Are you wondering if there’s a fix for your faulty Ferroli boiler?
Having to deal with a faulty boiler can be stressful, especially if you depend on it for hot water, too! And trying to work out how to diagnose the problem and whether it’s actually serious or not can also be tricky.
That’s why I’ve put together this blog post detailing five of the most common faults and fixes for Ferroli boilers, so you can get an idea of what’s causing the problem and what the solution entails.
NOTE: Remember, DO NOT try to fix the problem yourself; always call a Gas Safe registered engineer.
About Ferroli boilers
Ferroli manufacture cheap budget boilers which are known to be quite unreliable, with cheap fittings that are prone to leaks after a bit of wear and tear. It’s common for homeowners to experience a wealth of fault codes flashing up on their boilers, and often have to try and decipher what’s wrong by checking the internet.
Unfortunately, because these boilers are prone to having multiple faults at a time, many engineers (including us) will often refuse to carry out repairs. Ferroli also don’t have their own dedicated engineers, and instead use local contractors who may not have a high expertise level of dealing with this brand.
Fault 1: The boiler is leaking from below
If water is leaking from your boiler from below, it could be a problem due to this brand’s cheaply manufactured shut valves, as these boilers are prone to this particular fault.
The Fix: Unfortunately, the only solution is to have the valves replaced by your chosen engineer. However, they are only sold as a pack which costs over £120 at trade price, so it could be an expensive fix!
Fault 2: The boiler is losing pressure
If your Ferroli boiler is losing pressure, but you’ve checked there are no leaks coming from the radiators and no water discharging from the pressure relief valve, it’s usually a problem with the expansion vessel which will need to be repressurised.
The Fix: An engineer will normally use a foot pump or hand pump to repressurise the vessel – it’s usually a quick fix, but with this brand you may require a replacement vessel first – as again, they are quite cheaply manufactured and and are prone to fail early in the boilers life
Fault 3: Heating behaving erratically
By ‘erratically’, I mean that your heating either isn’t coming on at the time you’ve set, or just coming on at random times that seem completely out of your control and make little sense (think 3am).
The Fix: The cheap mechanical timers that were often installed in Ferroli boilers tend to be very flimsy and often break if someone tries to turn the timer back. It should be fairly simple to replace the programmer.
Fault 4: Boiler not firing/Going into lock-out
If your boiler is failing to fire up and just going into lock-out, it could be a problem with the PCB (printed circuit board), but you can check this by testing with a vault meter to see if electricity is reaching the PCB whilst still remaining unresponsive.
The Fix: Often, the only solution here is to have the PCB replaced, which can be costly.
Fault 5: Boiler igniting briefly or ‘puffing’
If your Ferroli boiler is only igniting briefly, or making a ‘puffing’ sound, this is usually down to flue problems, such as corrosion in the flue duct, or joints coming lose.
The Fix: Get an engineer to replace your flue or clamps holding the flue in place.
Consider a replacement
Especially if your Ferroli boiler is old, it may be worth considering a replacement boiler. Spare Ferroli parts tend to be very expensive, and the boilers themselves are unreliable and prone to multiple faults, so even if you fix whatever’s wrong now, you may find the boiler breaking down again in a couple of month’s time.
Upgrading to a new, A-rated boiler from a more reliable brand could save you a lot of money in the long-term, although you may see it as a bit of an investment in terms of upfront cost.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and by now you should have a better idea of how to diagnose your faulty Ferroli boiler – just remember to call an experienced gas engineer and do NOT try to fix these issues yourself.
Are you struggling with a problem regarding your Ferroli boiler that I haven’t mentioned above? Either leave a comment below or get in touch with me directly – I’ll be happy to help!
I have a 14yr old Ferroli Sigma 40F boiler. It is a small 2 bed semi with 6 radiators. Has been problem free until a couple of years ago when the flue had to be replaced. Since the start of this year it has become erratic, if it was set on a 2 hour cycle it would cut out after say 35mins, sometimes it would restart again about 15mins before the end of the cycle, often it would not restart. Engineer replaced a part recently, think it was to do with pressure, and it appeared to be ok. But it seems to be starting to misbehave again – it came on & ran correctly for the set time this morning but tonight it would not run for the set time. And it would not run when I tried to manually switch it on. It did the same thing about twice over the last week. Should I give up on it and think about replacement. Thank you.
