My Ideal Isar M30100 has worked in fits and starts over the years,
recently managing a record-breaking 2 whole years without failure but
it looks like the PCB has finally decided to join it's many
antecedents (seven at the last count, most under guarantee, thank
goodness) by presenting a dead short to the mains...and on a Friday
night to boot :-(

So should I give up and replace the whole damn thing or throw another
£200 at it and at least get a year's warranty on the new pcb? Is
anyone repairing pcbs nowadays or are they still 'disposable'?

If I did get a new boiler, which brand is least likely to contain the
kind of electronics which spontaneously commits suicide if you dare to
apply power to it?

Last question... why did I think it was a good idea to dump the idea
of a hot water cylinder with it's inherent backup immersion heater,
for a bloody combi... (no need to answer that one)

mike, anticipating a frosty weekend ahead, from the family as well as
the weather.

In message
,
Mike Parkins writes
My Ideal Isar M30100 has worked in fits and starts over the years,
recently managing a record-breaking 2 whole years without failure but
it looks like the PCB has finally decided to join it's many
antecedents (seven at the last count, most under guarantee, thank
goodness) by presenting a dead short to the mains...and on a Friday
night to boot :-(


That'll be the transformer melting - look at the cover, it will have
melted round the transformer

So should I give up and replace the whole damn thing or throw another
£200 at it and at least get a year's warranty on the new pcb? Is
anyone repairing pcbs nowadays or are they still 'disposable'?

I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

Unfortunately, we're overwhelmed with work ATM. If it's just a Tx
replacement, and the rest tests out as OK, then I can repair yours. If
it needs any deeper investigation, I don't have time

If I did get a new boiler, which brand is least likely to contain the
kind of electronics which spontaneously commits suicide if you dare to
apply power to it?

Worcester seem to be the flavour of the month ATM, unfortunately, this
isn't the best time of year to replace a boiler


--
geoff

On 8 Dec, 00:55, geoff wrote:

That'll be the transformer melting - look at the cover, it will have
melted round the transformer

geoff

True Enough - The 10V secondary is short circuit. Oddly enough the
primary appears to be open cct so I can't figure out why its blowing
fuses.
I guess I'm not likely to find a replacement pcb or transformer over
the weekend so I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and phone Ideal.
thanks Geoff.

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break down more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

In message , Donwill
writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break down more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Aha - someone who asks the question the right way round (as opposed to
what's the best)

However, you have to take into account several factors

1) what I see is skewed by getting a lot of pcbs in from service
companies (whose main work is for local authorities who have put in
budget boilers)

2) it's normally several years before I get to see pcbs from a new
boiler on the market

3) It's not only PCBS which cause boiler failure


Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

Yeah, or Worcester or Vaillant, these seem to be the boilers of choice
nowadays


--
geoff

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Donwill
writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break down
more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Aha - someone who asks the question the right way round (as opposed to
what's the best)

However, you have to take into account several factors

1) what I see is skewed by getting a lot of pcbs in from service companies
(whose main work is for local authorities who have put in budget boilers)

2) it's normally several years before I get to see pcbs from a new boiler
on the market

3) It's not only PCBS which cause boiler failure


Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

Yeah, or Worcester or Vaillant, these seem to be the boilers of choice
nowadays

But not the best Maxie. Viessmann is better as is ECO-Hometec, Atag and
Atmos. I like Atmos.

On 2007-12-08 13:42:52 +0000, "Doctor Drivel" said:

But not the best Maxie. Viessmann is better as is ECO-Hometec, Atag and
Atmos. I like Atmos.

Sure you're not getting confused with Thermos?

In message ews.net,
Doctor Drivel writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Donwill
writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break
down more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Aha - someone who asks the question the right way round (as opposed
to what's the best)

However, you have to take into account several factors

1) what I see is skewed by getting a lot of pcbs in from service
companies (whose main work is for local authorities who have put in
budget boilers)

2) it's normally several years before I get to see pcbs from a new
boiler on the market

3) It's not only PCBS which cause boiler failure


Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

Yeah, or Worcester or Vaillant, these seem to be the boilers of
choice nowadays

But not the best Maxie. Viessmann is better as is ECO-Hometec, Atag and
Atmos. I like Atmos.

dIMM - he mentioned Viessmann in his thread and I agreed with him


--
geoff

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 13:42:52 +0000, Doctor Drivel wrote:

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Donwill
writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break down
more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Aha - someone who asks the question the right way round (as opposed to
what's the best)

However, you have to take into account several factors

1) what I see is skewed by getting a lot of pcbs in from service
companies (whose main work is for local authorities who have put in
budget boilers)

2) it's normally several years before I get to see pcbs from a new
boiler on the market

3) It's not only PCBS which cause boiler failure


Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

Yeah, or Worcester or Vaillant, these seem to be the boilers of choice
nowadays

But not the best Maxie. Viessmann is better as is ECO-Hometec, Atag and
Atmos. I like Atmos.

Another factor to consider is the availability of spares. Spares for
makes with a relatively small installed base are less likely to be
carried at a local boiler spares stockist. True they will all be
available to order possibly for next day. If Veissman are "better" then
they are good value as they are similar in price to the Vaillant.


