faulty Brivis heaters beware

[@mattymatt2027]

nice find

[@ramonmichaud3004]

I can understand building something with a certain life span for comercial reasons ,but not at the risk of safety.

[@arthurdent2817]

Yes I’ve the same issue , should be a safety recall b4 someone is killed

[@PracticalCat]

I have a He30e V3 from 2003. Still running but the flue terminal is coated in soot. Its the model that followed the one in your video. It has the plastic flue fan housing and pvc dwv internal vent. I wonder if it also has the plastic HX box and if the soot is at all related to a crack.

[@vinmon1234]

Yes this has a plastic inside swell as far as sort there may be another problem

[@Nick-kn5lb]

We had our 23 year old HE30i fail on Monday, service technician examined yesterday, Friday 4 June, 2022. Exactly the same issue, plastic housing had melted, had been deteriorating for some time, I saw the pictures, not as bad as this but one of the worst he’d seen apparently. Technician also stated that this model cracks usually before melting which isn’t as obvious. Get your heaters serviced properly and regularly I’d suggest. To me, this is poor engineering.

[@vinmon1234]

I agree but when I sent a letter to Brivis they completely ignored me and said this is out of warranty they could not do anything about it

[@fifthdimension1984]

Absolutely poor and shoddy engineering. Just to save a few$$ on the overall cost of manufacture. As stated from an engineering perspective, I cant believe that they did not factor in the risk and consequences of failure- that is the very essence of a "risk assessment" on any task or design of any machinery.

[@fifthdimension1984]

Thats very, very interesting. What idiot designer specifies a plastic flue??? That would have to be the height of design stupidity. I have an internal MPS He30i of a similar vintage in my roof cavity so as a DIY person that I am will check this out. My guess is that the flue was made plastic because (apart from a few$$cheaper) thru the "efficiency" design meant that the flue gases were cooler than other gas heaters. Flue gases generally are very hot, hence requiring metal flue construction, but the MPS series was supposedly more efficient in retaining heat - less loss thru the flue- meaning lower exit temperature meaning no need for metal and ok for the cheaper plastic version. My opinion ( as a chemical engineer myself) is that this was a foolhardy commercial decision to go with a plastic flue because the RISK of failure ( as clearly seen here) is that carbon monoxide will go directly back into the unit and into the ducts. Its quite unbelievable actually. If Brivis is keeping quiet on the matter , the issue could legally explode in their face. Some years ago there was an issue with certain wall heaters( Vulcan I think) where it was deemed too much heat could transfer internally to the plaster board at the back of the heater and posed a potential fire risk. Vulcan issued a statement to all owners to contact them and they came to your home, removed the wall heater and fitted a metal plate as a protection. Frankly, Brivis should do the same thing. Issue a warning notice to owners and come out and replace the plastic flue with a metal one.

[@natalietrembath9269]

Does the new replacement heater have the plastic part?

[@vinmon1234]

I am unsure as they will not tell me

[@simonkirby3542]

Why don't you service it and pull it apart and have a look

[@ricardobanos9690]

Hello any tip on how I can get the bigger fan to kickstart on my bro is buffalo 85.... it turns on but I don’t get any heat on air...

[@Artkrimz]

As in ya get cold air? Pilot light has probably gone out. If fan doesn’t come on at all the fan,board or capacitor is no good but unless ya know what ya looking for ya won’t be able to diagnose it

[@phanphandnvn]

What 6 stars brivis unit was that?

[@vinmon1234]

He30e but all need units are the same just more efficient do some research before you buy I don't recommend them as it plastic a fire not go together

[@phanphandnvn]

@@vinmon1234 thanks for your info. Im going to get BX520 to replace my current buffalo 85. Do you recommend 5 star model BX520?