Hi,
Just read your blog and was wondering if you could shed any light on the problem we could be having with our Ferroli bolier. The problem is this. The central heating dial has been turned to the ‘summer setting’ and the thermostat in the living room turned right down to 10c so in the theory the central heating shouldn’t come on. However we’ve recently noticed that after running the hot water for any length of time the boiler goes nuts and the radiators warm up. It also displays an error code E on the LCD display and the numbers go right down to 5 then shoot up to 60 odd. The error code E doesn’t even exist in the manual !! Having read your comments above I’m afraid we may be looking at a new boiler sooner rather than later. I think it’s only 9yrs old and on a recent service the engineer said that everything looked Ok with the exception of traces of where there’s been a leak in the past.
Look forward to hearing from you.
martin
Fault code A 51 is showing up
Hi
I have a Ferroli Domi Condons HE 26 C which is losing pressure very quickly and there is water continuously running from the condensation pipe. Can you help as the plumbers that have been to see the boiler can’t seem to find the problem !!!
optimax HE 31C boiler is losing pressure. After the boiler runs for about 15minutes there is a constant drip, drip drip from the condensate line. When the boiler cools down the pressure drops to approx. 0.4
Had the same problem with the same model in a building used by the public. Pressure went down to zero eventually and the boiler would not fire. Pressure vessel inside the boiler had failed but the boiler has to be removed from the wall to get at it! Our plumber installed an external pressure vessel and this has cured the depressurising but now the heating switches off when it feels like it for no apparent reason.
Should have got a Worcester Bosch!
Hello
I have an f30 combo boiler and when on the ignition light willbe on and then go off after a minute and come back on after a few seconds
Also the hot water will run very hot, cool right down then run back to hot
Thanks
Hi I’ve got a ferroil b24 it’s doing the exact Fault 5: Boiler igniting briefly or ‘puffing’
If your Ferroli boiler is only igniting briefly, or making a ‘puffing’ sound, this is usually down to flue problems, such as corrosion in the flue duct, or joints coming lose.
The Fix: Get an engineer to replace your flue or clamps holding the flue in place. Is there any other faults that could make this happen ? I thought it might be the flame spark/senor not giving feed back to the pcb as it lites then cuts off after about 5 seconds 🙁
I have the same problem with my f30 too. Have supposedly had it fixed and after a month it’s doing it again. Did you find out what the fault was. Thanks.
Hi, I have a Ferrari 77Ff combination boiler, the heating system is not working on the timer. Overide button or constant settings, the boiler has a pilot light but the boiler doesn’t fire up, but the boiler fires up and heats the water when I turn the tap on, any ideas or help would be gratefully appreciated
The timer keeps cumin on my forroli boiler it won’t turn on the clock just keeps showing up on the front screen I’ve tried resetting it nothing works and if it turns on it turns straight off any advice much appreciated xx
I think the comments about Ferroli boilers is a bit unfair,granted the older Modena’s were a bit unreliable, but as an installer i switched from Worcester boilers for the amount of internal leaks (O rings) and fractures to plastic housings, terrible installer back-up service, upto now i have fitted 160 + Modena 32c HE and 27/38c HE boiler and only have had one go down, manufacturing fault, Ferroli delivered TO SITE a brand new boiler to replace the faulty boiler which by the way, was 2 year old, and paid me to fit it ! including another 7 year warranty.
As previously mentioned, provided the boiler is installed correctly to a cleaned system, as with all boilers you should have no problem.
I myself have one fitted in my house, its been installed since Feb 2012 and have no problem with it, and the hot water delivery is amazing.
G Gregg Plumbing & Heating
Manchester
Mines been working fine for 2 years, got home this morning and it wouldn’t turn on, no pressure and a pool of water draining from inside the boiler itself. Coldest day of the year bloody typical now waiting 48hrs “Emergency ” call out
My Ferroli 27 HE Modena boiler drips water periodically, If the heating is on for long periods the water dries up but when the heatings on intermittently the water leak is more pronounced. Is it dangerous to run it with this fault?
I’ve got a ferroli Modena 32c he bolier, my gas metre ran out of gas I’ve turned it back on but how do I get my boiler to work again? Please help
we have a ferroli f24 boiler can turn down the heat when the boiler comes up to temperature it will swith off then when temperature goes down will come back on but cannot regulate the heat
the pressure on my ferroli f30 will not go below 3 even after draining some water from a radiator
My ferroli boiler leaking HE PLUS 31 C. What should I do
I have a ferroli temp 24. When u turn it on demand it only stays on for 8 seconds and goes off later on it will stay on a lot longer and heats everything up what’s the problem
F23 is flashing on our ferroli and water/radiators are not heating and the system will not come on even though the ‘on’ light is coming on
I have had a ferroli boiler for 8 years and this blog describes it and it’s faults to a fault! Thank you for your honesty. It’s not just me then!!
Having trouble with my feroli boiler ! Water running hot then cold . Engineer says nothing wrong with boiler it’s the water pressure but water board say pressure the Sam as always !!
