Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my Valiant EcoMax to
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot
water. It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on
recently.

"Bombastic" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my Valiant EcoMax to
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot
water. It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on
recently.

Vaillants are notorious for high Gas pressure requirements, it could be your
gas pressure needs raising higher.

On 25 Apr, 16:54, Bombastic wrote:
Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my Valiant EcoMax to
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot
water. It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on
recently.

What temperature is the display showing when it's doing it?

If it rises goes high (over 65C) and then cuts out and starts again
when it's cooled down a bit it is most likely the plate heat exchanger
that is blocked.

On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:54:11 -0700, Bombastic wrote:

Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my Valiant EcoMax to
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot water.
It may do the same on the hot water but we havent had that on recently.

If the unit is newish and the symptoms have come on suddenly, I'd go for
the diverter valve. If the unit is older or you have been running the
water temp setting above about "1 O'clock" in a hard water area... Then
go for chalk in the 2ndry heat exchanger.


--
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

On 25 Apr, 21:55, David wrote:
On 25 Apr, 16:54, Bombastic wrote:

Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my ValiantEcoMaxto
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot
water. It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on
recently.

What temperature is the display showing when it's doing it?

If it rises goes high (over 65C) and then cuts out and starts again
when it's cooled down a bit it is most likely the plate heat exchanger
that is blocked.

Yes, it reaches about 72, not what we set the dial to. Funny thing is
that today it worked fine. The water was consistent, but I won;t count
on it staying the same. Thanks for the reply. I guess replacing the
Heat Exchanger is expensive.

On 26 Apr, 22:01, Ed Sirett wrote:
On Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:54:11 -0700, Bombastic wrote:
Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my ValiantEcoMaxto
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot.
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot water.
It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on recently.

If the unit is newish and the symptoms have come on suddenly, I'd go for
the diverter valve. If the unit is older or you have been running the
water temp setting above about "1 O'clock" in a hard water area... Then
go for chalk in the 2ndry heat exchanger.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is athttp://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ *http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQhttp://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQhttp://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

Thanks for the advice. better to know before you call a repair man.

On 27 Apr, 15:41, wrote:
On 25 Apr, 21:55, David wrote:



On 25 Apr, 16:54, Bombastic wrote:

Hi,

Can anyone advise me on what could be causing my ValiantEcoMaxto
fluctuate on the hot water.? I noticed it first a few days ago, when
having a shower. Every 10 to 15 seconds the water went cold, then hot..
The boiler seems to fire up and then go off when I listen to it. I
ignored it for a few days but today, it stopped altogether, I switched
it off and on and it fired up but still get the intermittent hot
water. It may do the same on the hot water but we haven’t had that on
recently.

What temperature is the display showing when it's doing it?

If it rises goes high (over 65C) and then cuts out and starts again
when it's cooled down a bit it is most likely the plate heat exchanger
that is blocked.

Yes, it reaches about 72, not what we set the dial to. Funny thing is
that today it worked fine. The water was consistent, but I won;t count
on it staying the same. Thanks for the reply. I guess replacing the
Heat Exchanger is expensive.

Don't think it would be the heat exchanger if worked fine then, I have
my hot water set at 45C and I've never seen the temperature going over
60C when it's heating the water; most of the time it is at 50C-55C,
when we have the DHW at 50C it is at 58C. Told by an engineer that it
shouldn't go over 65C when hot water is set at 45C.