How to ad water to central heating system?

bigmoma22

Stuck again. Last time I had a problem, plumber came and I did not pay attention so now looking for something that would ad water into the system and I'm lost...
three red taps looking like wheels not doing it, I tried turning them gently, but I'd say they are already open fully, or they turn in the opposite direction from anything else?
Pretty sure plumber did not touch these...
Can anyone see anything on these pics? Thank you.
http://dublin.gumtree.com/dublin/30/51825230.html

Joey the lips

Pictures are small but looking closley see the braded hose that spirals. One end is connected to the mains usually the end with the screw and the other end to the heating. Open the screw and let water in.....

Be very careful have someone watch the gague on the boiler go up with the boiler in the on position. Do not fill the boiler more than 1 bar as this should be more than sufficent and allow for expansion

bigmoma22

so i want to be sure i'm doing the correct thing, I say you are right I think I remember the plumber having his hand there, so I have attached another pic, a close up... Can you specify which bit to open, as I tried one gently but it seems to be too tight to do by hand...

or is it at the lower end...as seen in pic two
http://dublin.gumtree.com/dublin/30/51825230.html


thank you

Joey the lips

bigmoma22 wrote: »

so i want to be sure i'm doing the correct thing, I say you are right I think I remember the plumber having his hand there, so I have attached another pic, a close up... Can you specify which bit to open, as I tried one gently but it seems to be too tight to do by hand...

or is it at the lower end...as seen in pic two
http://dublin.gumtree.com/dublin/30/51825230.html


thank you

Its the one where your finger is. Dont forget the o/h needs to watch the dial on the gas boiler or you will blow the safety valve. Just open it 30 Deg this will be enough.

Micky Dolenz

Looks like a ball fixer valve, you will need a flat head screw driver to open valve. There will be a slot just above your finger, turn the slot a crack and as Joey has suggested, have someone watch the clock at boiler. Never leave valve unattended while open.

The next time you get a boiler service etc, it may be a good idea to install pressure gauge in hot press.

Joey the lips

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Looks like a ball fixer valve, you will need a flat head screw driver to open valve. There will be a slot just above your finger, turn the slot a crack and as Joey has suggested, have someone watch the clock at boiler. Never leave valve unattended while open.

The next time you get a boiler service etc, it may be a good idea to install pressure gauge in hot press.

I cant see the screw. My screen is not the best thanks for that.

bigmoma22

First of all thanks


off to see about that screw...

bigmoma22

well i did ti, and over did it
heating off bcs im scared it'll blow, pressure was gently going up then suddenly tightening the screw and it opened
typical isnt it
its on 2 now
shall i bleed rads to get water out?
can i put heating on?
should have waited for plumber, its tempting as it looks easy

Hydromonkey

Had the exact same problem today and thanks to Joey the lips I've sorted it myself and cancelled the plumber. Cheers Joey

bigmoma22

Hydromonkey wrote: »

Had the exact same problem today and thanks to Joey the lips I've sorted it myself and cancelled the plumber. Cheers Joey

Did you overdo it as well?

Micky Dolenz

bigmoma22 wrote: »

well i did ti, and over did it
heating off bcs im scared it'll blow, pressure was gently going up then suddenly tightening the screw and it opened
typical isnt it
its on 2 now
shall i bleed rads to get water out?
can i put heating on?
should have waited for plumber, its tempting as it looks easy

are you sure it is now off? Every homeowner should be albe to refill heating system. that valve is a pain though, a lever type with pressure guage clsoe by would be far handier.

You can bleed a rad and have a bucket to catch water, this method will take a while. 1.5 bar is ok.

bigmoma22

off definitely freezing our a now, off to find a bucket, well it is definitely interesting...
much better than cooking dinner
thank you thank you

Joey the lips

bigmoma22 wrote: »

off definitely freezing our a now, off to find a bucket, well it is definitely interesting...
much better than cooking dinner
thank you thank you

1.5 bar will be fine. I was just nervous you would do this. Bleed the rads as suggested if your worried.

ps: Dont mention me to any plumbers.;)

Hydromonkey

bigmoma22 wrote: »

Did you overdo it as well?

No, I have a nice lever valve and a pressure gauge in the hot press, luckily!

bigmoma22

I knew i was gonna do this its so like me... usually though i dont over do things badly so off to get more water out
another question? Can i check pressure when heating off? Or will it change once its on, I know I cant bleed rads with it on but just when I actually check it on the gauge...

T-Square

I bet if I had a plumber over and asked him to install a lever and pressure gauge, the plumber wouldn't want to do it.

Joey the lips

bigmoma22 wrote: »

I knew i was gonna do this its so like me... usually though i dont over do things badly so off to get more water out
another question? Can i check pressure when heating off? Or will it change once its on, I know I cant bleed rads with it on but just when I actually check it on the gauge...

