... If you've read my op on Miller Homes, you'll no doubt expect me to say it doesn't surprise me that they fitted a Potterton Suprima. And it doesn't.
Bear with me, though - I'm going to tell you our tale of woe, and if you haven't wandered off in a fit of boredom, it probably means you have ... Read review
Advantages: Small. And it works. For a short while. Disadvantages: When it stops working it's a REAL pain! Main issue is PCB failure.
...me that they fitted a Potterton Suprima. And it doesn't.
Bear with me, though - I'm going to tell you our tale of woe, and if you haven't wandered off in a fit of boredom, it probably means you have a similar boiler and are having similar problems to us. Either that, or you're a glutton for punishment...
To be precise, our exact model is the Suprima 50L. It was after about a year in the house that we left my mother-in-law ... ...a while now that the Potterton Suprima is famed for its failing PCBs (printed circuit boards, for the non-electricians among us). When we had it serviced last September, the nice man explained that the reason we have to reset it all the time is because of a faulty circuit board. He explained it'd be about £250 if we wanted it fixed then, but at the time it was still bearable. Just.
Eventually, desperation set in. Although we've rode ... more
I had no choice as to which boiler was fitted in my house. Or put another way, I didn't seek a choice at the time. It was a new build house and the boiler that was fitted looked fine to my untrained eye. If you've read my op on Miller Homes, you'll no doubt expect me to say it doesn't surprise me that they fitted a Potterton Suprima. And it doesn't.
Bear with me, though - I'm going to tell you our tale of woe, and if you haven't wandered off in a fit of boredom, it probably means you have a similar boiler and are having similar problems to us. Either that, or you're a glutton for punishment...
To be precise, our exact model is the Suprima 50L. It was after about a year in the house that we left my mother-in-law in charge for the weekend, and stayed with friends. On the Saturday evening, we got a call from her to say that the boiler had stopped working and the house was freezing. My wife told her to press the reset switch and everything went back to normal. For about another 6 months.
Ever since then (about 20 months ago) the boiler has become increasingly annoying. Annoying because it now refuses to stay on for longer than about 2-3 hours at a time, and often won't go on despite trying 50+ times to reset it.
We've known for a while now that the Potterton Suprima is famed for its failing PCBs (printed circuit boards, for the non-electricians among us). When we had it serviced last September, the nice man explained that the reason we have to reset it all the time is because of a faulty circuit board. He explained it'd be about £250 if we wanted it fixed then, but at the time it was still bearable. Just.
Eventually, desperation set in. Although we've rode out the worst of the winter with the infuriating thing, it's the fact that my wife has to get up at about 5.30am EVERY weekday to reset it for her morning shower. And every day when we get home from work, the house is cold. So, last night I put 'Potterton Suprima Circuit Board' into Google, found a Q&A forum and discovered the following.
Potterton apparently phased out lead from their solder some time ago, for Health & Safety reasons. As a result though, with too high a proportion of tin in the solder, the joints are brittle. Consequently, with the constant vibration of the boiler firing up and turning off, the solder joints eventually crack, leaving dry joints all over the circuit board! THAT'S why the bloody thing refuses to work, or indeed conform to any rhyme or reason!
I should point out, too, that forking out £250 or so on a new PCB would only lead to the same problems within a couple of years or so.
After leaving a post on the forum last night, querying how difficult a task it would be to resolder these joints (since I'm not THAT experienced a solderer, and am wary of tinkering with gas appliances), I got a response today, with idiot-proof instructions telling me how to remove the PCB, and how to re-assemble it again after re-soldering the cracked joints. I've put a couple of photos in with this review to show exactly how they look, and my rather-amateurish soldering job that has made it work again.
In a nutshell, while Potterton disavow any liability for the product (or indeed any responsibility whatsoever for anything - see other ops for more detail), I have now fixed the boiler and it works like a dream! My wife thinks I'm a hero, and told me expressly to convey to the nice man who helped me that HE is also a hero!
So, I've saved myself £230 approx (soldering iron, solder and magnifying glass came to £19.97). I'm not going to go into a lot of detail showing how to fix the boiler, because, at the end of the day, it IS still an electrical and a gas appliance, and I'd hate to be responsible for causing any injury (or worse) to anyone.
My advice, if you have a Potterton boiler of any description, would be to get yourself onto an annual maintenance contract as soon as is physically possible. That's what we were trying to do when we last had the boiler serviced, but due to the incompetence of the maintenance company, they took so long to sort it out that they wanted to service the boiler again. By that point, we simply couldn't have got away with denying any knowledge of the fault. £12 or so a month will be cheaper than forking out for a new PCB every couple of years, and you'll effectively get your boiler serviced once a year for free.
If you ARE confident enough to fix the boiler yourself, just do what I did and look it up on Google. I think if you put 'Potterton Suprima lockout problem' into Google, you'll get a very small number of hits, one of which will be entitled 'Questions & Answers'. But don't do anything silly, and do get qualified help if you're at all unsure.
