Is there a Plumber in the House.....

mysticsniper

mysticsniper

mysticsniper

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I came home tonight and put my Central Heating on. I have found that all the Radiators downstairs are cold, and the pipes are cold as well, but the one in my bedroom upstairs is really hot, but the bathroom and the spare bedroom upstairs are just luke warm. I have been into the airing cupboard and I can see and hear the pump working fine and the pipes are hot.

Any ideas of what I can do myself tonight, I don't fancy calling out an plumber and being charged the earth :(

Cheers
 
Check the water pressure, on average 1.0 to 1.5 bar, consult you users guide to confirm.
Check the pump, are the hot ones staying hot?
The pump should give off vibration.
If that is okay bleed the whole system (starting from the furthest away rad).
 
Sounds like an air lock - bleed the system starting with the rads downstairs working upwards, you might need to bleed the hot water cylnder if you have one.
 
Thebug said:
Sounds like an air lock - bleed the system starting with the rads downstairs working upwards, you might need to bleed the hot water cylnder if you have one.
Click to expand...

If that doesn't work you could also try turning off all the radiators except for one with the central heating turned up so that the pump is on. Should get any air moving having all the force of the pump on one route :) . You may have to try it with multiple radiators until you get it shifted (but only one on at a time).
 
You dont get airlocks in downstairs rads unless youve drained water out of the system.

You maybe able to hear and feel the pump, but the only way to know if its actually spinning is to remove the spindle vent plug and check. Problem is water is going to come out and you dont want to get that near the pumps electrics!

Other than that you could be looking at motorised valve problems, (synchron motor) if you have one, or even two if its an 'S-Plan'

There is a possability its caused by a blocked cold feed on the primary circs. But you'd have to be getting hot water from the immersion heater.

Best idea is to book a plumber.

Mick

Edit bit: bi eck you live in Chesterfield, which is where I live and work. I work for Blueflame heating on Chatsworth Road. Feel free to give them a call if you want to book us. Not sure how soon cos we are rammed at the mo.
 
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helmet said:
Check the water pressure, on average 1.0 to 1.5 bar, consult you users guide to confirm.
Check the pump, are the hot ones staying hot?
The pump should give off vibration.
If that is okay bleed the whole system (starting from the furthest away rad).
Click to expand...

Pump is working fine, its making noises and I can feel that both the pipes from the pump are red hot.

Have started to bleed the one in the kitchen tonight, its damm cold in here :(
 
We had a problem recently with the ball valve in the small tank in the loft being stuck, basically it started pumping air around the heating system and in the end the boiler safety device cut off. You could hear air being pumped around by the boiler. A simple wiggle of the ball valve to free it then bleeding all the radiators fixed it. I'd noticed cold rads before it had happened.

I originally thought we'd need a new boiler when I heard the air noises and it wasn't igniting!
 
Good point, forgot about that one, been a long day :(

Doesnt happen very often but float valves can get stuck. Very easy to spot and 'free up'. Just make sure it cuts the water off at the right level.
 
mysticsniper, I'm not sure what you mean by "starting to bleed" the radiator? It only takes about 10seconds at most (maybe a little longer if it was full of air)! Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're saying though :p .

If you look in the airing cupboard with the cylinder is there 1 valve or 2 (possibly more if your house is huge)? Should look like a plastic box attached directly to a pipe. Unless of course you can just tell us if it's a Y-plan or S-plan :) .

Did you try what I mentioned before? I've done it before when just one radiator was air-locked in a house so I'm not sure if it would work for a whole floor, but it's worth a try since it's so easy to do. You only need to try it with the radiators that aren't on, not every radiator in the house.
 
St0rmer66 said:
mysticsniper, I'm not sure what you mean by "starting to bleed" the radiator? It only takes about 10seconds at most (maybe a little longer if it was full of air)! Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you're saying though :p .
Click to expand...

I used that funny looking key on the end of the Radiator, after I turned off the Central heating system to bleed the radiator.

St0rmer66 said:
If you look in the airing cupboard with the cylinder is there 1 valve or 2 (possibly more if your house is huge)? Should look like a plastic box attached directly to a pipe. Unless of course you can just tell us if it's a Y-plan or S-plan :).
Click to expand...

When I look in the bottom of the cupboard I have the Hot water tank and 3 pipes coming out of the top of the tank. then these pipes go off into the floor boards. I have the pump at on the floor with a couple of pipes at either side of the pump, which is working fine from what I can see and touch as the pipes are red hot.

I am in a mid-terreced 2 bed house

I think I need to take a screen shot of the airing cupboard as it will be easier me thinks. :p

I have been called out to work, so I'll try and get it sorted in the morning.
 
