Franco

iTrader: (2)

Now I know fuck all about plumbing etc but I do know something's definitely not right with the in-laws heating at the moment!

Right playing happy families with the fiancee this week at the in laws house, Got woken up this morning at 0430hrs this morning by the missus as there was some god awful banging coming from the airing cupboard, so told her to shut up and go back to sleep! (I knew it was the heating coming on). Additional to this, she told me it was still banging real bad AFTER I'd turned the heating off!! Her words were "it sounded like the place was going to collapse!


But when I got up at 6am the house was freezing!!

Heating deffo on, pumps working, pipes in the airing cupboard are boiling hot and the timer running.

But every single rad in the house is cold!

Now I was having trouble with the rad in the front room last night, so decided to bleed it (the father in law always says that helps!) but its made it fucking worse!

Is there some way I can maybe reset (for want of a better word!) the system, or maybe a select way of switching everything off and bleeding the whole system off? Do you have to start at a certain point?

PLEASE HELP ME..............Its fucking freezing!

Jason

fish99

Im no central heating engineer but doesnt the banging pipes normally mean an air block. Personally I would drain the system and then refill it. I have heard that central heating can sludge up and isnt there some gear you can put into the system the clear it out... think its like some acid stuff.

Im sure one of the guys on here will be able to help you out more.

Physio

It does sound like theres an air lock in the system, have you tried bleeding all the rads?
If that doesn't work then it may be a case of draining the system & refilling it again as mentioned above.

Drop Tiffany Spears a pm

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Cheers Lads, I'll try bleeding them tonight! Also just read that shutting down all the working rads and leaving the problem rad (in the front room) on to try and PUSH the system clear could work!

Is it a messy job wipping rads off? Going to leave work early as I think the blockage is in the front room rad by the valve!

Dont want to spend any of my dosh sorting it asd A) it aint my house B) its just been put on the market!

Physio

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Coont!

I'm TRYING to have a serious and grown up conversation!

Physio

Oh yeah - soz

Yes it may get a bit messy with water leaking out the rads so have some rags to hand

Franco

iTrader: (2)

see if I can be arsed when i get in! I'm sure its that front room rad now!

found this website - http://www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl031.php

Some handy tips on there!

vinnyvangough

Yea try bleeding all the radiators, and turn them all off. Then what i usually do is turn on/open the radiator valves, closest to the boiler and wait till that one gets hot, then open the next one and turn off the first. keep going until all of them have become hot, and empty of air,(bleed them as you go too) then turn them all on in the same order as you did before. hopefully by doing this you would push the air blockage through to the last rad where you can remove it.
hope this helps

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Gent!

rapidcossie

first things first mate...

What kind of boiler is it?

Is there a hot water cylinder etc

can you see any valves near the hot water cylinder?

Do they ever have to top the syustem up with water?(sealed system)

vinnyvangough

Let us know how you get on. Hopefully you'll be nice n warm tonight

Franco

iTrader: (2)

gonna leave work early and try bleeding them etc as you have said. (goona grab a couple of heaters out of the warehouse just in case!

rapidcossie

best to catch someone on here that knows what they are doing and get them to talk you thru what to do mate.

I can give you hand if you like but would just be over the phone.

I wont be in from work til 6 tho.

rapidcossie

After quickly reading your first post it sounds like the central heat zone valve that fucked.

dojj

iTrader: (3)

has it got a pump?
that may have failed which is why the water isn't circulating

as for bleeding the rads, you need to first find out where the drain point is and drain the system first because the stuff coming out might explain whats going on, if it's all rusty to fuck water coming out then it needs some of that cleaner stuff bunged into tit

and yes, if you want to whip one of the rads out you need to drain the system first, and even then there is going to be a shit load of scummy shite coming out so plenty of absorbent cloth needs to go down either end when you unscrew them and make sure you don't let it drip onto the carpets as them stains ain#t never coming otu

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Going to see if a mate can pop round as this seems to be getting more and more in depth (out of my league!).

Pump deffo working, I can feel it pulsing! And theres plenty of hot water in the pipes coming out of it!

Its getting stuck somewhere and no doubt causing the god awful banging!

Already know the water colour is a orange rusty colour Dojj

Franco

iTrader: (2)

PS the reason I havent asked him yet is because I havent spoken to him for a fair few months and dont like to have people thinking I use them!

