Vokera Boiler Service. How to strip down a Vokera Gas Boiler. David Iszchak from Vokera shows us how to strip down the Vokera heat exchanger for a boiler service. This boiler must be stripped down every 12 months for your warranty.
Thanks Allen, another really helpful video. Knowing what to expect and the best way to do things makes all the difference. It was great you got David to come out and show is all how it's done. 👍
Excellent tutorial, coming from the same kinda segment of the industry I can tell someone who knows there stuff. And David certainly does. I have commented on his video regarding opentherm and we had a brief back and forth, and I can tell he is a great ambassador for our industry.
As much as I'm not a big fan of their boilers and don't see them often in my area. David is an excellent ambassador for his company, others should follow his lead.
Thanks for this helpful video Alan. I did a full strip on one of these today and used this as a handy pointer before I started. Very straight forward. Reminds me of stripping an isar/icos. Found the screws on the back of the fan and the two screws at the back of the burner below the flue manifold very awkward to get at. It’s a very simple boiler. I don’t like it. Wouldn’t have one. Wouldn’t fit one, but I’m happy to work on anything! Doing a proper job is satisfying no matter what your personal opinions are.
Good video from an likely duo to team up . I have not met Allan but david is a gent and like all the well known trainers , superb at passing info on This video is a great example of his style . I watched it last night(24/5/23) and today took the burner off an easi heat van on a service. It was exactly as described by david and I’m grateful for guys who take the time to pass on useful advice. It was a fiddly job and it does take a while . The two back nuts on the HE are awkward but I will do the next one a lot quicker . My afternoon was also working on another vokera , a Syntesi. Bot is that an awkward condense to remove and put back Thanks again Allan and david
Hi Alan & David thanks for sharing your knowledge great to see a vokera vision full strip down i'm have to say even though i have seen alot of visions i have never strip them fully mostly because off the bad rep.I going to stock a couple of burner seals & look forward to my next vokera service.Thanks again Epcgas
What an interesting heating unit you showed! I regret that I do not understand everything that was said, as I am not a native speaker of English, but it was still extremely interesting. Thanks!
Hi Allen Fair play to David for coming along. Worcester advised me to use bicarbonate of soda, to clean the heat exchangers, on the Junior range. The lower baffle was stuck in there, tight. The bicarb dissolves, the hardened deposits. I have stripped down one of those Easi Heats. If you have a good socket/spanner set. they ain't to difficult.
Enjoyed the video, great tutorial. Like to see setting up the CO2 on a Vision Plus, found it difficult when I had to carry it out so would appreciate a video if possible Cheers Dave
4 inches of HEx to strip 900 degrees C of heat - wow that is amazing. That is a lot of heat in such a tiny space. Hope you enjoy your new house now that you've settled in.
Hi Allen, really good video. I do a few of these as landlord tend to pick them due to price. Takes around an hour but getting quicker each time. I will use the white vinegar trick. I understand why people get put off as it’s a lot faffing about. They could try tweak it to make getting in easier!
@@AllenHart999 I went to one a couple of days ago, it was 3 years old and set up incorrectly, it took me 30 minutes of aggresive and annoyed cleaning. It was an absolute nightmare due to it being in a cupboard, with limited access both sides of the boiler. I don't do many of these, this one was maybe the 4th or 5th. The others were all okay in terms of set up as well as being relatively clean inside.
Brilliant video Alan, I have a A29 that goes overtemperature shortly after firing up, I have removed the pump and its all ok, could the blocked heat exchanger as your video cause this problem
Two points Alan if I may, after cleaning the top of the HEX where is the debris actually removed from, is there a sump that can be hoovered out or do you just hoover from the top? Also would be great to do a flue gas analysis on this boiler if that would be possible too to add to your videos? Thanks great video as always
Hi Allen or David . Would we look for high ratio readings before opening up heat exchanger. Would Norma 0.004 ratio apply or are there other signs to look for that may indicate a build up on the main hest exchanger. Thanks for the video
I have the same combi boiler as you the last couple of days the hot water has been playing up its running lukewarm the heating seems to be working fine the temperature is reading 58/60 degrees but it's lukewarm coming from the boiler do you have any ideas what it could be
Thanks for the video Allen 👊 We fit loads of these vokera boilers into let properties and find them great 😊 It’s horses for courses in this case Keep up the good work Do you have a link to the charity you raise money for ?