Other than the above, which is obviously my main reason for writing this op, the boiler is adequate for our needs when it's working. I might suggest it's a little underpowered for a 4 bedroom house, but it's OK.
[UPDATE 25/07/05]
After a few weeks of working OK, the boiler started to play up again. Same problem, requiring to be reset a few times a day, then getting steadily worse. Further communication with the online forums - and the guy who gave me the advice on soldering in the first place - has turned up a comment from a boiler service engineer, who said that if it IS only the solder, we've been lucky, as some of the components have been known to be dodgy too.
I've also discovered that Potterton PCBs can sometimes be found on eBay for £70-90, but do be very careful to get the correct part number if you go down this route (part no. is printed on the PCB, and almost invariably quoted on the eBay description when they come up for sale).
We've discovered a new workaround now. If you turn the boiler off for a while (1/2 an hour or more minimum), then turn it back on, it seems to fire up 90+% of the time, first time. We're just getting into the habit of turning it off before we go to bed now. Won't be suitable in winter, though!
So, our new strategy is to use the turn-off method until we find a PCB for sale on eBay, then buy that, install it, and then get onto an annual maintenance contract.
In short, while most of the advice above stands about the problems, and part of the possible solution, I felt it was important to give anyone in this situation the full picture. And the picture is still 'Get onto a maintenance contract ASAP!'
...I tracked down to my Potterton suprema 40 boiler in the kitchen.
The electrical circuit board was in melt down . Fizzing and crackling sounds were coming from it and I had to act fast to stop my house catching fire.
The smoke that it emmited was acrid and we have had all the doors and windows open but it's very hard to get rid of. I was very angry and very worried and even though I had turned off gas and electricity supplies to the boiler I slept ... ...killed had I done so.
Potterton will only give me a part number of 5111603 for a new circuit board but are unable to tell me if this is the new design .
I understand from reading on the net this morning that there are modified boards as this is a major problem from this range of boilers. The Watchdog site from the BBC has an example of over 20 houses in one development in Yeovil suffering problems from there Potterton Suprema boilers.
Yours Sincerely. ...
Alive10 19.09.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Potterton Suprima
Advantages: Absolutely None whatsoever Disadvantages: Inefficient, unreliable, extremly costly to repair and potentially very dangerous!!!!! AVOID
...in autumn 2001 and a Potterton Suprima 120L installed. Since then the boiler has had two replacement circuit boards.
The second failed last night. The red and green lights started flashing and a loud clicking noise was heard. Tried resetting with the reset button and then by switching the electricity supply to the boiler on and off. No joy. Later clicking noise was replaced by loud crackling noise. Boiler is wired up to a cicuit breaker but this ... ...be looking to do some research and replace this with a more reliable boiler (UNLIKELY it will be Potterton). After all, having seen the information on the internet, Potterton ARE AWARE of the serious problems with these boilers and DO NOTHING about it. They do not deserve my custom. ...
harrysmith123 06.11.2009
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Review of Potterton Suprima
Advantages: None that I can see Disadvantages: Products are poor, company's attitude is indifference
...and I have long specified Potterton products.
When I refurbished my own home three years ago I installed two Potterton Suprima boilers. Both boilers developed the same fault some twent months or so after installation, and both failed altogether within the following ten months.
Potterton are not even interested in the fact that two boilers developed thre same fault simultaneously. The cost of repairs is likely to be in the region of £300.00 - £400.00.
...
LindsayBuchan 23.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Potterton Suprima
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Unreliable and NO back-up from manufacturer
...we have suffered from our Potterton Suprima 60L locking itself out (boiler turning itself off and the red light flashing). We had tried hundreds of times pressing the reset button to coax it back into life. Sometimes that worked for 30 mins sometimes for 30 hours. Our plumber has now said that it is definately the pcb (printed circuit board). Best price we can find is £150 plus fitting. Watch Dog has highlighted this problem this week with hundreds, ... ...I have found out the Potterton are now on the THIRD version of this part to try to rectify the problem! However if you call Potterton they will deny there is any problem with either the pcb or the boiler design. The fault seems to lay with the solder used on the pcb, as under Health & Safety rules the use of lead in solder has been banned. The high tin content in the "New" solder means that with high temperatures and vibration the soldered joints ...
JohnNB 09.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Potterton Suprima
Advantages: Compact Disadvantages: Incomplete combustion, high carbon monoxide levels, explosive ignition, PCB failure, thermostat failure, poor customer service
...of problems with a Baxi Potterton Suprima 120L wall mounted natural gas boiler?We had a new Suprima 120L fitted in November 2002 since when we have had a catalogue of problems including explosive ignition, and incomplete combution giving high levels of carbon monoxide.
We have have numerous visits from Potterton engineers and as, the appliance is now out of guarantee, from British Gas Homecare engineers, in which most parts have been replaced apart ... ...problems with a Suprima.
Generally, Baxi Potterton have a good reputation in the trade so I wondered if we just have a one-off rogue boiler, or whether there is a more widespread experience from which we can learn.
We really are at the end of our tether with this boiler. ...
edwincarter22 24.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Potterton Suprima