Steve the Plumber

iTrader: (11)

If you've got orange rusty water, then it sounds like its pumping over!, its gonna be a blockage in the cold feed from the header tank down to the airing cupboard controls. The pipework is gonna have to be cut out and/or cleaned im afraid.

Markb_s1

mate - you're lucky... the water in my girlfriend's radiators comes out like used engine oil... aspecially good when you have a new cream carpet in the living room!

Steve the Plumber

iTrader: (11)

Just drain it down and refill with fresh water a couple of times, then you'll have clean water though your system, add an inhibitor job done.

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Cheers lads for all the advice, think I'm gonna have to stick my hand in my pocket here on behalf of the in laws and get it flushed.

I'm going to try the tip given today and go from there, even if it gives us a 3 week fix then organise getting it drained.

TIFF

Hello jason

Flushing it out sounds the best bet tbh....... Like what has all ready been said, if it is orange water then it will be pumping over so could be a blockage.....

Flush it out, then refill but leave a hose pipe connected to a drain point, this will constantly flush the system. Then put some inhibator into it and go from there...

By any chance, it isnt a Potterton Suprima Boiler is it????????.....It is just that they do exactly what you are saying when the PCB board fucks up on them.

Hope that helps

Mark

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Is there any way to tell Mark, I'm at home now and have tried closing them all off etc but feel the problem maybe bigger than I first thought! (trust this to happen when te in laws are away! ). Would flushing the system be a job I/we can do tonight?

I realy cant tell if the pumps working or not being honest, I can feel it vibrating but unsure if thats just the flow of water past the impellors??

Thanks again for all your help peeps! much appriciated!

TIFF

Look on the front of the boiler.......see what make it is??

TIFF

On the front of the pump should be a silver screw head....about the size of a 10p, Put a towel under the pump and unscrew the srew and take it out.....THERE WILL BE A BIT OF WATER BUT DONT WORRY......

Once the screw is out SLOWLY poke the screw driver into the hole.....you will feel the blades of the pump spinning if it is working.....

Then put the screw back in

Franco

iTrader: (2)

thats the pump tested, It spinning. I take it these are standard pumps then judging by you knowing what it looks like!

vinnyvangough

yea they're more of a circulator than a pump really.
If you want to try flushing it through tonight, try to find a drain off valve on one of the radiators, n let it run through, or turn the rads of and open them 1 at a time so you can flush through each individual radiator.
Get a few rags down on the floor and connect the hose and give it a quick go.

Franco

iTrader: (2)

plumber mate came round in the end, bled the rads downstairs using the drain off valves, but the one in the front room we couldnt undo so ended up draiing the whole rad (carpet up, the lot! ).

Seems to be ok now, only warm though...... going to leave it to run it course now and recheck tomorrow night when I get back from work.

rapidcossie

Impellar could be off or pump partially blocked aswell tho.

Is hard to try and do something over the net that you do naturally in every house your in

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Yeah no worries, but still had my mate scratching his head!

Fingers crossed that it hasnt been banging like it was earlier!!! Sounded like a midget under the floorboards smashing the pipes (cue the missus joke about taking the F***ing hammer off him then!! ).

rapidcossie

the banging noise is prob the system geting too hot as it hasnt been circulating.

Beleive it or not I actually have a sensor that i can fit to the the pump and using the laptop it tells me how fast the pump is spinning and if the system circulating.

vinnyvangough

Sounds a good bit of kit. What that called?

rapidcossie

Its called a LIMPET.

I work for Brittish gas so not sure if its something they developed or if its a program bought in from outside sources.

vinnyvangough

Cool. You use it much?
Cant see you need it as a necessary bit of kit.

rapidcossie

its not essential but it is helpful in some situations.

helps locate blockages etc and in situations that the impeller is snapped off etc

TIFF

PMSL @ you mapping the pump with the laptop

I just use a screwdriver......call me old skool

vinnyvangough

Cool

BIGMATT1

does your limpet still work, i havent used mine for years worked at first then played up and could never trust it again! didnt know they were still on the laptops!

Franco

iTrader: (2)

Well got up this morning and nice and warm upstairs............................

And like being in a freezer downstairs! Turns out that when my buddy was fitting the new shower the father in law mentioned that there was a kink in one of the pipes going up through the ceiling from the furthest Rad which he thought was holding the system back. But I dont know...

Cant work out why 4 out of 5 rads have been working and now we're down to 3!!

But As long as upstairs is good, I think I need to adopt the premise that It AINT MY HOUSE so why am I worrying about it!