My Puma 80 lights okay, heats up okay, but the pilot keeps going out
when we leave it for a few hours. It relights fine, but just relighting
doesn't cure it. Any ideas?

"morganuk" wrote in message
oups.com...
My Puma 80 lights okay, heats up okay, but the pilot keeps going out
when we leave it for a few hours. It relights fine, but just relighting
doesn't cure it. Any ideas?

Have you allowed anything to grow passed the outside of the flue? This can
cause wind direction changes that will either blow inward and blow the pilot
out, or suck the air away from the flue and suffocate the small pilot flame.

When was the boiler last serviced? Thermo couplings which detect the pilot
flame can become weak and not hold the control valve open properly. It
might be worth having an engineer look at it for you.

There are a number of other points which can cause these symptoms, but I'll
leave at the basic ones.

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 11:23:38 -0700, morganuk wrote:

My Puma 80 lights okay, heats up okay, but the pilot keeps going out
when we leave it for a few hours. It relights fine, but just relighting
doesn't cure it. Any ideas?

The fan has to keep moving slowly all the while or eventually the air
inside the boiler gets spent and the pilot goes out.

I expect either the slow speed resistor for the fan has gone open circuit
or the fan has become stiff and stops rotating when in standby mode.



--
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

In message .uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 11:23:38 -0700, morganuk wrote:

My Puma 80 lights okay, heats up okay, but the pilot keeps going out
when we leave it for a few hours. It relights fine, but just relighting
doesn't cure it. Any ideas?

The fan has to keep moving slowly all the while or eventually the air
inside the boiler gets spent and the pilot goes out.

I expect either the slow speed resistor for the fan has gone open circuit
or the fan has become stiff and stops rotating when in standby mode.

The Puma PP doesn't have a slow speed fan resistor, it derives the low
fan speed voltage from a tapping on the primary side of the transformer

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair


--
geoff

My Puma pilot used to blow out when I closed the cupboard door too
fast. Air vents in the door fixed the problem.

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?

Do Pumas need regular servicing? I'm always wary of inviting someone in
who could charge me hundreds for something I don't understand.

In message . com,
morganuk writes
and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?

Is it free to turn ?

What does the top (semi exposed) bearing look like

Is the fan turning freely on slow speed when there is no demand for
heat?


Do Pumas need regular servicing? I'm always wary of inviting someone in
who could charge me hundreds for something I don't understand.


--
geoff

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:24:19 -0700, Jim wrote:

My Puma pilot used to blow out when I closed the cupboard door too
fast. Air vents in the door fixed the problem.

Seriously this is not good, the Puma is a room sealed appliance and this
implies the chamber seals are shot.


--
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

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:07:13 -0700, morganuk wrote:

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?


Almost certainly - it's not making noises now as it has stopped!

Do Pumas need regular servicing? I'm always wary of inviting someone in
who could charge me hundreds for something I don't understand.

The recommendation is for all gas appliances to be safety checked annually.
In rented homes this is mandatory.

A full strip down and over haul is usually not required every year for
this boiler.

BG offer "cover" for less than £200 a year. You should be able to come
and get someone to look at things for about £50 give or take.


--
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

In message . uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:07:13 -0700, morganuk wrote:

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?


Almost certainly - it's not making noises now as it has stopped!

Bloody hell, my second plug of the evening

www.cetltd.com

this is a public service commercial post



Do Pumas need regular servicing? I'm always wary of inviting someone in
who could charge me hundreds for something I don't understand.

The recommendation is for all gas appliances to be safety checked annually.
In rented homes this is mandatory.

A full strip down and over haul is usually not required every year for
this boiler.

BG offer "cover" for less than £200 a year. You should be able to come
and get someone to look at things for about £50 give or take.



--
geoff

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:44:34 GMT, raden wrote:

In message . uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:07:13 -0700, morganuk wrote:

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?


Almost certainly - it's not making noises now as it has stopped!

Bloody hell, my second plug of the evening

www.cetltd.com

this is a public service commercial post


BG do "service" as well, but of a different kind.


How come these fans are so failure prone? Is it because they are
crappy (e.g. sleeve bearings) etc. or heat or?



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

In message , Andy Hall
writes
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 21:44:34 GMT, raden wrote:

In message . uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:07:13 -0700, morganuk wrote:

and yes, Puma fan bearings would appear to be a regular failing from
the number I get in for repair

The fan has been making a lot of rattly noises over the past few months
although this seems to have gone away recently. (Possibly not a ood
thing?!) Is it possible this is a fan issue?


Almost certainly - it's not making noises now as it has stopped!

Bloody hell, my second plug of the evening

www.cetltd.com

this is a public service commercial post


BG do "service" as well, but of a different kind.


How come these fans are so failure prone? Is it because they are
crappy (e.g. sleeve bearings) etc. or heat or?

Mainly because a) they're permanently on and b) it's a potterton product

--
geoff

No, the fan is not turning slowly (at all) while there is no demand for
heat.

Problem?

The fan turns freely and the housing and bearings look good.

Thanks for all the good replies so far.

In message .com,
morganuk writes
No, the fan is not turning slowly (at all) while there is no demand for
heat.

Problem?

The fan turns freely and the housing and bearings look good.

Thanks for all the good replies so far.

In that case, the PCB is probably the problem


--
geoff

good tip. i had the pcb replaced just a few months ago so i can get the
same guy back in. you don't think it's a faulty fan/transformer?

In message .com,
morganuk writes
good tip. i had the pcb replaced just a few months ago so i can get the
same guy back in. you don't think it's a faulty fan/transformer?

The only to know for definite is to get a meter out and see if you have
the volts coming into the pcb from the transformer and if they're going
out to the fan. (Look at the interconnection diagram in the manual)

Just a thought, you have got a perm. Pilot pcb and not an electronic
one, haven't you ?

The easiest way to check is by making sure that link 1 (just up from the
fuse and between the two relays closest to the fuse) is there. If it's
not, you have an electronic ign pcb. There should also be a sticker
saying whether it's electronic or PP. LK1, though is what defines it as
this is the feed for the slow fan from the relay

My guess is that the transformer is OK otherwise it would be unlikely
that you would have power to the pcb, which you obviously have

--
geoff

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 01:17:53 -0700, morganuk wrote:

good tip. i had the pcb replaced just a few months ago so i can get the
same guy back in. you don't think it's a faulty fan/transformer?

Probe the voltage on the fan.
Full speed is 230V and the standby speed will be around half that.



--
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

In message . uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 01:17:53 -0700, morganuk wrote:

good tip. i had the pcb replaced just a few months ago so i can get the
same guy back in. you don't think it's a faulty fan/transformer?

Probe the voltage on the fan.
Full speed is 230V and the standby speed will be around half that.

I wasn't going to post it, because I'm not sure (and it's in the manual)
but I think it's something like 90 volts
--
geoff

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 21:57:16 +0000, raden wrote:

In message . uk, Ed
Sirett writes
On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 01:17:53 -0700, morganuk wrote:

good tip. i had the pcb replaced just a few months ago so i can get the
same guy back in. you don't think it's a faulty fan/transformer?

Probe the voltage on the fan.
Full speed is 230V and the standby speed will be around half that.

I wasn't going to post it, because I'm not sure (and it's in the manual)
but I think it's something like 90 volts

I was working on the assumption that something between 80-130V woudl
probably do the trick and zero would be pretty much the smoking gun.

--
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

Thanks Ed--I'll look in to that.