# Problem with Vokera Mynute gas boiler



## Zion

Hi guys,

Hoping someone may be able to help me out with problem I have. I have a Vokera Mynute gas boiler installed in my new apartment which to date has been working perfectly and heating up the rads nice and quickly. 

Not living in apartment as yet as still finishing it off so have just had it on for an hour or two each day. 

However went in today to put heating on and boiler does not appear to be firing up which therefore means no heat! 

When you turn boiler on there is a green light which flashes for a while and then turns red. The pressure does not go above 0.

By the way there is no model number on boiler and I have no manual to consult.

Has anyone any idea what problem could be? Its a new apartment so boiler is less than a year old and as I said before has been working perfectly until now. Hoping to move in soon so really need to get this sorted out before I freeze to death!

Thanks


----------



## bertie1

Sounds like the water pressure in the system has gone down and the boiler won't start , Try opening the filling loop, bringing it to 1 bar & close the filling loop again .


----------



## Zion

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where is the filling loop?


----------



## steelblue

Hi,

If its a new apt , then contact the builder to get it sorted.


----------



## cinders

We have a Vokera boiler in our apt too.  Had to call out a Vokera service engineer last year as it wouldn't light.  He explained about the pressure & how to adjust it.  He didn't charge us for the call out in the end, but we do need to get him back to service it this year.  I wouldn't trust myself to tell you which is the right valve to turn to get the pressure right though! 

If builders are still around, get them to show you how to work the boiler & adjust the pressure, if they haven't already done this (our boiler requires the heat & water to be on at the same time - not all models are like this though).  I downloaded the manual for our boiler off the internet, just did a google search - can't recall the website though.


----------



## TonyG1012002

a. Your builder/gas installer has duty to ensure (as required by law) that you have the relevant user & installation manuals for you gas appliances,
and also is supposed to give you instruction on their use, along with a 'certificate of conformity' of your gas installation.

b. Your boiler is still under warranty if under 12 months old, call the builder to come sort it out, of Vokera and they will send out someone to you.


----------



## MandaC

I had a Vokera Boiler in my last house, which gave trouble after five years. It packed up just before I signed over the house to the new purchaser(sods law) and cost me approx. €600 to repair.  the engineer fixing it told me they are not a good boiler, cheap ,and if I was replacing he would not recommend me buy another.

At the same time, our Vokera boiler in work also packed up and needed replacing (again after six years)  We did not get another Vokera.

Moved to my new house and low and behold,  another Vokera Boiler.  I think they are following me.


----------



## rebel16

What is the correct water pressure for those Vokera Boilers. My plumber recommended them, so I went with him. Hope I won't regret it.


----------



## lgc

Hi,

  Having the same problem here.
  Model: Vokera Mynute 12e
  They already changed the heat exchanger.
  Same problem after a couple of weeks.
  The guy came again and had a look and told me that the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) was damaged and a new one had to be fitted.
  After reading entries in
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=54605622
not sure that the PCB is the problem here.

  I'll keep researching. For those who need them, the manuals can be downloaded from:
www.vokera.co.uk
(homeuser section)

Good luck


----------



## Purple

Vokera have a two year parts and labour warranty. I have a new one and agree that they are cheap but I have found their service excellent.


----------



## theplumber

Some system boilers come with a minimal pressure vessel that is often to small for the size of the system that it serves. Additional vessel capacity is appropriate in very many cases.

Unfortunately boiler manufacturers do not stress the importance of fitting an extra vessel. being refered to as optional means it rarely gets done.

By the time everyone has let a little air out of the vessel to see if there´s any in there it is depleted.

Air should only be released from a vessel by someone who has the means to put it back in. 

Ask you plumber to study the boiler installation literature carefully.


​


----------



## lgc

Hello,
  I had the same problem with a Vokera Mynute 12e.

  Problem: *Vokera's Thermister* came *faulty from factory*. I know for sure that this is happening for 12e models. Since the symptoms are the same for other models I assume the same might be happening to them.

  Solution: Replace thermister, about 25 euros (£19) or even less.

No issues since.

 I spent much more money with replacing the heat exchanger, the PCB, calls out from plumbers, flushing the system out, ... No success. In the end, the thermister replacement did the trick. Original (faulty) thermister is red (or blue, I can't remember now) and new one is blue (or viceversa). Call Vokera and explain the situation, they should know straight away and confirm the above. This part is responsible for switching off the ignition system should the boyler reaches a too high temperature. The faulty one does it whenever it "pleases it".

Hope that helps,
Luis


----------



## f1_jb

Hi guys, the main problem with these boiler problems is that a lot of the people trying to fix them don't know what there doing which is why the head straight for the PCB without properly diagnosing the problem in the first place which leads to countless visits if you can get them back and more money been spent unnecessarily.

I also have to take issue with the point made about Vokera been a bad boiler, if you read the installation instructions supplied with the boiler you will find that very few are fitted as per manufactures instructions on two main points, firstly few plumbers flush the systems properly or add inhibitor to protect the system. Secondly few have fitted a Permanent Live supply to the boiler when wiring the boiler. What this does is, when you clock or thermostat shuts the boiler off, if the temperature is too high the pump runs on to remove the excess heat form the heat exchanger instead of the residual heat causing the heat exchanger to excide the limits which over time causes the heat exchanger to go.