Thanks Alan, very useful but it's clearly demonstrated that I need to avoid this boiler. It's simple but god is it awkward. Makes me realize how easy the baxi is..... I know some boiler manufacturers are now specifying torque for the heat exchanger bolts.....for example intergas. Is there anything like this for this boiler
for a year old boiler thats a fair amount of debris is there any news on why it did that,, i myself would not strip down if readings good so that is scary but i would look in combustion chamber so this is good to know
I must say thanks for the video Allen. However, I really think these heat exchangers and the layout is not great. The flue collector restricts access to the fan bolts, which means it's difficult to remove and people are unlikely to want to do it.
I can’t add a screenshot of my phone to RU-vid comments so I’ll type it out longhand. This is from a whats app group this morning and started with a picture of a nice neat easiheat 32ci installed yesterday. The text from guy 1 was “The first of 4 easiheat 32ci going in this week, not sure why anyone else would fit anything other than these.” Guy 2 answered with a “thumbs up” Guy 3 guy answered “Best boiler they do, trouble free, tick every box, good value, light, small, powerful, pipe positions where they should be and stay!! And above all easy to install and user friendly” Guy 3 followed up with another post “ordered another 10, coming tomorrow!! Boiler changes coming out of my ear holes!!” Guy 4 “what’s the warranty length on them?” Guy 3 “Only 5 years” Guy 4 “thumbs up” Guy 3 “5 years plenty, then sell them a service plan!! To keep your customer (thumbs up)” All quoted exactly except for one spelling mistake corrected. Obviously, some posters here will disagree taking into account some of the comments above but I took the trouble to write it out to illustrate each of our own little worlds is not the same as everybody else’s. My personal choice would be and is the Unica or Vision Plus in stainless as it’s front access for servicing with more features but like guy 3 says, if it ticks every box…
Another great video Alan keep them coming really appreciated 👍. But if your still speaking to this chap could you ask why the condensate trap is always at the wrong angle so it backs up ? As most of the callouts I get to those is due to condensate. Also it sometimes takes longer to put the case back together than it does to to the repair. I suppose you get what you pay for. My advice would be to replace it with a proper boiler and grass it
The condense trap we often find at the wrong angel because it's not held when pushing up the pipe onto the outlet. If your advice is replace rather than service I guess you have little regard for the finances of your customer.
Just done one today. Bit of a pain but it was quite high off the floor. Strange though as top and bottom (green and red led) flash after a demand has stopped. But go off once demand started again. Looked in the book and says temporary fault? Everything else seems to be ok. Was thinking PCB fault.
Hi Alan good video and I have done lots and yes it quicker strip down in 10 mins. And yes the expansion vessel should be recharged on every service and the condensate trap cleaned out . Good luck.
@@AllenHart999 what I do is I take off the fan and the burner then I spray the heat exchanger with the vinegar and leave it.I then do the vessel and clean out the condensate trap. Then back to the heat exchanger bush it then flush it out with water but I have a bucket so the debris don’t go in the trap . Come up like new .
Great videos Allen there is always something to learn I was surprised to hear the trainer suggest using white wine vinegar on aluminium hex Vokera tech tell us not to do that
I fitted one 3 weeks ago as a landlord supplied it. Never fitting one again - the template for the flue and support bracket (which is an awful box cut out) are about 1 to 2 inches out so the flue doesn’t line up once boiler is on the wall. The pipe layout is annoying so if swapping for a normal boiler layout the pipework looks crap, the condense trap is in a rubbish place. Trying to get the case screws in are hard etc etc. By the time you’ve removed the 500 combustion chamber screws and faffed around removing the fan and burner i would have fully stripped down a main compact, cleaned it, put it back together and done the readings. Not an engineer friendly boiler. Although after seeing this - once i get to service it over the coming years, i will know what to look out for - although were the boiler is located its going to be a pain in the arse to get to the top of the burner 🙃
Hi im a gas engineer but i do not do breakdowns! I have a Vokera Maxim 29 that is making a loud kettling noise. installed about 3 years ago & serviced comprising of a flue gas analysis & gas tightness test only! I am presuming this is caused by lime scale withing the heat exchanger. Could anything else cause this noise? I have isolated the boiler & contacted my landlord.
