Gec Nightstor 100 Instruction Manual
My parents have had a GEC Nightstor for over 20 years and it has been a good system. Sadly the system was flushed out and after that there was banging from the pipes and it eventually cut out. They paid to have it flushed again and it worked for 11 days then same problem and nothing plumber could do. Anyway I believe the heat exchanger has been blocked because of the flushing which was exited from a radiator and not the drain in the boiler. I think if I turn of the valve next to the pump and open the drain in the boiler compartment and flush from the header tank this may clear the heat exchanger. Has anyone done this or had a similar problem. There are two radiator circuits upstairs and downstairs (under the floor in concrete).
I think the water is boiling so the pipes bang and the thermal trips cut off the fan. The pump is on position 3 and another issue may be the pump is not pumping enough?
Thanks to Mike the boilerman for ringing me back and leaving a message - I wish he lived closer! Thanks for any advice etc John. Tony I cannot comment on the plumber he was a friend of my father. Sadly my father passed away in January and I was hoping to get this fixed until we can replace the system with storage radiators. There are three 22m pipes into the boiler flow, return and vent. The vent (I think) has a 15mm tee to the header tank.
The pipes go into the heat exchanger above the pump. We have now paid plumber twice Hyndburn Engineering once (stated boiler OK its the wet system) so if I get someone else in want to be sure they know what they are doing. I was hoping someone may have had and fixed a similar problem. Yes is was Mike Bryant and I was so annoyed I missed his call but he left a long message with some suggestions but the distance is really to far.
His website is a useful resource and he sounds a real gentleman. Here some pictures.
Ok enough drama, have any of you fellow 'electrically knowleged people ' had any experience with GEC Nightstor Heaters? A friend of my wife`s has one and I have just been round to take a look as apparently it stopped working. On first appearences one of the two thermal links has disintergrated (the one that has the daytime boost option).
Now Im working along the idea that these things blow for a reason. The tennant reported that there was a strong smell of burning plastic earlier in the week before all stopped working.
So far I have found the following.both elements have the same reading with the fluke metre. Pump is running fine, room thermostat working fine, i swapped the thermal links over just for a few minutes, so I could put the daytime boost on.things started to heat up within the heater.
The overheat cut out at the bottom has not popped out.so assuming that that is ok (would think the pump wouldn`t be running if this had cut out?). The fan for the heat exchanger.did not run at anytime while I was there (impossible to get to any terminals on it safely while live). Could it be possible that if the fan for the heat exchanger failed.too much heat would build up and melt the thermal cut out?
My only theory so far, though I wouldnt want to suggest replacing it without further input from you guys. Any assistance greatly appreciated. I saw that post as well crafty, to be honest I didn`t realise these things existed.fortunately they don`t seem to popular. When I swapped the thermal link over to get the daytime boost to work, after only about 5 mins there was a slight plasticky smell.
Im still of the idea that it could be the fan, but as I said before would rather have a more expert opinion before trying that theory out. For those that don`t know what one of these is.(only for future reference if someone else finds one). Its basically a night storage heater (19.8 KW!!) stands about 6 feet tall about two foot square. The idea when working is the core heats on off peak rate, the fan in the bottom of the unit then draws the retained heat through a heat exchanger, then an integral pump pumps the water round the radiators. Ok it`s slightly more complicated.but thats the basic idea.
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Unfortunately within the user manual and installers guides are only drawings of the control panel wiring, nothing relating to the terminal block withing the heater itself. Warehouse software torrent. One of the guys at work used to install these while working for the board years ago, but again didnt have to fault find/repair them. Someone on forum has been asking about the Nightstor, here is the reply My God those bring back nightmares from my apprentice days from EMEB. (Lugging Bricks) As for servicing them and installing them you used to have been registered by GEC and been on their course. No idea if this is still the case. From memory (Last helped install them in 1987 but I have had to reset on in 1999) these boilers had two banks of elements both with thermal links which heated a brick core which 'charged' during economy seven times.
When heat is required air is drawn over these bricks and over a heat exchanger to heat the central heating water. The pump is internal to the casing.
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There is a reset button either behind the bottom panel of the boiler on the older models or behind a rubber plug on the later models (No need to remove the panel - Just push the middle of this rubber blank until it clicks) The 'Nightstore 100' were either configured for 3-phase or single phase (Supplied via a double supply cutout). Control was via a wall mounted control unit sited near the boiler.
Gec Nightstor 100 Manual
This contains contactors that either energised both element banks for 3-pahse or switched banks for single phase. Basically failier wise you could of lost one or both elements, their themal links, the plenum chamber fan or the contactors. As for service contractors try contacting the current manufacturer of this boiler at:- Please login (registration is free!) to view this link. Crystal.something within that post made me reread it a few times.
Even though we had an old installers guide, nothing mentioned the fact that if on a single phase supply it only operated one element at a time. I assumed (wrongly) that both elements would operate together, now this may be stretching things a little but.what if. The thermal link that had melted.melted a long time ago.not recently, the heater has been making use ever since that time, of the one remaining working element.
When my wifes friend mentioned the smell of burning plastic, I automatically went to the heater 1st and discovered the melted thermal link, therefore assuming fault with heater. I never even looked within the control panel on the wall as when i swapped the links over, switched the daytime boost on.the element started to heat (therefore assumed control box was functional). I now have a strong suspicion that the smell of burning plastic is possibly one of the contactors withing the control panel. As anyone here who has seen one before, a burnt out contactor reeks. Will try and pop round and try this theory out tomorrow morning. The plot thickens, Well it`s still not fixed, and it wasn`t a contactor burnt out.
The unit is 3 phase, Red- control circuit, Yellow- element one (with melted thermal link), Blue- element two (with only 10 volts between phase and earth). Appears that the 3 phase mcb at the mains position is up the shoot, 240 on all incoming, 240 on red & yellow load, 10v on Blue. Slight signs of discolouration to outgoing blue phase, possible loose terminal at some time causing it to overheat.
So what came 1st? The chicken or the egg? Possible that the blue phase has been missing for years and the heaters been working on the one remaining element, until the thermal link blew.or.thermal link has been blown for ages and now that the blue phase is shot.no heater.