Help, Bosch Water Heater

[cbat58]

I am posting this request in a last ditch attempt to get some help from someone in the forum who has possibly more knowledge on water heaters than me
I have a major problem with my Bosch Water Heater.
It is a Bosch instant Gas Water Wizard with the Electronic ( Battery ) ignition and during winter Mostly when it is raining but also when it is cold it will not light first thing in the morning. It can take up to 30 minutes to get it going - try it then leave for 5 minutes as suggested in the manual then try again, at 5.00 am this is a pain in the a!!!!!!.
Bosch does not want to know about it other than to send a service agent out ( it was serviced 7 months ago ) so I am loath to keep on spending money on services when it clearly does not fix the problem.
Has anyone else had the problem and if so have you ever got it fixed ????
Any help would be appreciated as I am just about ready to Throw the $900.00 piece of junk in the bin

Regards
Craig

[Bob Willson]

Firstly, are you sure that there really is a battery? Many of the modern Bosch water heaters are ignited by the flow of water. If you have this system then it is possible that the flow is insufficient to allow ignition. The heater will not ignite unless there is sufficient water flow. I believe this is usually set at about 3 litres a minute minimum.

What is your water flow like in your area?

[vsquizz]

Craig, the "B" series had a batch of dud ignition units, it should have been replaced by Bosch/serviceman whan they came out. Replacing the batteries can help as standard batteries will not work in mine (16B) and also when the gas pressure is low the unit will not start; that is, like the stoves, if it does not detect heat within a few seconds it will shut the gas down.

If you are running off gas cylinders get the regulator set by a gas fitter who actually uses a proper manometer. Check that the igniter is not getting a draft across it from wind. This will stop it every time.

If you are sure it is sparking then there is no gas and its the burner control unit...get a hold of the bosch dude and they should replace it.
Like Bob said, if its a "H" series then it is Hydro start.

Cheers...(Mines been running for almost 5 years since they replaced the dud contol unit)

[Ashore]

If you are running off gas cylinders get the regulator set by a gas fitter who actually uses a proper manometer. Check that the igniter is not getting a draft across it from wind. This will stop it every time.

Mains gas can also get low as the diaphram in your meter gets old
These are replaced by your mains gas supplier free if they arn't giving the right pressure.




The trouble with life is there's no background music.

[Santalum]

I recently had problems with my Bosch Gas water heater, found the people at Bosch to be decidedly unhelpful.
Finished up replacing the pilot light jet myself (ordered through a local builder) cost me $22 for what looked like it should be a $2 part, its now working well, however when it's time to replace it I certainly wont be buying Bosch.

[ozwinner]

I think it sad that we as consumers have to put up with shoddy c&ap put out by the "BIG" boys in business..

We pay big bucks for a $2 items, and therefore we should expect it to work.
Dont get me going about shoddy things Ive bought in the past.

Al :mad:

[vsquizz]

Dont get me going about shoddy things Ive bought in the past.

Al :mad:

An don't get me going about expensive shoddy toasters!!

Hey Al what about all the high quality craporium stuff

Cheers

(a successful Hi-jack I might add)

[ozwinner]

An don't get me going about expensive shoddy toasters!!

Hey Al what about all the high quality craporium stuff

Cheers

(a successful Hi-jack I might add)

Yeah, but the stuff from the Craporium is secondhand, yah pays ya money and yah take a chance...... .
Owhh yeah, seeing as how its SH, no returns, no refunds.........
At least its 1/2 price or less.

Al

[cbat58]

Thanks for all your replys
Unfornunatly my parents were involed in a car accident this morning so I will get back to this as soon as possible
Thanks
Craig

[ian]

Thanks for all your replys
Unfornunatly my parents were involed in a car accident this morning so I will get back to this as soon as possible
Thanks
Craig

Craig
very sorry to hear about your parents.
Hope they're not badly injured and the "damage" is mostly (or preferably all) to the car

Ian

[cbat58]

Firstly
Ian thanks for your message Yes my parents are OK ( the Toyota is not but hey thats what insurance is for ) they will be relaeased from hospital in the next few days.

Bob
Yes mine is battery (so water flow should not be a problem) and I have always used energiser batteries as I was told by a plumber thats what they need ( makes no difference )

vsquizz
Dont know about the ignition unit nobody has ever said anything about dud units ( certainly not Bosch But then why would they admit fault )
Not sure about Gas pressure however at the last service they replaced the Diaphram ( At $60.00 thankyou plus $84.00 labour plus gst all up $158.00 )
I would have thought that they would check all the other bits ie the Burner control unit etc as yoiu suggest.
I am going to go back to the Bosch agent who did the service last year as the exact words used on the invoice were Traced fault to the Diaphram replaced same all fixed ( yeah right - just until the customer has paid the bill )
Thanks again for all the replys will advise what the outcome is so hopefully the next person who is thinking about A water heater will think long and hard about Bosch products.
As it is P!!!! with rain today and 10 c I am going to go and try to get this thing going so I can warm up
Cheers
Craig

[Beetles]

Craig,

I had a similar problem last year with my battery ignition, Bosch, sometimes instantaneous, 13L/M, gas HWS. Mine had an intermittent ignition fault which tended to occur if the unit was not used for a day or so. Whenever the plumber turned up, it would work fine.

After a couple of call-outs during which it was cleaned and tested, the plumber ended up replacing the ignition control unit - from memory $180 approximately.

Since then it has worked OK, although it still has days when it takes a few attempts to get it going.

Don't know about the new hydro-ignition model but I sometimes think the old pilot light types are the way to go. Less to go wrong and less cost to repair.

Good Luck

cheers

Beetles

Handy hint for cold mornings Much easier to turn hot water tap on inside house and control start/stop using check valve below HWS unit. Can see immediately if gas ignites.