hi! The actual cleaning part wasn't clear for me. How do you recommend to apply the vinegar? Spray the heat exchanger or take it off and soak it in vinegar (for as long as needed)?
iv got the same boiler land lord dont seem to want to service or put inhibitors in but it goes of every year for a expensive fix lol well not my money i guess thanks allan for the video ps the heat exchanger got replaced yesterday after a week of no heat and hot water took the bioler guy 2 hours to fix
Hi Alen, I got same boiler and the red light stays on , I opened it and found the air realiser had been leaking and low pressure so replaced and topped up pressures it still goes out on bell light ! I reset it and still got red light on ! What do you think is the problem? G
@@AllenHart999 Apart from bin it, usual suspects are exp vessel, flue sensor ,aav's and iso valves leak. You get what you pay for, not the worst boiler but needs cleaned yearly or the condi trap chokes and backfills. 😬😬👍
@@bobbymckean915 while there I was chatting to Allen and he was saying the Vogue has a better manual, easier to service, trap is accessible nice display. I said how much is the Vogue, he said three times the cost. Many, many customers cannot afford that, this gives them the same 30kW and 12l/m of hot water and keeps them warm.
I have an A09 fault on a customers vision 25 I have changed the flue thermistor and still got sane problem. Do you think cleaning the heat exchanger would solve this?
i found the 2 burner screws near the flue quite awkward and it put me off as seems quite faffy compared to other boilers. once they were undone it doesnt seem too bad tbh. The boiler does the job!
It is faffy, that's one of the reasons for the video, guys can see what's involved and go forewarned. Alan was kind in the editing as I got sweaty in the video and fiddled unecessarily in reassembly but I would allow an hour and a half for the first and an hour for when you've done a couple. Trouble is how long has it been left before servicing? You can't see that before stripping it. Our front access radial coil exchangers, aluminium or stainless steel in the recent Vision Plus combis and system boilers are a doddle. We're hoping to do a video on that soon as well.
@@vulcancontinental the videos are certainly useful! i've watched one of your webinars and they are good too, would be better for some playback option as i usually miss them :) nice to see all the effort you put in to the community, always useful info!! thanks
Bloody hell... I'd have been inside a Giannoni heat exchanger in less time than it took him to loosen that fan. I appreciate the aim of the video is just to be instructional rather than to promote vokera boilers.... But I'd probably prefer to clean a wb kebab heat exchanger than this one... And that really is saying something!
The Worcester can sometimes be a nightmare as well tbh. I am not really here to promote any brand. Just trying to help raise standards where I can in my own small way.
That's true. If you choose boilers because of speed of service then do that (or try the Vision Plus system or 35 and 40 combi's from Vokera, they're front access stainless or the evolve, front access aluminum. It's just a job at the end of the day, you do what needs to be done.
So the plot thickens Allan ,how did a one year boilers heat exchanger get that dirty that quickly?It would possibly explain why the heat exchanger split because the heat was not going to the water quick enough thus causing it to overheat The biggest surprise was that the readings were ok on your last visit to this boiler last week .The ideal ISAR range has a similar set up fan on top then burner then heat engine.I never did see it myself but apparently the heat exchanger melted if the insulation slipped.Vokera turned up sharpish for you ,Cheers
Hi John. This is a guess, I am guessing the boiler was/is much older, Then registered because they were selling the property. Do you believe its even possible to get that blocked in 12 months? Thanks.
Hi Allan I would think the Vokera rep could decipher the serial number to get at least the date of manufacture that would give you an idea how old it could be.
Hi Allan my experience with vokera was from about 1995 till 2013 ,we had a lot of mynutes and lineas band D with The condensing boilers like Vokera HE 30 from about 2003 . After the Mynutes and Lineas Vokera did have a habit of changing their model's very frequently.keep up the good work.
Well, came across a couple of these boilers this week, dropping the pcb case is easy but trying to hold it up and locate the screw is just too tricky, had to use my foot to hold it up while getting the securing screw located. Getting it to fire at maximum and minimum by pressing the little button on the pcb, (if you can find it), didn't seem to work, so would appreciate some sort of demo how to do it.