No. boiler needs to be on. Dont worry safety valve is rated over 2.5 bar. Its just if you remember the old science. pressure volume and temperature are related. Just bleed it back to 1.5... Thats about a pots worth.(Dont say what size pot)

ie increase the temp increase the pressure increase the volume.

bigmoma22

ok im a stranger to diy, tools i like are remote, mobile etc, now physics, come on... feels like school

Joey the lips

T-Square wrote: »

I bet if I had a plumber over and asked him to install a lever and pressure gauge, the plumber wouldn't want to do it.

With due respect either would i. He would prob fit an auto filling valve and gague. Which imo should be outlawed...Seriously outlawed.

The current system we are talking about is simple and mecanical and if done correctly the loop is disconnected from the heating afterwords.

bigmoma22

And Im back, which means its not going great. So pressure was 2 bar, I bled rads, ie got pints of water out, some hissing too, the pressure once went up to nearly 2.5 so i didnt keep heat on, now its nearly ice cold and still on 2. I'll keep letting water out. Any advice on this, what am I doing wrong.
Guess who's coming on saturday? Yes, thats right a plumber.

Joey the lips

bigmoma22 wrote: »

And Im back, which means its not going great. So pressure was 2 bar, I bled rads, ie got pints of water out, some hissing too, the pressure once went up to nearly 2.5 so i didnt keep heat on, now its nearly ice cold and still on 2. I'll keep letting water out. Any advice on this, what am I doing wrong.
Guess who's coming on saturday? Yes, thats right a plumber.

Turn the boiler on reset it. Turn the dial to R and hold it on it for 5 sec. See if the gague drops.

Keep the faith.

Micky Dolenz

Turn the heating back on, it's a slow way to drain alright. Are you certain that the vavle is shut of completey?



The slot would be in same position as in picture.

As Micky wrote:D




The gauge on the boiler will give you a direct reading of the pressure of the system water irrespective of what the boiler electronics are doing.

You have a sealed system, so if you are releasing water and the pressure is still rising the filling loop is still allowing water to pass into your heating system.

You will have to get a torch and make sure the groove you placed the screw driver in to is in the off position, then when you bleed and release the pressure it will stay drooped until that is the system gets hot then it can increase by .5 bar which is normal, Gary.

bigmoma22

so i need to see off position, is it marked or wpould it be horizontal on a vertical pipe?

bigmoma22

Thing is under cca 10 degree angle, checking photo i took earlier today... thanks guys

In your case 3-9 is off, 12-6 is on, groove in line with fitting.

bigmoma22

And its finally off, thank you for clarifying this. I cant believe how stupid I was. Thanks guys for sharing this knowledge, I've learned a lot today. Drained some water and pressure dropped to just above 1.5
Yippee
Won't be p all night checking!!!
I am truly grateful for your assistance.

ab20

A lot of heating systems have Cisterns that automatically fill up the system when the pressure drops. I myself have a handle lever valve under the boiler so I can see the Pressure Gauge and when it drops below 1.0 bar it cuts out the boiler. I know you can also get an automatic open and close valve fitted that will open when the pressure drops and allow just enough to get the pressure up. What I suggest you do is to get the plumber in after xmas and get him to fit the automatic valve. This will save you trouble in the future. Also as I seen in some of the replies. The Red Valves are known as Gate Valves. And yes they can be a pain in a** alright. You see they sit there in the hotpress for years and nobody goes near them. But you are nearly guaranteed when you have to go near them something will happen. Another point with those valves is the fact that you may think that it is turning on and off and it is still doing nothing, that might be the fact that the spindle inside the valve has broken and it is not opening or closing. Just a little tip if it happens to you.

Auto fillers on paper seem like a good idea, the problem is they will hide any water loss in a heating system, so if you have clean heating water with a inhibitor added, you could lose that protection and end up with a dirty heating system without knowing you had a leak, Gary.

Joey the lips

ab20 wrote: »

A lot of heating systems have Cisterns that automatically fill up the system when the pressure drops. I myself have a handle lever valve under the boiler so I can see the Pressure Gauge and when it drops below 1.0 bar it cuts out the boiler. I know you can also get an automatic open and close valve fitted that will open when the pressure drops and allow just enough to get the pressure up. What I suggest you do is to get the plumber in after xmas and get him to fit the automatic valve. This will save you trouble in the future. Also as I seen in some of the replies. The Red Valves are known as Gate Valves. And yes they can be a pain in a** alright. You see they sit there in the hotpress for years and nobody goes near them. But you are nearly guaranteed when you have to go near them something will happen. Another point with those valves is the fact that you may think that it is turning on and off and it is still doing nothing, that might be the fact that the spindle inside the valve has broken and it is not opening or closing. Just a little tip if it happens to you.

See... Outlaw them...... Oh forgive him lord for he not no-it what damage he does.... and how much the damage will cost to repair

TequilaMockingBird

Joey, fair play to you, very helpful to the OP.

My valve is located behind my washing machine, it's a pain in the a*se to top up.

I currently have to turn my hot water switch on to get heating - then run off the hot water when it reaches it's max heat - to get the rads working again (shudders at the waste and cost). Bizarre. I've had plumbers, electricians and gas men around and it seems to have confused them all. It changes every time they come, last time it was switch on upstairs heating and downstairs would work.

Anyway, well done on the advice!