hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

"alan" wrote in message
om...
hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

When was it last serviced?
There are other things that could cause this fault, the Thermocouple is just
the most common cause.

There is no *law* preventing you from doing it yourself, you just can't
accept payment for the work. Common sense dictates you don't touch it unless
you know what you are doing.

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

Assuming the fault is the the thermocouple then you can fix it yourself if
you are competant to do so.

A pro would/could/should charge you a minmum call out plus 5 quid for the
part. I have heard stories (first hand) of people who have paid silly
money (£100) for this job.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at 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 article ,
Martin wrote:
There is no *law* preventing you from doing it yourself, you just can't
accept payment for the work. Common sense dictates you don't touch it
unless you know what you are doing.

Interesting point. A thermocouple isn't part of the gas supply, and is
fail safe - if you disconnect it the valve won't work. And it operates by
electricity.

Does this mean working on a central heating programmer is also covered by
the 'CORGI' regs?

--
*Don't squat with your spurs on *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 12:30:32 +0000, Dave Plowman wrote:

In article ,
Martin wrote:
There is no *law* preventing you from doing it yourself, you just can't
accept payment for the work. Common sense dictates you don't touch it
unless you know what you are doing.

Interesting point. A thermocouple isn't part of the gas supply, and is
fail safe - if you disconnect it the valve won't work. And it operates by
electricity.

Does this mean working on a central heating programmer is also covered by
the 'CORGI' regs?

No the gas regs cover gas appliances the external controls are not covered unless
they operate by gas.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at 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

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

Assuming the fault is the the thermocouple then you can fix it yourself if
you are competant to do so.

A pro would/could/should charge you a minmum call out plus 5 quid for the
part. I have heard stories (first hand) of people who have paid silly
money (£100) for this job.

Thanks for the advice... the potterton suprema 30 boiler is 6 years
old as thats how old the house is, also i had it (serviced!!) by
British Gas last september 2002 when I moved in. The corgi engineer
came in tested with a probe for leaks I assume and left two minutes
later, leaving me with a £100 bill!

I hope anyone can recommend me a good engineer in the thurrock,
lakeside area. or is there any plans for the inside of this boiler i
can see online to show me what to look for if i decide to do it.

alan wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

Assuming the fault is the the thermocouple then you can fix it yourself if
you are competant to do so.

A pro would/could/should charge you a minmum call out plus 5 quid for the
part. I have heard stories (first hand) of people who have paid silly
money (£100) for this job.

Thanks for the advice... the potterton suprema 30 boiler is 6 years
old as thats how old the house is, also i had it (serviced!!) by
British Gas last september 2002 when I moved in. The corgi engineer
came in tested with a probe for leaks I assume and left two minutes
later, leaving me with a £100 bill!

I hope anyone can recommend me a good engineer in the thurrock,
lakeside area. or is there any plans for the inside of this boiler i
can see online to show me what to look for if i decide to do it.

Universal thermocouple £3.99 from screwfix. It comes with lots of different fittings to fit most boilers.

Bob

On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:40:31 +0000, alan wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......

Assuming the fault is the the thermocouple then you can fix it yourself if
you are competant to do so.

A pro would/could/should charge you a minmum call out plus 5 quid for the
part. I have heard stories (first hand) of people who have paid silly
money (£100) for this job.

Thanks for the advice... the potterton suprema 30 boiler is 6 years
old as thats how old the house is, also i had it (serviced!!) by
British Gas last september 2002 when I moved in. The corgi engineer
came in tested with a probe for leaks I assume and left two minutes
later, leaving me with a £100 bill!

I hope anyone can recommend me a good engineer in the thurrock,
lakeside area. or is there any plans for the inside of this boiler i
can see online to show me what to look for if i decide to do it.

Do they make Suprimas with permanent pilot lights? I thought all such
models were electroinc ignition. Perhaps there is another root cause of
the intermittent problems the OP had?

I think the group needs a bit more info.

1) How do you reset things after there is a failure.
2) I presume this boiler heats both water and radiators?
3) Do the radiators stop working also at the same time?

It may well be that you have a totally different problem to the original
as stated.
Did the 'plumber' make this comment after seeing the boiler or just as a
speculative comment?

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at 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

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:40:31 +0000, alan wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......


Thanks Ed

1) When the pilot light goes out the radiators and hot water both go
off
2) To reset it I keep my finger pressed on the reset button for approx
20 secs and let go then i should hear the boiler fire up and the light
goes from red to green.




Assuming the fault is the the thermocouple then you can fix it yourself if
you are competant to do so.

A pro would/could/should charge you a minmum call out plus 5 quid for the
part. I have heard stories (first hand) of people who have paid silly
money (£100) for this job.

Thanks for the advice... the potterton suprema 30 boiler is 6 years
old as thats how old the house is, also i had it (serviced!!) by
British Gas last september 2002 when I moved in. The corgi engineer
came in tested with a probe for leaks I assume and left two minutes
later, leaving me with a £100 bill!

I hope anyone can recommend me a good engineer in the thurrock,
lakeside area. or is there any plans for the inside of this boiler i
can see online to show me what to look for if i decide to do it.

Do they make Suprimas with permanent pilot lights? I thought all such
models were electroinc ignition. Perhaps there is another root cause of
the intermittent problems the OP had?

I think the group needs a bit more info.

1) How do you reset things after there is a failure.
2) I presume this boiler heats both water and radiators?
3) Do the radiators stop working also at the same time?

It may well be that you have a totally different problem to the original
as stated.
Did the 'plumber' make this comment after seeing the boiler or just as a
speculative comment?

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003 02:51:05 +0000, alan wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sun, 16 Nov 2003 11:40:31 +0000, alan wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message on.co.uk...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 15:40:13 +0000, alan wrote:

hi I have a Potterton Suprema 30 boiler, the thermal couplers going so
says a plumber I know as the hot water keeps going off, about once a
week. Is it easy to do myself?

Can I do it myself legally?
How much should it cost to get someone to do it properly if i cant do
it?

Any help would be appreciated

thanks.......


Thanks Ed

1) When the pilot light goes out the radiators and hot water both go
off
2) To reset it I keep my finger pressed on the reset button for approx
20 secs and let go then i should hear the boiler fire up and the light
goes from red to green.


OK one thing is certain, you need neither a themocouple or a thermal
coupler 8-).

We have an intermittant lock out problem on a modern boiler.

The manual may give some clues as to whart sort of problem is causing the
fault (eg. flashing = over heat, steady = ignition failure).



--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at 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