanable I'm up for doing it, will be far quicker
and cheaper than a new boiler.


I am concerned that the cover just pushes into place it should be room
sealed. You say a balanced flue i.e. a largish rectangular metal terminal
on the wall outside at about the same height as the boiler itself?
If so the cover should be held by four threaded studs (on the cover) which
are secured by four wing nuts at the rear of the boiler.

If the flames are blue then cleaning out the air heat exhchanger should
fix everything.


--
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