--
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
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message ews.net,
Doctor Drivel writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message , Donwill
writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,

snipped
I have been repairing pcbs for 15 years (www.cetltd.com)

So you should have an idea as to the pcbs from boilers that break down
more
often than others.
Care to share that info with us please?

Aha - someone who asks the question the right way round (as opposed to
what's the best)

However, you have to take into account several factors

1) what I see is skewed by getting a lot of pcbs in from service
companies (whose main work is for local authorities who have put in
budget boilers)

2) it's normally several years before I get to see pcbs from a new
boiler on the market

3) It's not only PCBS which cause boiler failure


Don (who is currently deciding on which system boiler (Viessmann?) to
replace an existing sick one)

Yeah, or Worcester or Vaillant, these seem to be the boilers of choice
nowadays

But not the best Maxie. Viessmann is better as is ECO-Hometec, Atag and
Atmos. I like Atmos.

dIMM - he mentioned Viessmann in his thread and I agreed with him

Maxie, it was clear you were saying Viessamn is equal to W-B and Vaillant.
That is not the case. How is the Oriental enchantress Maxie?

On Dec 8, 12:18 am, Mike Parkins wrote:
My Ideal Isar M30100 has worked in fits and starts over the years,
recently managing a record-breaking 2 whole years without failure but
it looks like the PCB has finally decided to join it's many
antecedents (seven at the last count, most under guarantee, thank
goodness) by presenting a dead short to the mains...and on a Friday
night to boot :-(

So should I give up and replace the whole damn thing or throw another
£200 at it and at least get a year's warranty on the new pcb? Is
anyone repairing pcbs nowadays or are they still 'disposable'?

If I did get a new boiler, which brand is least likely to contain the
kind of electronics which spontaneously commits suicide if you dare to
apply power to it?

Last question... why did I think it was a good idea to dump the idea
of a hot water cylinder with it's inherent backup immersion heater,
for a bloody combi... (no need to answer that one)

mike, anticipating a frosty weekend ahead, from the family as well as
the weather.

I have an Ideal Isar M30100. It is on it's fourth PCB, third fan and
something else has been replaced. I can no longer tolerant the annual
breakdowns and resultant taking time off work to wait for plumbers,
the costs, not to mention the fact that my wife, not unreasonably,
does not appreciate being without heating or a hot shower for weeks
every winter.

I'm trying to get something back from Ideal. Have your tried? Any
success? There is clearly a problem with the PCB in this model.

Giles.

On Dec 8, 12:18 am, Mike Parkins wrote:
My Ideal Isar M30100 has worked in fits and starts over the years,
recently managing a record-breaking 2 whole years without failure but
it looks like the PCB has finally decided to join it's many
antecedents (seven at the last count, most under guarantee, thank
goodness) by presenting a dead short to the mains...and on a Friday
night to boot :-(

So should I give up and replace the whole damn thing or throw another
£200 at it and at least get a year's warranty on the new pcb? Is
anyone repairing pcbs nowadays or are they still 'disposable'?

If I did get a new boiler, which brand is least likely to contain the
kind of electronics which spontaneously commits suicide if you dare to
apply power to it?

Last question... why did I think it was a good idea to dump the idea
of a hot water cylinder with it's inherent backup immersion heater,
for a bloody combi... (no need to answer that one)

mike, anticipating a frosty weekend ahead, from the family as well as
the weather.

I have had many problems with my Ideal (oh the irony) Isar M301000 and
would be interested to hear the experiences of others.

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:05:41 -0800, gileshodgson wrote:

On Dec 8, 12:18 am, Mike Parkins wrote:
My Ideal Isar M30100 has worked in fits and starts over the years,
recently managing a record-breaking 2 whole years without failure but
it looks like the PCB has finally decided to join it's many antecedents
(seven at the last count, most under guarantee, thank goodness) by
presenting a dead short to the mains...and on a Friday night to boot
:-(

So should I give up and replace the whole damn thing or throw another
£200 at it and at least get a year's warranty on the new pcb? Is
anyone repairing pcbs nowadays or are they still 'disposable'?

If I did get a new boiler, which brand is least likely to contain the
kind of electronics which spontaneously commits suicide if you dare to
apply power to it?

Last question... why did I think it was a good idea to dump the idea of
a hot water cylinder with it's inherent backup immersion heater, for a
bloody combi... (no need to answer that one)

mike, anticipating a frosty weekend ahead, from the family as well as
the weather.

I have had many problems with my Ideal (oh the irony) Isar M301000 and
would be interested to hear the experiences of others.

The only one I put in has operated flawlessly for three years. However
that is a small sample.


--
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
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

I noticed that eBay has sprouted several pcb vendors recently so I
sent mine off for repair. Sadly, it still doesn't work. Apart from a
brief whirr from the diverter valve the first time it was powered,
there's no display or other activity, just a glowing power led. Can't
figure this out at all since I know the only fault before was a
shorted transformer on the old pcb :-(
mike.

In message
, Mike
Parkins writes
I noticed that eBay has sprouted several pcb vendors recently so I
sent mine off for repair. Sadly, it still doesn't work. Apart from a
brief whirr from the diverter valve the first time it was powered,
there's no display or other activity, just a glowing power led. Can't
figure this out at all since I know the only fault before was a
shorted transformer on the old pcb :-(
mike.

Who to ?

--
geoff