Manual Reset keeps popping out and needs pressing

Have unfortunately an unreliable gulfstream 2000. In the last week the manual reset button keeps popping out, cutting out the boiler and causing the heating to stop. I can reset it and the burner will come back on, but it lasts on average for 45 mins before it has popped out again.
Last year we had the overheat store red light come on, and had the new main boiler part ( heat exchanger) changed due to corrosion which cost a fortune. New inhibitor was put in and a power flush was done. We have a microbore system to add to the problem. We also had new pump valves. The engineer thought that the house builders may not have put the inhibitor in when the system was installed causing this big problem.
This worked for a few mths and then in december 08 the same problem reoccured. The same engineer came round and put in a new circuit board. After testing the system he said the voltage kept dropping hinting a faulty circuit board was to blame.
This worked for a few weeks without any probs until the New Year when the manual reset button keeps popping out. There is no red light coming on though ( ignition lock out, or heat overstore) so i can reset it as often as i want. Very annoying though as you cant get the heating working for a long period of time. The water isnt affected at all.
Had another Gledhill engineer out tonight out who thought it might be the flame electrode as it was a bit bent so this was replaced and he put in a new heat overstore stat,( the button that i keep pressing) but 1/2 hr after he left the button has popped out again. He said he didnt have time to look any further into it as he had another 2 calls to get to!
What else could it be? i would be very grateful for anyones opinions as i feel so desperate and feel we will never get the system working properly again,
regards caroline

Hi Caroline,

Your problem sounds very similar to ours. I dont even know where to start. Problems been occurring since october, british gas came round so many times, replaced so many parts, including the heat exchange, and didnt power flush the system. Its flat is newly built around 4 yrs old and they reckon that the builders left alot slug in the pipework. But now were still no closer to a solution. The landlord is planning to replace to boiler.
We were recommended someone who specialises in breakdown and he reckons, theres a blockage. Theres hot water when we press the reset button, but theres still no heating. There was in the beginning but then the heating gave up! Just like you, i can reset the button every 45 mins, when were doing the washing up or going in the shower so annoying. We will try to identify and get rid of the blockage, if it still doesnt work, we will install a new boiler. But its such a waste, because in the beginning when we moved to the property, the gulfstream 2000 was so efficient and kept cost so low, but it has become a pain in the rear!

Would really appreciate if someone could shed light on this lasting problem.
Thanks

Hi all, we are having the same problem although we havent had any repairs done yet. It seems from your posts that there is no quick or cheap fix to this problem, and these repair jobs havent helped long term. Not sure what to do now!

Really happy this weekend is going to be cold!

Sadly Caroline's problem is almost certainly corrosion deposits clogging up the boiler heat exchanger. This causes the water to flow too slowly through and pick up too much heat. One of the three thermostats at the top then trips the boiler OFF and a manual reset is usually needed.

Powerflushing makes little difference in my experience. Especially not on a microbore system - the pipes are too thin to flush effectively. I've written about this problem in detail on my Gulfstream repairs website. Best advice is to remove the Gulfstream and fit a Vaillant combi in my opinion.

Cheers, Mike

Hi Mike,

As far as I can understand from older posts, we are experiencing the same issues: I guess the heat exchanger overheats and the unit stop working, having to reset it... We have rumbling noises quite often. Besides, if we set up a temperature in the thermostat higher than 18º C...., it trips every 20 min and eventually the red light comes on....

On december 2008 we had a British Gas engineer that came twice and didn't fix the problem and we couldn't get a service agreement either because the system was still faulty.... I have called Gledhill and they are not servicing these units anymore....

Would you know who could be able to service these units in the area of Swindon?

Thanks,

Maria

I have received a call from Gledhill (after several phone calls) referring me with a local contractor...., now I am waiting the local contractor to call.....

Hi Maria,

The immediate fix for this problem is a new gas-to-water heat exchanger and a magnetic filter in the heating return to the boiler. The bill for this will be well into four figures and none of them will be a 1 ;-) Further, I give no guarantee on Gulfstream repairs, it is such a turkey of a boiler. I think you'd be better off putting the money towards the cost of a new boiler. However a repair will be quicker so I'll come to Swindon and replace the heat exchanger if you wish. Give me a call - my number is 07866 766 364. Leave me a message reminding me of this conversation!

Cheers, Mike

we are having the same problem although we havent had any repairs done yet. It seems from your posts that there is no quick or cheap fix to this problem, and these repair jobs havent helped long term. Not sure what to do now!

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mafiafran,

This problem is usually caused by products of corrosion accumulating inside the gas-to-water heat exchanger. It can be definitively diagnosed by measuring the temperatures of the inlet and outlet pipes to the heat exchanger while the boiler is running. The difference between the two values is the indicator. Anything more than about 15 degrees C difference indicates terminal contamination and the rest button is likely to begin popping out if it hasn't already started.

Once the button-popping starts there is nothing you can do to fix it properly other than spend a couple of thousand pounds having a new gas-to-water heat exchanger fitted. Nobody does this though because it makes more sense to apand the same money on a new, more reliable boiler.

Mike