Greenstar 34DCI Classic intermittent fault

[Greeny]

Hi Folks,

I have a puzzling issue that I hope someone could help diagnose.
The mother-in-law has a Greenstar 34DCI Classic that has worked fine for ~7 years (without a service

). Recently it has been intermittently cutting out and requiring a reset and displaying an "EA" error message on the screen. Sometimes it will go for days happily and sometimes it will die within 5 mins of being reset. Here is my troubleshooting so far:
System water pressure at 1.25 bar
I've emptied the condensate trap (a little gritty but not the solution)
We had a plumber come out and he concluded that the mains gas pressure was to blame likely water in the meter.
We had the gas network out to check the meter - they found a small amount of water in it but not likely to be the cause of the issue. Water removed and boiler was good for a few days.
Pipe diameter is 22mm, boiler is in the loft and pipes are on the outside of the house but I don't think the run is long enough to cause a pressure drop that it would cause a problem.
Had gas network out again who checked the mains pressure again and said it is fine (within normal limits).
Currently the boiler stays on for 20 minutes max before needing a reset.

So my questions are these:
1. how much can the mains pressure (in Feltham, SW London area) fluctuate, could mains pressure be the issue?
2. does anybody know of some recent even that could cause big mains pressure fluctuations.
3. Is there something else in the boiler that could cause an intermittent fault like this? with the plumber saying it is the mains and the network saying it isn't its difficult to know wtf is going on.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Chuck]

Boilers should be serviced annually.

Are you Gas Safe Registered? If not, you should not be emptying the condensate trap.

If you've had the supply checked, get Bosch to send a repair specialist:

Book A Service | Worcester, Bosch Group

Click the 'Boiler Breakdown Booking' button.

I believe they do a fixed price repair, which is what I'd recommend in your circumstances.

 

[Greeny]

Boilers should be serviced annually.

Are you Gas Safe Registered? If not, you should not be emptying the condensate trap.

If you've had the supply checked, get Bosch to send a repair specialist:

Book A Service | Worcester, Bosch Group

Click the 'Boiler Breakdown Booking' button.

I believe they do a fixed price repair, which is what I'd recommend in your circumstances.

So Chuck what you are saying is "No - I don't have any helpful comments or suggestions".

 

[Riley]

Are you Gas Safe? Based on the attitude I’m guessing not you’ve been told exactly what you need to do. go away and do it and don’t throw the toys out because we aren’t helping you work illegally on your boiler. You have been given very good advice

 

[Greeny]

Actually what I am trying to ask is who should I be angry with:
The gas-safe registered boiler engineer who told me that the boiler was fine and the supply was bad or the gas network goons who say there is nothing wrong on their end.
Either way I am not going to go messing with the boiler, I just don't want to spend money on a call out which might cost £100's when it may not be the fault of the boiler.

Yes, I googled the problem and found that a blocked condensate trap could be the cause. Yes, youtube showed a very simple fix which involved opening a single plastic clip. I cannot remember exactly which video it was but I think it may have even been a professional plumber - nowhere did it say you must be gas-safe registered to do it so I am sorry. In fact because the boiler is only 30 cm above the floor level in the loft it was easier to do than topping up the system pressure (which is legal for me to do? No?). The GSR engineer has inspected the boiler since so it should not be a lasting safety concern.

I am sorry to have offended anybody but please don't take me for a moron who is going to go cowboy on the mother-in-law's boiler. I am not responsible for the boiler not being serviced (hence the "

" in my original post). I just see an oncoming storm of sitting on hold between gas networks and plumber call-outs. If you are telling me that it is more likely to be a boiler issue than a supply issue then that is fine - we will get the boiler guy back in to re-assess.

After a call to W-B they only seemed to offer cover plans which start at £369 if we want a callout now. She is over 75 and lives on her own. Last time we called out the gas board they disconnected her and then didn't come back until 9am the next day, then they waited till 4pm sitting in their van before they team who could get the water out the meter turned up and then till 7 before the team that could do the connection turned up. all on the coldest day of this winter so far. All I want to do is get someone to fix the problem ASAP and was asking for directions of how to do that.

Thanks again

 

[ShaunCorbs]

They do fixed price repairs

Where are you located?

 

[Greeny]

Feltham, TW13, it wasn't offered on the phone, perhaps the person on the phone line gets a bonus related to selling cover plans. Perhaps I will call again.

I take it from your experience that mains gas pressure is rock stable then?

 

[Riley]

Fixed call out £275 had to organise one today. Nobody is calling you a moron but a little bit of knowledge is dangerous. Do you know what the condense trap does? Do you know how dangerous it could be?? The problem with YouTube videos is supposed plumbers giving half a picture and leaving people to get on with it. And to be fair you we’re asking very specific questions whilst admitting to tampering with a safety feature on your boiler which is why people are hesitant to respond with too much info

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Feltham, TW13, it wasn't offered on the phone, perhaps the person on the phone line gets a bonus related to selling cover plans. Perhaps I will call again.

I take it from your experience that mains gas pressure is rock stable then?

within a margin yes but that not to say things supplier side dont go wrong eg a regulator etc

 

[Wirdy]

Unfortunately you m-i-l is reaping the reward of 7 yrs of no servicing.
Advise her to start off with a full service with replacement parts as required & let the engineer troubleshoot any performance issues after that.

 

[Greeny]

Just an update for all... original GSR was not helpful after multiple visits. We ended up getting a fix price repair with service contract from British Gas.
He didn't fix on first visit after doing a service. But on second visit he noticed that the external exhaust part of the flue ( not sure what it is technically called) was missing. It must have been ripped off when ivy on the outside of the house was removed.
I guess that when it had been windy then some exhaust gases were being blown into the intake and causing an error.
Just letting folks know incase it helps others in the future.