Hi Steve. Thank you for the question. It,s really easy to do, I have done a video, Thanks. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vmfJ0Eqovb8.html
@Jesus Jones If you’re new to the industry, Alan’s videos help immensely. Even now after five years in, I still recap with the Worcester stuff. However, if you’re installing Vokera, you need to question your decision making and convince your customers of the benefits of fitting a different boiler. Alan’s summary of the Baxi 800 series is great. So, unless someone insists on a particular make, the 800 is bang on the money.
@Jesus Jones and why you're questioning your decision making ask why they're fitted properly in the thousands by guys who maintain them and they last and why some other installers do not seem able to do the same. You've seen the install, it was an experienced installer created that, like many of the guys that comment negatively here, not the manufacturer. It's like football fans, my team is best.
update on this, with the service cover on and sealed up, if I take off the flue bend on the top of the boiler it will fire up, put JUST the bend immediately on top it will not fire up ..... stuck
I would ignore the comments about slinging the boiler. I am the kind of gas installer who would do my best to save customers money. Not try and sell them a new boiler, because it doesn't fit in with me. It ain't their money being spent! I have repaired countless amounts of boilers, which have previously been written of for no reason other than greed or incompetence.
Not too bad if you've got loads of space in a garage, bit awkward whens it's fitted in a cupboard with minimal space on the sides, and anyone know what that creamy white stuff (excuse the pun) at the bottom of the sump is
Got a Vokera vision 25s , from last couple of months the boiler will only turn by banging it at the front with force couple of times. Got on to Vokera they have no engineers on our place for servicing and local plumber who called presume it's PCB or relay board. The same is not in stock with Vokera. Anyone ever had these issues, it's just that boiler won't fire up unless I bang on it 😂
@@AllenHart999 I’ve been servicing these boilers like this for years. I’ve 34 to do over the next week and I’ve a lad giving me a hand so wanted to show him how to beforehand. Informative videos as always Allen. Keep up the good work. I’m a Baxi man myself but I’ve used a few of the new vokera range lately as well as the Baxi with surprising results. Especially on opentherm. Definitely a contender nowadays
My experience with those heat exchangers is more or less bad, first u can't clean them, u can only clean top of it and second aluminum will deform sometimes at flow or return pipe going in/out and u will have a leak, also i had leak inside the heat exchanger once massive pin hole
Hi Waseem. That’s correct, That's really good hand spotting. As I said at the start of the video I will do some cutaways to try and help people understand it. We couldn’t get the camera in while David was filming. Thanks.
@@AllenHart999 yes many times, very common for the burner to get choked, water sensors tend to get dirty within 3 years and also pcb faults are very common in around 5 years.
@@reliabill87 Water sensors will only get dirty on dirty systems won,t they? That's not really a boiler fault. I am guessing I will not have this long enough to test the PCB. Thank you very much for the feedback.
Iv strip cleaned this and found it awkward and time consuming, ideal logic much more engineer friendly. If they want it strip cleaned every year they need to make it easier to do so. Find the traps on these awkward as well to clean.
@@AllenHart999 I don't think even I would call it a doddle, let's face it, it's not as easy as many especially front access (which we make too, just buy those).
Hi SpaceFX. They are a cheap boiler that suit some price points, Mine is working well at the moment. I will be replacing it soon though as I am going for an unvented cylinder. Thanks.
Allen love your videos but you shouldn't really be advising end users that this is what needs to happen on every boiler service. As you are well aware, some manufacturers advise in MIs that a full strip down service is only required if the boiler combustion levels exceed specific levels and therefore full cleaning of the heat exchanger is not required. Some companies out there expect 10 to 12 services in an 8 hour shift and this type of service would be impossible for every customer when on many occasions, its not required.
Hi Robert. We both know that anyone who is doing 12 jobs a day is not doing a service. It’s about time that customers see what is a service and what is an inspection visit. Thanks.
It’s time the industry recognised the difference between a proper “service” and a “safety & performance check”. Because most of the big boys(including who I’m employed by) only encourage the latter unfortunately. It’s a numbers game I’m afraid. Would rather do 6 quality services a day instead of 12 x 25min safety checks.
