Explanation for cessation of repairs to Braemar BSC PCB assemblies (628585, 628820, 639451, 639468):
While we understand that many people will find this disappointing, we have decided to no longer offer repair/reconditioning services for Braemar Smart Control (BSC) control boards/PCBs. This includes models 628585, 628820, 639451, 639468 and any other similar models. This does not apply to the Braemar SPI/MPI boards.
TL;DR: It’s not economically viable to recondition these boards and continue to do it to our high standards, and even if done, the PCB is still more likely than usual to fail randomly in the future. Therefore, we recommend purchasing new replacement PCBs when needing to replace a faulty Braemar BSC main board. You can read the explanation below if you’re interested in the finer details. This issue does not apply to the Fenwal ignition modules.
Most boards that come in for repair are not actually repaired, but are reconditioned. Repairing the original fault is part of the overall reconditioning process, and the boards then go through a standard reconditioning procedure. This creates a uniform, clean, like-new product that can be sold to customers in good faith and that should serve them well.
The standard reconditioning procedure we develop for each product we repair/recondition is designed to target the areas/components of the PCBs that commonly fail, in order to prevent future failures and to prolong the life of the reconditioned product. This procedure is also updated over time, whenever the cause of a trend of failures is identified.
Over time, our standard reconditioning procedure for these boards has grown to involve the replacement of over 20 components, and this doesn’t include any additional components or troubleshooting time that may be required to address the original fault.
Briefly, the standard reconditioning procedure currently involves cleaning the PCB, replacing all electrolytic capacitors (4), all relays (3-5), all 100KΩ SMD resistors (9-13), all 1MΩ SMD resistors (1-2), and most PCB headers/connectors (3-6). Then you need to occasionally replace other SMD resistors that are starting to fail, as well as addressing/repairing any other issues, such as corroding PCB traces. The lower numbers in the ranges above are relative to the 628820 PCBs, and the higher numbers are relative to the 628585/639451/639468 models, as those boards are more complex and have more components installed on them.
The current cost of purchasing a brand new PCB directly from the manufacturer’s online shop, as a general member of the public (no trade discounts applied), means that it’s not economically viable to continue repairing/reconditioning these PCBs. At the time of writing (30/08/2024), the price for a brand new 628820 PCB (single stage/3 star), directly from the manufacturer’s online shop, is $274.67. The price of a 639451 or 639468 PCB is $338.80. The old 628585 PCB has been replaced by the 639451, so there is no price for this PCB as it is obsolete.
Specifically, in the case of Braemar BSC control boards, new PCBs should also be better than repaired/reconditioned PCBs. This is because all of the components are new, and also because the newer Braemar PCBs currently have a much thicker conformal coating on them than they used to have, which should protect the components on the PCB from the environment and reduce the failure rate.
As some manufacturers use low quality parts when they manufacture their control boards, reconditioned boards can be and often are better than a brand new replacement (if the job is done well), but in the case of reconditioned Braemar BSC PCBs, they can fail at pretty much any time as not all of the SMD resistors get replaced, as it wouldn’t be economically viable to do so without automating the process. The resistors on these boards tend to degrade, possibly due to small amounts of sulphur being present in the environment. Sulphur is known to degrade standard SMD resistors, typically causing them to lose their resistance. Once a resistor begins degrading, it will eventually cause false fault codes to develop, due to the associated circuitry malfunctioning. False fault code 18 and false thermistor-related faults usually indicate that the SMD resistors involved in those circuits are on their way out.
Lastly, what’s ideal and what we strive for, is to recondition a board once and hopefully have it outlast the appliance that it’s used in. Our return rate on reconditioned PCBs/modules is very low, which is partly because of the thoroughness of the work that we do, but also partly attributable to using high quality components during the process (like SMD resistors that are sulphur resistant, and high quality long-life capacitors). Of all of the boards repaired/reconditioned, the Braemar BSC boards are the most likely ones to come back with a warranty claim, and it’s almost always due to one of the SMD resistors somewhere on the board beginning to fail.
Since updating the standard reconditioning procedure for these boards, which introduced the blanket replacement of the 100KΩ and 1MΩ SMD resistors mentioned above, the return rate dropped significantly, but it also added more labour to each job. In a prefect world, all of the SMD resistors would be replaced, but this isn’t economically viable.