I hope this gives you some insight into what I have found over the years working on boilers and all the stick I took form guys on jobs when I would read the instructions before fitting a new boiler for the first time.


----------



## nigel27

I had the same problem last week. My friend is a plumber but is certified to work on gas too. He called out and fixed the problem very easily. 
At the bolier there is a *RED* valve switch, turn this to open the valve. Next turn the *BLACK* thumb valve to allow gas in. You will see the bolier pressue go up. It should be set at apx 1.5  Close the *BLACK* valve *AND *the *RED* valve.


----------



## wishbone

I thought the pressure indicator was the water pressure not gas?  Learn something new every day.  We have a Vokera Mynute 28se.  We have had one problem with it.  We looked up Golden Pages and got a Vokera chappy who came out and said it was a problem with the motherboard and it would cost us 400e or something...well we agreed as no option really.  He replaced it, still didn't work.  He said he had to go off to the shop to get a new one as this one must have been faulty also.  4 hours later and nearing 5 on a Saturday, he had not returned, he wouldn't answer his phone....finally we go the GP out again and looked up another chappy.  Lovely guy arrived, mature, and took one look, said it was the thermostat (or maybe it was thermister reading other posts), it cost us about 80e for the whole thing.  No problems since...that was about 3 years ago now.  So I can't really complain about the boiler, just the price of the gas it uses...


----------



## Awhite15

Hi. I hope somebody can point me in the right direction. I have a problem with a Vokera 20e boiler. The gas company inspected it and said it was an electriacl fault, that was when I was called in.. Ive tested the supply all the way to the closing contact in to the PCB and am not getting any voltage out of it, the fuse is ok and when I bridge out the two terminals (bypassing the PCB) the boiler comes to life. Is my problem with the PCB or the Thermistor, or maybe something else. Just to note the boiler is in place for about 6 years .. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS: if it is a thermistor problem, could somebody tell me the location of it, as I am unfamiliar with these boilers.


----------



## DGOBS

Ok, if the gas company inspected it, and said it was an electrical fault (very helpful guy!!!!!) they most likely mean 'outside the boiler' ie, demand is not being given to the boiler, so you will need to check all room stats, cylinder stats, time clocks and zone valves on the system are operating correctly and sending 240v to switched live in the boiler (you can bridge out live to swiched live to prove the boiler is firing ok (ie,  not looking for external demand, only firing on the boilers stats) 

If you want to mail me tony@cadcam.ie I can send you the boiler manuals, just tell me which mynute it is (ie. 14e, 16se...etc)
and I will forward both the user & installation manuals to you....


----------



## gary71

All due respect, but when you have finished working on the boiler are you going to be happy the boiler is fitted to manufactures instructions, 813 and safe to use?


----------



## DGOBS

hi gary, no one is suggesting tampering with the boiler location or anything inside the room sealed compartment, I am suggestion the fault is an external 'control' issue


----------



## heyyou

bertie1 said:


> Sounds like the water pressure in the system has gone down and the boiler won't start , Try opening the filling loop, bringing it to 1 bar & close the filling loop again .



Can anyone help me with this query - our plumber installed our boiler with an 'on-off' valve for the filling loop (I'm sure that's not the technical words).  Someone else has told us we should have a pressure reducing valve on it instead to reduce the mains pressure down to about 1bar (rather than having to manually top up the system every now and then).  Yet another person has said that you are not supposed to have a system filled by pressure reducing valve in most local water authority areas.

I'm confused.  Where can I find the 'correct' answer (after being told different things all by people more expert than me!)?

Thanks


----------



## DavyJones

It's not a pressure reducing valve but a automatic filling valve, they look similar so I can understand the confusion. your installer was correct, he fitted a filling loop, you must turn it on to pressurise system and then off, it does not automatically fill you system when there is a drop in pressure.

I wouldn't fit an automatic filling valve, it would always be a fillling loop.


----------



## heyyou

DavyJones said:


> I wouldn't fit an automatic filling valve, it would always be a fillling loop.



Thanks for the response.

Is it not beneficial to always be filling the loop, to keep the pressure in the system at least 1 bar (rather than have to check and do manually)?

Also, apparently there are different rules in different areas regarding being allowed to install an automatic filling valve - have you come across this?

Thanks


----------



## DavyJones

heyyou said:


> Thanks for the response.
> 
> Is it not beneficial to always be filling the loop, to keep the pressure in the system at least 1 bar (rather than have to check and do manually)?
> 
> Also, apparently there are different rules in different areas regarding being allowed to install an automatic filling valve - have you come across this?
> 
> Thanks



Once the system is up to pressure, it shouldn't have to be topped up on a regular basis. Maybe once or twice a year tops. If it is a regular thing, your system has a fault. And if the system is constantly refilling itself you will never know about it until your radiators rust and your heat exchanger fails. Fresh water constantly entering heating system is bad news, hence the reason a lot of installers aren't fans of automatic filling valves.

different councils may have different by-laws
, I'm not sure. However I don't fit AFV so it doesn't affect me.


----------



## dunne52

can anyone advise me re pressure gauge? we have had a water cut in our area and my pressure dropped down to under .5. I then opened the filling loop valve as I had been shown, but now my pressure goes up to over 2 when the heating is on, is this ok? or should I get someone to have a look at it?
thanks.


----------



## DGOBS

over 2 is fine, if it was exceeding 2.5 and heading for 3 bar then yes it should be looked into as your expansion vessel may need recharging


----------

