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Post by johnc on Apr 2, 2020 12:41:35 GMT
Our central heating has been playing up and cutting out for no apparent reason.
I have been bleeding the system, have checked there is water in the header tank, attached a hose to the outlet to try to blow out any air and have done everything I can. Unfortunately British Gas will not come out unless I smell gas or have infants/elderly in the house.
The irony of it all is that we had an annual service booked for next week and that has been cancelled! Just grateful it isn't January.
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Post by Martin on Apr 2, 2020 12:46:37 GMT
At least it's getting warmer. Hot water still OK?
Our boiler broke down twice in January, we were without it for over 24 hours both times. When it went again early on in March, I'd had enough and got a new one, which actually took less time than getting it fixed as we were up and running in just under 24 hours from when I placed the order!
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Apr 2, 2020 14:48:21 GMT
Get a local heating engineer out. We had British Gas Homeserve for years until it became an absolute rip off and we dumped them.
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 2, 2020 15:07:47 GMT
Yes, I suspect you will find a local independent who is attending emergencies.
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Post by ChrisM on Apr 2, 2020 17:47:19 GMT
What's cutting out, the boiler or the pump or both? If you bled air out, has more got in again?
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Post by Big Blue on Apr 2, 2020 17:59:18 GMT
Get a local heating engineer out. We had British Gas Homeserve for years until it became an absolute rip off and we dumped them. Had this in a previous house. After about five years of charges and a requirement for major repairs or replacement under the plan our installation suddenly "didn't meet the requirements" for cover. So I told them to give me 5 years of charges back so I could use it to buy a new boiler, or they could just fit a new boiler. The local management refused. I emailed the CEO of British Gas and included a picture of the boys, who were about 6 at the time, in the snow with no boiler. CEO's wife saw it and a new boiler was fitted 2 days later. Never used British Gas again. |
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Post by johnc on Apr 3, 2020 10:20:30 GMT
What's cutting out, the boiler or the pump or both? If you bled air out, has more got in again? Air seems to be the issue but I have no idea how it is getting in. The header tank has enough water in it to cover the outlet pipe, I have been under the floor looking for leaks and can't find any and nothing above floor level appear to be damp or wet. However once the system has been up and running for a while I can always get more air out somewhere. We have an open vented system but I think we might convert it to a closed vented hot water tank system and maybe a new boiler. |
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 3, 2020 10:58:26 GMT
It may not be air. It could be hydrogen if the system is very sludgy; or if there is a blockage, it could be sucking it in the open vent.
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Post by ChrisM on Apr 3, 2020 12:17:28 GMT
It could be a poor soldier joint in a pipe somewhere, not big enough for water molecules to get out but big enough for air to get sucked in when the pump is running. First step may be to turn the pump to its lowest speed if its adjustable, but this may mean some radiators don't get hot, or hard straight to the nearest open motor factors for a can of Barrs Leaks or Radweld to tip into a drained header tank
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Post by johnc on Apr 3, 2020 15:47:05 GMT
It may not be air. It could be hydrogen if the system is very sludgy; or if there is a blockage, it could be sucking it in the open vent. I have my suspicions this may be the case. Time for a pressurised clean out! |
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 3, 2020 16:01:14 GMT
I did mine myself. Bought a load of non damaging cleaner from screwfix and ran it with it in for a month. I then filled and drained until it ran clear. I shut all radiators down and opened one at a time to force feed each one after the stuff had been in a few days. It removed a load of buildup and the system has been fine since.
I was decorating a lot too and removed each radiator and flushed them with the hose.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Apr 9, 2020 11:08:03 GMT
Andy C might be able to help here...
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Post by johnc on Apr 9, 2020 16:50:46 GMT
I am sure there is a blockage. It is an open vent system and I have been up to the header tank and can feel the open vent sucking so it is drawing air in itself because the blockage makes it easier to suck air than pump water past the blockage. I have ordered some system cleaner and will try that when it arrives.
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 9, 2020 18:12:37 GMT
You can try temporarily blocking the vent to see if you can get any flow. It is usually the return that blocks if that is any help.
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Post by johnc on Apr 10, 2020 10:19:11 GMT
You can try temporarily blocking the vent to see if you can get any flow. It is usually the return that blocks if that is any help. I blocked it using my thumb and I had all sorts of back-up from the supply side of the header tank. The water backed up into the header tank quite aggressively with lots of big bubbles and then caused the header tank to overflow through the overflow pipe. The house looks like it has been plumbed by a couple of blind men with too much pipe, no pipe clips, no insulation and a love of spaghetti. It's difficult not to hang yourself on some pipes that droop down and criss cross under the floor. There are also lots of old copper pipes which have been capped but still appear to be connected to the system. We have a friendly plumber and I said to my wife last night that I would be quite happy to pay him for a couple of days to come in and sort it all out. We have strange things like poor hot water pressure in the kitchen and just to add to the mystery, if you turn the cold water tap on as well, the hot water pressure reduces and vice versa. Given the cold should come straight from the mains and the hot from the tank, there shouldn't be a connection between them. |
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Post by bryan on Apr 10, 2020 16:50:00 GMT
Is it an old house? We still have a lead connection to the mains that I am looking forward to getting replaced with plastic and increasing plflow to the house.
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Post by LandieMark on Apr 10, 2020 16:56:09 GMT
You can try temporarily blocking the vent to see if you can get any flow. It is usually the return that blocks if that is any help. I blocked it using my thumb and I had all sorts of back-up from the supply side of the header tank. The water backed up into the header tank quite aggressively with lots of big bubbles and then caused the header tank to overflow through the overflow pipe. The house looks like it has been plumbed by a couple of blind men with too much pipe, no pipe clips, no insulation and a love of spaghetti. It's difficult not to hang yourself on some pipes that droop down and criss cross under the floor. There are also lots of old copper pipes which have been capped but still appear to be connected to the system. We have a friendly plumber and I said to my wife last night that I would be quite happy to pay him for a couple of days to come in and sort it all out. We have strange things like poor hot water pressure in the kitchen and just to add to the mystery, if you turn the cold water tap on as well, the hot water pressure reduces and vice versa. Given the cold should come straight from the mains and the hot from the tank, there shouldn't be a connection between them. Sounds like your hot water tank may be a thermal store type cylinder which provides mains hot water with an open vent hence being affected by each other. They do have a huge propensity to sludge up if there isn't enough inhibitor in there. |
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