Feedback

Below is some of the feedback received from this site, please scroll down to submit your own feedback.

From : Simon W. 11th February 2008
Comment : I've just bought a reconditioned/upgraded PCB for my Suprima 40 from an Ebay vendor and it was very straightforward to replace. My lockout problem was not as frequent as some seem to be, so I was trying to plan ahead and get it sorted before it becomes more regular. I have taken some digital pics of the 6-year old PCB that was replaced. I'm no expert, but there definitely appears to be some scorching around some components.

From : Chris 11th January 2008
Comment : I am having the common problems with my Potterton Suprima, red blinking light requiring a reset etc. Contacted Potterton today having written to them and had no reply. They deny that it is a common fault due to a faulty PCB. They said they have had their own experts look into the reported faults and it isn't due to faulty parts. I amazed when a search of the internet reveals so many other people with the same problems! They quoted £299 to come and repair it including parts and labour. (How can they know what the parts will cost without inspecting it - I think because they already know the exact problem, one of their faulty PCB boards) I'm not at all impressed with their attitude and would never buy a Potterton boiler in the future.

From : Keith M. 19th December 2007
Comment : Yyes I did the same thing 5 years ago and resoldered the pcb as it had dry joints on it this gets you a extra 6 months normally then I had to buy a new board, which after nearly five years of faultless work has decided to pack up oh how convienent, Potterton you suck.

From : Matt 23rd November 2007
Comment : I had my circuit board fixed by a potterton engineer in April, its now November and the boiler was hardly used over the summer but is now playing up and the same problem is occuring again, I rang Potterton to ask them to come back out and sort out the problem again but they will now charge for a part that has broke again after they have fixed it 7 months ago. I feel like I am being robbed as they will only replace it with the same part and it will no doubt break in another 5 months.

From : Chowdhury 24th September 2007
Comment :We bought the potterton suprima in 1998. Since then it has been giving problem of locking itself out frequently. My wife initially thought it was because we set the temperature low. We constantly had to reset it. Now it has really broken down. Circuit board is 180 pounds. I can't believe it!! On the top of it labour 50 pounds an hour!

From : Ernie B. 27th August 2007
Comment : Well potterton done as they promised sent an engineer replaced PCB with new one practically rewired the boiler, guess what 6 months to the day the new one has started to play up. Will call them tomorrow and see what excuse they use.

From : Andy 121th April 2007
Comment : First house I bought in 1999 had a Potterton Surprima - packed up and whole boiler was replaced after 8 months. Bought a new house in 2002 with a new Suprima 50 - PCB board failed and replaced via cover plan after 36 months. A few days ago got a reverse problem - the boiler won\'t turn off except at the main switch on the wall ( not the timer ). Currently the house is hotter than Egypt in August as we need hot water but have to have whole system on even with thermo on zero, blinding ! No wonder our manufacturing base in this country is declining. Potterton turn out tosh boilers with a UK wide fault and customer support kicks in when a TV program picks up on it - otherwise they'd have denied all knowledge - buck your ideas up Potterton..

From : John 11th April 2007
Comment : I have a Suprima 100L that was fitted in April/May '99. I have had at least 3 years of problems with the dreaded lockout. I have also had the usual fob off from potterton. I originally relied on the reset button, which would eventually fire it up again, but randomly - sometimes first press, sometimes 50th press and half an hour switched off. I eventually cracked and tried one of the exchange Mk 1 PCBs. That lasted about two months. Then had the new PCB with the full wiring loom fitted. That again started playing up a few months later requiring many callouts and many mystified engineers who seemed to get it to restart by doing nothing other than disconnecting the jacks into the ECU and then re-connecting them and re setting. So I've been doing that for the last 6 months with increasing numbers of lockouts, until it finally died last week - even the timer stopped working. I've now had enough and am going to fit a new make of boiler as well as letting as many people as possible know of the shocking performance of this boiler and of the manufacturer.

From : Keith Dalby 29th March 2007
Comment : I didn't know anything about the Potterton problem until today. I have had boiler problems since I moved into my house (it wasn't a new boiler and I don't know how long the problems existed before I moved in). The boiler refused to light and, when it did, only remained active for a few minutes before locking out again. I actually had a few problems: 1) The pump would stop working. One day I decided to take a look inside the boiler (the circuit board, not the sealed bit) and was astonished when I switched the power on. Sparks, smoke and even flames licked over the circuit board from a dodgy solder joint at the rear. I repaired it, and the pump worked fine. If no other damage was done to the pcb from this event I was very lucky! 2) The boiler started locking out again. I disconneded the thermostat (believing it to be faulty, as implied in the manual) and it worked for a bit BUT I had to set the thermostat on my water tank much lower to make sure there was no damage done by scalding water. A few days later, we played the lockout largo again. 3) I decided (out of despiration) to drain the system. The manual implied that air in the system would prevent the boiler from operating. The boiler behaved itself for a few days, then started locking out again. 4) After basically hotwiring the valve, spark and pump to get the house warm I decided that this was a bigger problem than I could fix. I went on the internet and found hundreds (really, hundreds) of potterton-boiler owners who play the lockout largo regularly. I read that dodgy soldering joints are the prime problem (I can believe that, remember my pump?). I resoldered the pcb and it made no difference, so I guess my problem is a component problem. So.... 5) ... I have just bought a reconditioned pcb on ebay. I'll let you know how it goes. Here are a few suggestions to anyone in the potterton R&D department. IF the constant vibrations of the boiler is damaging the components, fix the PCB to the housing with soft rubber washers so that the board doesn't rattle so much. IF the problem is the heat, how about a heat sink or a cooling fan? Solder joints don't crack on their own, so those two simple things would protect the pcb! When I install my reconditioned pcb (this weekend if it arrives in time) I will be using rubber washers to cussion the board. I will, of course, make sure the washers can take the heat without melting. I recommend all potterton users employ similar methods. BUT, don't sue me if the rubber catches fire and burns your house down - I'm not Corgi registered. In fact, this is a get out clause - don't follow anything I have just said. I am innocent.