I have a ferroli boiler I my council house it gose of every second day so no heating always has faults 23 and 31 and 37 council are not any help advice
Hi
My daughter’s boiler a Ferroli Modena 80e was about to complete it’s firing up cycle when the fuse on the PCB blew I have replaced the fuse being an electrical engineer myself but now the boiler has locked out and only shows the green LED for Central heating,the pump runs but that’s it any information would be grateful as I’m not a gas fitter and don’t want to dabble but would like to be informed before calling a gas fitter,I suspect the PCB board could be the cause.
Many Thanks
Hi I have a problem with my boiler it is showing pressure warning sign its a triangle with a green light i replaced the timer clock and it worked for two days then it stopped working and the pressure dropped to zero.
Any advice why this is happening please.
Ferroli boilers are cheap rubbish that will cost you and cost you ! Dont buy one ever ! Richy Tate gas engineer 530063
I own a Ferroli Optimax HE 31c. It is now six years old and in spite of the reputation of these boilers it has only developed one fault in that time, and that was a leaking diverter valve, replaced under warranty. This is a fairly common problem and to be honest it would have been cheaper to replace it myself in view of the time I had to take off work. I have to say the engineer (who was a Ferroli employee, not an agent ) did a very thorough check on the boiler combustion and settings and pretty well serviced it in addition to changing the diverter. He did check all the documentation very carefully and photographed it, so make sure your installer filled in the Benchmark document and that you have had the boiler serviced, and the service details recorded…at least while under warranty.
The timer is set for morning , afternoon and evening. However , the heating has come on early. What can I do to stop heating coming on at odd times. I only want it to come on at time I selected.
I’ve just bought myself a ferroli modena 32c he combi due to the fact it only has 4 moving parts so if there was ever a problem, the fault could easily be found and fixed.
One question i have is that at the moment the pipes to the radiators are 8mm micro pipe.. should i think about changing these to 10mm or even 15mm. thanks
My Ferolli boiler is 19 years old and when turned on it will ignite for hot water but will not ignite for the heating?
My boiler is situated in the bathroom and supplies radiators and hot water, it run fine but the hot water to the tap and shower is boiling and dangerous, the control on the boiler for hot water is turned down to the point that it will run cold if any lower. it has been a problem since installation what can be done to make it safe. When it has been yearly serviced the plumbers never sort it out.
I have a ferrioli DomicondensHE26C
What does it mean when the display goes red/orange?
Hi What a great site you have created here. I have a Ferroli Modena 80 E Combi that runs my DHW , Central Heating and my shower. I have always had to keep increasing the pressure by letting in water and this has got so regular now that I now opt to keep the pressure at over Bar 4 so it takes much longer to go below 0.5 bar and cut out. If I turn the central heating off it seems to lose pressure even quicker for some reason so i tend to have the boiler on permanently with radiators turned down to min in the summer rather than risk turning the boiler to DHW only due to the rate at which the pressure drops .
However today I have noticed that the outlet pipe from the boiler that goes through my kitchen brick wall to outside, like a breather pipe is leaking or should I say gushing boiling hot water and looking underneath the boiler where all the valves and taps are there is an odd drip from a couple of sources.
Any idea on a quick fix to stop the boiling water gushing out of the pipe to outside?
Your advice would be most welcome
Regards
Tony Williams Birmingham
Hi can you help i have been away for three weeks at my daughters on my return i switched the temp dial in my hall to display the flame ,this usually fires up the boiler and gives me hot water and turns on my heating, i noticed a little later this didnt work pressed the timer in the hall again, reset the boiler etc and it flashed all sorts of codes the one remaining is 01 ,i consulted the manual but i dont know how to check if the boiler has a flame ? or where to look or how to re ignite i,m asking because if this is something i should and could be able to do before i have to call a plumber i would be grateful for any advise thank you
I have a Ferroli Lamborghini extrema c 30 boiler , and the only fault I have is the water pressure It can read 1 bar, turn on hot tap it drops to 0, no hot water so fill up system to read 1.5 to 2 bar hot water works as the pressure only drops to 1 bar, heating comes on and the pressure goes up to 2.8 to 3 bar and warning light flashes.Sometimes as the heating clicks in the pressure dial goes up and down. the boiler is only 4 years old, any advise would be grateful.
I think all these comments about ferolli is unfair,I had a worcester bosch and had nothing but problems with it, and would never buy another one, then had a ferolli and have had it for 5 years without a single hitch.
My ferroli mondena102 boiler is only working on DHW .The digital 24 timer is showing EEE. Does this mean I will need to replace the timer