Wind affected short cycling boiler

[Paulyone]

I have an old Modena 80 E combi boiler that is randomly short cycling on windy days. The burner goes out and re-ignites within a few seconds and continues to burn for between five and forty seconds before stopping again. Under normal conditions the boiler works fine but as soon as it gusts over thirty miles an hour the cut-outs start and continue until the wind subsides. I had the boiler serviced but the gas engineer couldn't identify the problem and wondered if a good clean out of built up debris around the burner would rectify the problem. It didn't. He said there were no readings of fumes blowing back and that the flame pattern was good. I contacted another engineer who just says it could be tricky to pinpoint the cause. I wondered if the pilot light is being blown out causing a safety cut out and closing the gas supply down until the pilot re-ignites. If this is the case is it likely to be a dirty/faulty thermo couple issue or would it short cycle on windless days if this was the case?

 

[Maryplumb]

Hi Paulyone
The "E" after Modena 80 means that the ignition is electronic so it doesn't have a pilot light. (Even if it did and the pilot light blew out you would have to relight it before it would light the burner again).
How long have you had the boiler? Have you seen it work on windy days in the past?
If you have, ie this is something new, I would keep a diary of the extinguishing and reignition over a windy day noting the timing and the lights displayed on the front of the boiler, and contact a reputable gas service company who advertise that they work on Ferroli boilers.

 

[Paulyone]

Yeh I found out after posting that it’s electronic ignition and yes it is only on windy days the problem occurs. The lights on the front are all normal and the burner goes out matching the gusts of wind. I have just had a fitter out today who has replaced the Venturi. Unfortunately it could be weeks before I find if this has cured it as very little wind is forecast for the future. Thanks for your reply, I hope the problem is now resolved.

 

[Paulyone]

Yeh I found out after posting that it’s electronic ignition and yes it is only on windy days the problem occurs. The lights on the front are all normal and the burner goes out matching the gusts of wind. I have just had a fitter out today who has replaced the Venturi. Unfortunately it could be weeks before I find if this has cured it as very little wind is forecast for the future. Thanks for your reply, I hope the problem is now resolved

Yeh I found out after posting that it’s electronic ignition and yes it is only on windy days the problem occurs. The lights on the front are all normal and the burner goes out matching the gusts of wind. I have just had a fitter out today who has replaced the Venturi. Unfortunately it could be weeks before I find if this has cured it as very little wind is forecast for the future. Thanks for your reply, I hope the problem is now resolved.

Unfortunately the fitting of a new Venturi did not solve the problem so I am now wondering if it is an APS fault or the fan that’s to blame.