From : L 23rd Mar 2007
Comment : I attended my estate's Resident Association AGM and was amazed to hear about the Potterton Boiler issue affecting the estate - I thought it was just my boiler! I've viewed the BBC’s Watchdog website, but it only seems to concern retrospective claims and downloadable letter templates. I have today (23/03/07) contacted Potterton to ask how to proceed with the resolution of the lockout problem. They have informed me that if a call is registered before the end of March 2007 they will send an engineer during April to replace parts (if the problem is the lockout) completely free of charge! Their telephone number is 08706 060780. There is a dedicated team working on this problem and you will need to quote your boiler reference number.

From : Tony Gard 27th Feb 2007
Comment : As a CORGI registered engineer with 26 years experience, I have been aware of the Suprima PCB problem since the boiler first appeared in the late 1990s. I can confirm that the circuit board has been redesigned at least two times that I know of. The latest incarnation is indeed a sealed box with wiring loom that completely rewires the boiler. This work should be carried out by a qualified engineer.
However, I am concerned by reports of cheap reconditioned or 'new' boards purchased from ebay or unrecognised suppliers. Replacements should be NEW genuine Potterton parts.
I would never repair a circuit board for a customer and will only fit new parts.
My public liabilty insurance would be null and void should a reconditioned PCB catch fire in your home. Believe me, this can happen and I have seen it happen.
My advice is to have your boiler regularly serviced or repaired by a CORGI registered engineer.
I am sure CORGI, the boiler manufacturers and anybody linked to the industry would endorse this.

From : Patricia Havelin 23rd Feb 2007
Comment : Hello, We had A Suprima 60 boiler installed in Sept 2001.We started having problems within the first year. We had the pcb board replaced by the original installer. Every year since we have had the same problem, the boiler stopping and starting.In 2005 we paid €212 to try to find the cause. Last Sept we paid €221. Last week we were told we needed a new pcb and were charged €504. Then a friend told me about the BBC programme and now it all falls into place.So it seems replacing these boards does not solve the problem.If I had known I would have had the boiler replaced. I will ask the installer to have a look a this website and try to get him to take the board back.Thank you all Patricia (Dublin)

From : Rob Macleod 20th Feb 2007
Comment : I bought the full kit with wiring loom on E-Bay for 100 quid. I have had no problems since.

From : Mark Keen 20th Feb 2007
Comment : Saw the Watchdog report and thought, "I'm not having any of those problems." It was like telepathy, the following day, the boiler went in to lock out and has been doing in increasing frequency since then - the last two weeks.

I called in an engineer who said they had had four similar cases recently. My new board is on order, I'll keep the site posted.

It's disgusting a company like Potterton should give up it's integrity and deny that there is a common fault on these boilers.

From : Alan Payne 14th Feb 2007
Comment : The PCB on my boiler was replaced p.m. Monday 12.2.07 with a brand new 5111603 PCB complete with wiring. p.m. Tuesday 13.2.07 the boiler failed to ignite even after all the usual rigmerole. Friday will reveal if this PCB has also failed. Watch this space

From : Chris 13th Feb 2007
Comment : Potterton withdrew both of those boards last year. Now you have to buy the full kit comprising the wiring loom. Pottertons excuse was "an integral part of the board had become unavailable" they had to go to another manufacturer and have it re-designed. That was their newsletter to suppliers. I already know of one of the new re-designed boards failing after 5 months.

From : M Duneclift 11th Feb 2007
Comment : Potterton are running a special price on the suprima board at the moment, £180 inc a full years cover on your system(like bg 3star). This is a good price as the board itself retails at around £180.

From : Jeremy 2nd Sep 2006
Comment : good advice,thank you.Have the dreaded lockout syndrome

From : Brian McCarthy 1st Dec 2006
Comment : Hi. Just a quick word of thanks for the detailed information on your site. I've just got my prima 50 back in action after removng the PCB and resoldering dry-joint connections on the Relays and harness connectors. Once the PCB was removed, I inspected it under strong light...applying gentle pressure to the relays on the component side of the board showed fractured solder joints on the solder-side. These were next to impossible to see in normal lighting conditions, but under strong lighting were pretty easy to spot. I resoldered the Relay pins, and for good measure also remade the solder joints on any of the cable harness connectors on the PCB (prior to rework some of these also looked fatigued under inspection). Board was re-fitted to boiler and system fired-up first time. Additional info: Board was date-coded wk22/00...approx 6.5 yrs old. First lock-out occured about 2 yrs ago. Then again about 6 months ago....and has increased in frequency over the last 2 months until it died completely this week. Here's hoping I've seen the end of this problem for another 4-6 yrs !! Thanks again for the info, and especially the hi-res photos.

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