Central heating boiler flooded with water!

boatbuilder

I have a Gerkros Cosyman outdoor oil central heating boiler, slimline model.
It hasn't been run or looked at since last March when we ran out of oil last winter.

I tried to fire it up yesterday and it didn't start, so tonight I pulled out the riello burner by undoing the 13mm nut and pulling the unit out. A flood of rusty water came out from the hole and when I shine a torch in, I can see that the boiler itself is full of water....its overflowing out of the burner hole. I checked the pressure gauge on the radiator system in the house and it still reads almost 2 bar.


Is this likely to be rainwater getting in somewhere and how do I rectify this? Really can't afford to call out a service guy.

Thanks!
David

.243

leave the burner out and take out all the water out of the boiler chamber,if the chamber fills up after a cpl of hours your boiler is knackered,if not rainwater has been gettin in somewhere,
if the boiler is knackered and your pressure reading on the gauge is still at the same reading its more likely your filling loop is open

Billy Bunting

Gerkros heatpacs are renowned for flooding if not used, remove burner and use a wet vacuum to clear water, its very likely the water got into the burner and that will be knackered too. :eek:

boatbuilder

Thanks. I'll do a job on it tomorrow and report back!

boatbuilder

Well.... just spent most of the day working on the boiler.

It was leaking rainwater around where the stainless steel chimney connects to the (barely galvanised) top cover. Amazing shoddyness from Gerkros I have to say. A smear of sealant would have prevented this whole problem.

The upshot of it all is that it flooded the boiler....the water ran down under the top lid of the boiler itself and filled up the boiler until it overflowed out the hole for the burner.

I spent a few hours chipping off the rust scales / sludge / soot /gunk off the inside walls of the boiler and the baffles.
Bailed the water out with a jug and mopped up the rest with a cloth.

The burner needed a major overhaul...the motor had seized due to rust inside it caused by the flood of water. The blast tube was badly rusted, as was the blower fan. The blower fan was rusted onto the shaft, so it took some persuasion with a blowtorch and a BFH to get it off. Luckily, I have a grit blaster, so I was able to clean down these parts, put some paint on and reassemble with anti seize compound.

I fired it up and everything went well until I noticed the radiators weren't heating up. I checked the circulation pump and it was just making "that stuck humming noise". Seized as well! I managed to free it up by turning the pump manually with a screwdriver.

So as I type this, I'm sitting here in sweltering heat. Tomorrow I will grit blast the badly galvanised outer casing, paint it and reassemble it with sealant around the chimney this time. Gerkros you should be ashamed of yourselves...you can't just put two pieces of metal sitting together and expect water not to get in between them and rust!

Billy Bunting

Well done! Thankfully Gerkros are no longer with us, their cases lasted longer than they did. Just be thankfully your flue is still there, most go with the wind very quickly. :rolleyes:

deandean

Well done Boatbuilder there must be a good sense of satisfaction in bringing that lot back to life.

kscobie

Billy Bunting wrote: »

Well done! Thankfully Gerkros are no longer with us, their cases lasted longer than they did. Just be thankfully your flue is still there, most go with the wind very quickly. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately they are, Gerkros is closed, but have re-emerged again as Gem boilers. I have not seen one of these, and have no intention of either, a lot a people were stung the last time.

DoneDL

I thought the reason Gerkros went under was that they decided to supply direct to developers without using plumbing suppliers. When the developers started going bust they were left high and dry.

DGOBS

Thought it was more like their heavy investment in pellet stoves (especially state-side that was their main demise)

But....THEY ARE STILL WITH US!

Called GEM now, just a new MD

Billy Bunting

I have come across a Gerkros GEM but thought it one of their later models, will hope for an improvment from them.