Potterton Suprima HE 80 no lights at all... | Page 3 | on ElectriciansForums

Discuss Potterton Suprima HE 80 no lights at all... in the Central Heating Systems area at ElectriciansForums.net

I had endless problems with my Potterton - including dry joints on the PCB which I fixed.

I finally found a permanent cure by replacing the damned thing with a Worcester !!!!
 
The thought had crossed my mind! Seems a bit drastic right now though.

Well once upon a time a good boiler would last for about 15 years and I know of two Vailant combis that are still going strong after 24 years, but nowadays you can expect them to last between 5 and 10 years.

I was never impressed with Potterton boilers though, and the one I had in my own house, I fitted somewhat reluctantly and my concerns about it proved to be well-founded.
 
Well once upon a time a good boiler would last for about 15 years and I know of two Vailant combis that are still going strong after 24 years, but nowadays you can expect them to last between 5 and 10 years.

I was never impressed with Potterton boilers though, and the one I had in my own house, I fitted somewhat reluctantly and my concerns about it proved to be well-founded.




"Hello Geordie Spark",


These comments apply to MOST Heating Boilers:


Most of the comments are for other readers - I know that You are fully aware of the details about Energy Efficiency - Corrosion Inhibitor etc.


I have a Potterton Netaheat Electronic Boiler in My Home that I installed about 26 Years ago which is still going strong.

And at approximately the same time period - 1987 / 1988 I installed 4 of these in the Homes of some of My Relations - 3 of those I know are still going strong - the other Home was sold so I don`t know about that any more - one of those has had a Gas Control Valve - after about 18 Years and another has had a `Control Box` [PCB & Spark Generator] after 20 Years.


Although obviously `Boiler Reliability` will usually be determined by whether internal components Fail / Malfunction - it is equally important to ENSURE that the Heating System / Boiler is protected with the correct concentration of a good quality Corrosion Inhibitor - to prevent Limescale Build-up within the Boiler and corrosion of the Radiators.

All of the Heating Systems had Corrosion Inhibitor added by Me when I installed them and have had replacement Inhibitor when Radiators have been replaced or moved / pipework altered - plus in between these tasks I have Drained the Heating Systems to renew the Corrosion Inhibitor - although Fernox do not state a `Replace By` Date I personally would renew the Inhibitor after 8 to 10 Years - this has been achieved on all of these Systems because of alterations to Radiator positions - Radiator additions for extensions etc.

These Netaheat Electronic Boilers have shown NO sign of `Kettleing` / Limescale Build-Up - even after 25 / 26 Years.

Just under 2 Years ago I purchased a Baxi [Baxi / Potterton] Solo HE to replace the Netaheat - this was ONLY because I wanted to carry out some alterations to My Kitchen which included removing a brick built `Larder` area where the Netaheat is installed - and either moving the Netaheat or replacing it with a New HE Boiler - in a completely new position.

Unfortunately because I suffered a severe Back Injury later that Year ALL of those plans have had to be put `On Hold` and luckily the Netaheat is still going - although I had to replace the `Control Box` [PCB & Spark Generator] on the 21st of December - Luckily it did not `Fail` on Christmas Day !

Although obviously I know that the Netaheat is not Energy Efficient compared to HE Boilers I have never before wanted to change it just because of that - because I will NEVER have another Boiler that would last 26 Years ! - including the Baxi / Potterton Solo HE !


From My experience of installing Heating Boilers and because over the Years I have known `Boiler Engineers` who spend all Day every Day repairing Boilers from what they have told Me I would suggest that Heating Boilers in general first became `less reliable` in the 1990`s when Boiler Manufacturers started to source more of the Boiler Components from places in the `Far East` / China etc.

Then in later Years as `Condensing Technology` was introduced for General Use in the late 1990`s / early 2000`s Boilers became `more complicated` in terms of the additional Condensing process / Electronic process / Components.

If We compare even JUST the Electronics of for example the Baxi [Baxi / Potterton] Solo HE to the Potterton Netaheat Electronic - there are definitely more things that could go wrong.

Baxi / Potterton or any other Boiler Manufacturer would NOT agree that their `Electronics` / Controls / Components are `Less Reliable` than the ones in the Netaheat Electronic from the 1980`s.

BUT - YEARS / DECADES of Trouble Free operation with the Netaheat [1987] in My Home and MANY others that I installed in the 1980`s / 1990`s that I was Servicing for Years - and what I hear about `New / Condensing / HE Boilers from Boiler Engineers would suggest otherwise to Me.


OR it might just be that there are MORE `Electronics`/ Electronic Components to go wrong - as with Modern Cars and almost ALL `New Technology` - ?

When I do remove the Old Netaheat I will be scrapping what I regard to be one of the `Most Reliable Models of Boiler` EVER Manufactured !

I will strip off the Controls etc. to keep in case I can prolong the `Life` of the Netaheat`s for any of My [now very elderly] Relations.


Regards,


Chris - Heating Engineer / Heating - Plumbing & Gas Contractor
 
Last edited:
Just to give an update for anyone else looking for a solution:

We had the PCB replaced yet again and this appeared to solve the issue - 6 weeks and no issues.

Then we started having "ignition failure" but no re-occurrence of the all lights off fault again. This time the engineer replaced the PCB and the gas regulator valve and it worked fine for the next 5 hours - then the dreaded "all lights off" fault came back. We also started getting the odd "ignition failure" error. We were told probably faulty PCB as the "all lights off" error hadn't manifested itself with the previous PCB.

The next engineer called today, and thought faulty PCB unlikely (he isn't a fan of just swapping PCB's out). He did some more diagnostics and believes the motorised two-way value was faulty (which interestingly is the first suggestion right at the start of this thread!). This has now been replaced so we'll see!

Hope this might be of interest / help to others.
 

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