Hi, apologies for the slightly convoluted thread title! I have a fairly old Vokera Linea 24/28 that's been playing up. Previously, it was cutting out intermittently, with an error code 07 (thermistor circuit open) - I could turn it off and on again, and the hot water and heating would start to work again. I had a couple of boiler engineers come out to take a look - the first said it could be a combo of one or all of the PCB, fan and diverter valve, and recommended a replacement. Someone else came the following day and couldn't work out the problem (though it could have been the pressure release valve) but did a full service.
However, since then the hot water has only been lukewarm at best, although with no error codes. When the heating is on, the temperature on the boiler reads ~60C, whereas when the hot water is called it immediately drops to 38C and stays there, no matter how long the hot water is on for, and the water coming out of the taps and shower is lukewarm. After the service, the pressure dropped to 0, and I had to top it up to ~1bar, and when the hot water is on, the pressure falls to ~0.5-0.7 or so.
We've also noticed a bit of a mouldy / musty smell from the taps when the hot water is running, particularly the first second or two after turning them on. Having searched various things online, I'm wondering if there's a build up of sludge / limescale (we are in a heavy water area) which has damaged the heat exchanger. Originally, this was causing the error code, but since the service perhaps something has dislodged and now the hot water can never get above 38C? Is it possible the damaged heat exchanger is somehow causing the smell in the hot water? The boiler is upstairs in the back bedroom and all the taps are downstairs, so it would have to be via the hot water pipes. There's no obvious leak in the boiler cupboard either.
At this stage I'm pretty much resigned to getting a new boiler anyway, but would welcome any views on what the issue might be, and if the hot water smell is potentially related, or if that's something else that needs to be looked into? Thanks in advance!
However, since then the hot water has only been lukewarm at best, although with no error codes. When the heating is on, the temperature on the boiler reads ~60C, whereas when the hot water is called it immediately drops to 38C and stays there, no matter how long the hot water is on for, and the water coming out of the taps and shower is lukewarm. After the service, the pressure dropped to 0, and I had to top it up to ~1bar, and when the hot water is on, the pressure falls to ~0.5-0.7 or so.
We've also noticed a bit of a mouldy / musty smell from the taps when the hot water is running, particularly the first second or two after turning them on. Having searched various things online, I'm wondering if there's a build up of sludge / limescale (we are in a heavy water area) which has damaged the heat exchanger. Originally, this was causing the error code, but since the service perhaps something has dislodged and now the hot water can never get above 38C? Is it possible the damaged heat exchanger is somehow causing the smell in the hot water? The boiler is upstairs in the back bedroom and all the taps are downstairs, so it would have to be via the hot water pipes. There's no obvious leak in the boiler cupboard either.
At this stage I'm pretty much resigned to getting a new boiler anyway, but would welcome any views on what the issue might be, and if the hot water smell is potentially related, or if that's something else that needs to be looked into? Thanks in advance!