The central heating needs to be *ON* when you bleed the radiators :) . Have a rag or kitchen roll held to catch any drips. If there is no air in the system then water will come out straight away so be prepared. When doing it you only need to undo it a very small amount (one turn is a good start), until either water or air starts coming out. If air comes out (hissing sound, will be obvious) wait until water starts coming out then tighten it again as soon as it does. Should take about 5 seconds per radiator if there is no air, and longer depending on how much air is in them. If you feel like you are stood there ages then it's perfectly fine to undo the bleed valve more, but don't let it come out or you will probably find yourself getting wet as you struggle to get it back in :p . Mostly it will just be upstairs that needs bleeding though at a guess as the air tends to work itself to the highest point.

I'm still not sure if you have an open vented or sealed system. If you have an open vented system, this won't apply, but if you have a sealed system then you may find you need to top up the pressure after bleeding the radiators if there is a lot of air in them. Do you have header tanks in the loft? If so, then it's open vented. Alternatively, you might have an expansion chamber next to your cylinder (but it could be inside, meaning you wouldn't see it) and your boiler will have a pressure gauge on it.. meaning it's a sealed system. Easiest way to tell is by if you have header tanks or not though! :) .

Remember to put the bleed nipple back in your kitchen radiator if you've left it out before you turn the heating back on :p . Unless you like your kitchen wet!

As for my previous suggestion, by turning off the radiator I meant just closing off the radiator valves (the ones you turn by hand at the end). You only need to do it to the adjustable side, so it's very easy to do!
 
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just the thread! ours keeps locking out every 2 weeks and has been for about 1.5 months now. I've just been pumping the pressure back up to 1 bar to get it back going again as i haven't had time to get anyone out.

does this mean i have a leak somewhere that needs sorting or is there any basic causes for this? :(
 
jonno.co.uk said:
just the thread! ours keeps locking out every 2 weeks and has been for about 1.5 months now. I've just been pumping the pressure back up to 1 bar to get it back going again as i haven't had time to get anyone out.

does this mean i have a leak somewhere that needs sorting or is there any basic causes for this? :(
Click to expand...
I'm assuming it's a combi boiler? Has/Is there water coming out of the overflow pipe? (should be going to outside, it's usually on the opposite side of the wall your boiler is mounted on).

I saw a similar problem to this a few weeks back and it was the expansion vessel was full of water. meaning there was no room for the air to expand and the water was having to be pushed out instead! Had to take the expansion vessel off the boiler and use a foot pump to empty it of water. Not something you can do yourself as it requires taking the boiler apart! It had been leaking into the expansion vessel due to a broken seal somewhere, so that had to be replaced too to stop it happening again.

Note to people in this thread: FlyingFish will probably know more than me as I'm training still. But I'm trying to give some advice on my experiences so far (I've been out with engineers and fixing boilers and repairing faults on central heating systems myself already whilst under their supervision). I'm actually enjoying this thread!
 
thanks for the info! come to think of it the neighbour did mention they saw water coming from the overflow pipe not long back....

i'll have to give a plumber a call then, any ideas as to cost? what are the consequences of not doing this in a hurry?

edit: yes it's a combi boiler, a crap one at that (powermax - manufacturer has gone bust)
 
St0rmer66 said:
The central heating needs to be *ON* when you bleed the radiators :) . Have a rag or kitchen roll held to catch any drips. If there is no air in the system then water will come out straight away so be prepared. When doing it you only need to undo it a very small amount (one turn is a good start), until either water or air starts coming out. If air comes out (hissing sound, will be obvious) wait until water starts coming out then tighten it again as soon as it does. Should take about 5 seconds per radiator if there is no air, and longer depending on how much air is in them. If you feel like you are stood there ages then it's perfectly fine to undo the bleed valve more, but don't let it come out or you will probably find yourself getting wet as you struggle to get it back in :p .
Click to expand...

Oops my bad, will turn off all the radiators except the one in the kitchen and bleed it when I get home later. Point noted on the wet side of it. ;)



St0rmer66 said:
I'm still not sure if you have an open vented or sealed system. If you have an open vented system, this won't apply, but if you have a sealed system then you may find you need to top up the pressure after bleeding the radiators if there is a lot of air in them. Do you have header tanks in the loft? If so, then it's open vented. Alternatively, you might have an expansion chamber next to your cylinder (but it could be inside, meaning you wouldn't see it) and your boiler will have a pressure gauge on it.. meaning it's a sealed system. Easiest way to tell is by if you have header tanks or not though! :) .
Click to expand...

My boilers doesn't have a pressure gauge on it. Its quite an old one, it has Glo Worm written on the front. I have no idea weather its and Open or sealed system. Hopefully the piccy will tell you more.

Cheers
 
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