@@k20aa that is the problem, it is not an easy service but this video gives an installer an idea of what to do if they want to do a proper service for the customer. Then there's the installer who just says throw it in the bin rather than do what the customer wants or follow the M.I's. A pro deals with what he's faced with.
This is a humorous comment but the Vaillant style are half downward facing:-) Look at the evolve, the larger Vision Plus combis or the Vision Plus system boilers
not a massive fan however. i always find cheaper products such as the vokera, etc are harder to service so you find they have never been serviced properly. contributing to their demise. Where as.... If you look at a vaillent or a vogue etc you can get into clean them in 5-10 mins so you find they are normally looked after
Allen mentioned that too so I asked how much is a Vogue, he said three times the cost. Not everyone has that money or they might need a smaller boiler. The larger Vokera Vision Plus combis and the system boilers are stainless and front access.
@@vulcancontinental I understand that too. Also you generally find that when a customer chooses a cheaper boiler it because of a small budget and are looking for a cheaper job. Therefor not only choosing a cheaper boiler but also a cheaper installer (which tends to be a poorer installer the majority of the time) And from that is more likely to pay £30 for the boiler servicing rather than for a proper full strip down.
For me this type of boilers are garbage: they are difficult to service; maintenance takes a long time and the chemicals used for cleaning release unbearable gases! I personally use Sodium hydroxide dissolved in water to clean the heat exchangers made of aluminum alloy: it is very fast and efficient but the emitted gas takes your breath away, so this cleaning procedure should be done outdoors which adds another inconvenience to maintenance of these heat exchangers ... In the long run the costumer will pay more for the maintenance of these boilers than if they chose from the beginning to buy a boiler with stainless steel heat exchanger. I feel bad for those who bought these boilers and after 2-3 years inevitable they will start to have problems with them..
It looks a faff, and if the manufacturers guys don't really know how to easily clean the heat exchanger then it's probably a difficult job to clean one out.
@@AllenHart999 Yes it's great they take time out to help, but as a home owner /landlord it seems this would cost me at least 2 hours work a year x 6 houses plus landlord certificate so would make this a very very costly boiler to own on a lager than one basis. Especially when most other boilers are so easy and quick to service.
@@penskib1975 You could buy a boiler that costs 2 or 3 times more and in the long run the cheaper boiler could still work out the cheapest. You pay your money and take your chances. This video is to help with the boilers that are already installed. Thanks again.
@@kryptoniteee David from Vokera really wants to help and support engineers as much as possible. He is a really good guy and Vokera are amazing for letting him help out. Thanks.
They're not crap boilers but you have an opinion and not sure about better boilers in the price range either. As for the comments I've seen them all before, I also see the work of installers, there's an example on the wall in the video.
I was at a repair at one of these last week and the lady said I was the 8th engineer she's had to fix it in just over 2 years. Told her straight never buy vokera again they are shit
@@AllenHart999 Hard answer: 1: the first criterion is to have the modulation greater than or equal to 10: 1 2: if It has to be an combi bloiler @ 1000E I Think something from Baxi It is the first in my mind - I Think Baxi wins the Performance/reliability/price challenge 3: You have a house and i Think enough space at least for a combi boiler with a integrated water tank and now we have 2 competitors ( there are more than 2 but the ones listed are the first ones that came to my mind) First Viessmann Vitodens 111 (new model with 10:1 modulation) On the 2nd place: Baxi Nuvola Platinum … On the 3rd place: Viessmann 222-F ( new model) there is a boiler that failed to qualify (modulation less than 1:10) but which I always think about because I like the simple design of the combustion chamber and although it is made of aluminum alloy is I think the only on the market that can be split in two to be easily cleaned and I think it is the only boiler with aluminum heat exchanger that I like even though it is not a well-known brand: Intergas
@@AllenHart999 I have a personal problem with 4 brands of boilers due to their past choices of not equipping some of their boilers with low water pressure sensors on the heating circuit or lack of water flow sensor on the heating circuit: Vaillant; Viessmann; Bosch and Ariston! . They will always have a special place on my wall of shame :D .