Bleed a boiler?

Sounds like the same model as mine.

1.
Remove the red cover - there are 2 screw-bolts: One on the top, and one on the front. All you need to do is loosen these enough to slide the cover off to the left.

2.
Locate the bleeder-valve - this is a long (metallic-silver coloured, about 2 or 3 inches in length) hexagonal bolt on the left-side attached to the oil-pump. (It's pointing up at you at an angle.) It has an Allen-Key (or hex-key) socket (nut?) on the top. You'll need to get the right size of key to fit. At this stage you may want to place some sort of container below this valve *and* the oil pump to catch the oil which is bled. A flat tray would do.

3.
Loosen the bleeder. Use the long shaft of the key and give it a few (3 or 4) turns anticlockwise (using the short end doesn't give enough leeway to rotate.) You may see some bubbles/oil coming up.

4.
Turn the boiler on (hit the red reset button), and experiment with loosening/tightening the valve. If you've loosened the nut enough, the pump will force the airlock through; oil and air will come spluttering through. This is a good sign.

5.
You may have hit the reset button a few times before you get a constant stream of oil. At this stage the burner should be showing signs of interest!

6.
If you're confident that the airlock is out, close the valve hand-tight (turning clockwise of course). Give the reset button another few tries. Upon ignition it may burn fleetingly and then go out. So simply try again to bleed again - there may be more than one airlock, or some some residual air in the system.

Leave the burner on while you replace the red cover (this doesn't really help anything, but it instills a sh*tload of confidence.)

If there's still a problem - then you've got a different problem. Sorry.

If you get a good solid burn, leave the burner on for a while just to ensure all airlocks are out.

Suggestion: Smear some soot around your face and hands, then - with a tired but relieved expression on your face - tell the wife that "that was some serious and complicated job I had with that boiler - but it's all sorted now!"

6CC
November 2010