Potterton Suprima

...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, ...
...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 ...

alabony 11.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

...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 · Read full review
Review of Potterton Suprima

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

...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 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

...it was a joke. Fortunately Potterton didn't charge nme and were very good about it. They knew they had a big problem with the design of these boilers. They came so many times and changed the electronics so many times that the engineers were embaressed. One said they redesigned the boards many times and eventually fitted a final "fix". I didn't pay a penny. I then purcahed their annual insurance policy for abot £80 pa and it is now their problem. ...
...efficient, the second is that Potterton were OK. Unfortunatly is is not well designed electronically, I think they tried to make it too small (i.e. efficient). Potterton know they have a problem and will back down if you challenge them. This boiler as it stands (1999 models), is not fit for purpose, and the guarantee period is not relevant, that is you can get them to extend the warranty period indefinitly until they have fixed the design problem. ...

russellambrose 09.01.2008 (10.01.2008) · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

In short, if you have one change it and if you're looking for a boiler, fortunately they don't seem to sell them any more. After a couple of years of 'lockout' problems, got home today looking forward to a lovely hot bath to be denied by a stupid boiler that won't ignite. In fact, if I had my way, I'd stick it in a field and ignite it with napalm or something. Potterton KNOW these are useless, yet ofer no web-based advice and are keeping plumbers in chips. I HATE THEM! ...

josephwhibley 29.10.2007 (27.10.2007)
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Review of Potterton Suprima

I dont know if they are still in circulation but if you are thinking of buying one - DONT. I bought my house new in 1997 and since then have had 5 circuit boards replaced and other parts also. the only reson i am doing this and not getting a new one is due the fact my house insurance covers the cost. I have experienced all the problems identified in the previous post. the plumber who was here last stated that there was a specific fault with the model however Potterton have refused to admit this. ...

andy92 03.10.2009 (20.11.2007)
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Review of Potterton Suprima

I have a ~3year Potterton Suprima 120L which has a failed PCB. The problem is the signal/power supply to the ch pump. Other than that the boiler operates satisfactorily ... BUT it continues to operate with no circulation of water through the heat exchanger resulting in the water flashing off and a tremendous amount of water hammer. Unless stopped manually there is the potential of serious damage (the high temp cut out failed to stop the boiler). ...
...and utter waste of time. They deny there is a design problem with the PCB, both in the Mean Time Between Failure and the control logic but hey surprise surprise the replacement PCB is an updated model!! Old model nos. is 423783 New nos? They have an ostrich mentality with regard to the safety implications. Don't think the HSE will The units cost £98.74 + Vat for the trade but Joe Public has to pay £150. So when it does happen to you put that to ...

aparr 25.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

Suprima 120 Same problems as everyone else - the PCB seems to fail every 8-12 months. I have had this boiler for 4 years, and must have had heat team out 6-8 times. The sympton is that the boiler goes to reset mode - red flashing light, and while initially a reset will get it started - it eventually refuses to light. Heat team came out last on 24.6.08 and now under 2 weeks later it again wont restart. I asked them whether the boiler was fit for purpose and asked for some MTBF statistics, but they refused to discuss this. A product to be avoided at all costs. ...

nigelbrown 10.07.2008
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Review of Potterton Suprima

Suprima 120 after 1 1/2 years same problem with PCB. British Gas Home Care eventually refused to come out again and said the boiler was badly installed and quoted me hundreds of pounds to fix it, then they never showed up, I got an expert in, he said install was OK and then told me the fault was the PCB again and that this was so well known it had been on the BBC Watchdog program. What I cannot understand given this bulletin board and many others, ...
...large old company, cannot just come clean and fix teh problem, otherwise I guess they will eventually go bust as anyone reading this stuff would steer miles away.. I am having one last go at getting BG Home Care, who happily take my direct debit every month and not show up will this time get the problem fixed, but I am not hopeful.... My next step will be to contact BBC Watchdog and tell them about Bristish Gas ripping off customers, luckily its ...

brightontrader 22.05.2008 (21.05.2008) · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

'An excellent boiler which gives very little trouble if installed correctly. If it does go wrong there is a plentiful supply of spare parts. As they are comparatively quite simple to fit, the Suprima can be repaired successfully by even the most inexperienced of engineers, so a quick repair is very likely, no matter whoever you get to repair. Being quite small, this boiler can fit into a regular kitchen cupboard and so makes it an ideal boiler if ...
...space.' I've had a lot of experience with these boilers since I wrote that. Let's consider the previous paragraph. 'An excellent boiler which gives very little trouble if installed correctly' Hmmmm, did I really say that? The major problem is the circuit board, which will fail eventually. 'If it does go wrong there is a plentiful supply of spare parts.' True. Just as well really. 'As they are comparatively quite simple to fit, the Suprima can ...

botmission 22.08.2000 (01.07.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima

We too had a potterton suprima 120L fitted in july 2003. It seemed to work perfectly till after 13 months! It then continually "locked out" Potterton said "sorry it's out of warranty" and unless we paid, they were just not interested. We contacted the gas board to inspect our system to take it on for their 3* cover. Fortunatelly the boiler behaved during the inspection and British Gas took on the cover. They have changed most parts, including mother boards, pump, electrodes and other parts, yet they are still unable to solve the lockout problem, which may occur after anything from 2 hours to 2 months after booting up. we are now considering a new boiler. But NEVER a POTTERTON Steve Jay ...

stevemjuggler 20.05.2008
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Review of Potterton Suprima

Like so many others, I had repeated lockouts. After reading web advice I removed and re-soldered the PCB. This repair lasted about 6 months. I repeated the job - it lasted about 3 weeks. So I bit the bullet and bought a new PCB (£186 from keeptheheaton.com). With no boiler or electrical skills it took me about 2 hours to relace the PCB (NB I did not buy a refurbished PCB because the design has changed - hopefully for the better). The job was straightforward ...
...from a few minor errors (1) the connections for the electrode and its earth lead were not explained but I could work it out from one of the photos (2) the front securing screw can't be re-fitted (but a new top bolt is supplied which is fine) (3) there is no need to remove the fan assembly as you can easily thread the wires behind the exhaust flue. I'm now keeping my fingers crossed. ...

diyer 06.12.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Potterton Suprima