Central Heating - Water reserve?

Lady Davenport

Hi guys. I need a little bit of education, if anybody knows anything about this stuff!


So, obviously the water shortages / cut-offs isn't new news at this stage. But my gas heating isn't coming on either, so I take it to mean that it has used up whatever water was available to it. Where exactly is the water reserved for the heating, and is there any way I can get water back into it!? Sorry this must sound like a really ditzy question, but my water and heating has been gone since saturday, and the place is like an ice box

All I need now is to lose electricity and I might as well go live in a cave!



Thanks in advance

native21

I don't have quite the same problem...yet. I have the timer set to heat the water in the morning, when it's available, but it keeps coming on whenever the heating does and I can't get it to switch off. I have reprogrammed it over and over, only engaging the heating button, but to no avail. It still comes on whether I press "boost", "constant" and if I press "off", the heating goes too.

Keith186

Lady Davenport wrote: »

Hi guys. I need a little bit of education, if anybody knows anything about this stuff!


So, obviously the water shortages / cut-offs isn't new news at this stage. But my gas heating isn't coming on either, so I take it to mean that it has used up whatever water was available to it. Where exactly is the water reserved for the heating, and is there any way I can get water back into it!? Sorry this must sound like a really ditzy question, but my water and heating has been gone since saturday, and the place is like an ice box

All I need now is to lose electricity and I might as well go live in a cave!



Thanks in advance

Had a similar problem too when pipes froze and water was cut off to heating.

Plumber said to leave it turned on and when pipes thawed out it would come back on. Theres a cut out switch on it so it wont heat up until it gets water, well it shouldnt anyway.

As far as a water reserve goes for heating, I dont think there is one, it just reuses the water in the rads over and over as far as I know and will draw in new water when needed.

Lady Davenport

Thank you for replying Keith. I don't think the problem was related to the freeze, the heating was working throughout that period. Its only when the water went, we hadn't realised the water was cut off and all but ran the tank dry. I think it was my dad that said to me that the rads generally re-use the water but something about adding small amounts periodically.

If you think about it, whenever you need to bleed air from your rads you might lose a little from each rad after the air is removed. Over time you might lose a bit, and it has to be replaced some how I suppose.

I went up into the attic a little while ago and put about 20 litres into the tank, and thankfully it seems to have done the trick. The sooner the better this water saga is over with :eek:

Thanks again Keith

davebuck

If your heating system has a seperate tank in the attic it should only be topping up the system and even if the water is off it still should work the likely cause is frozen pipe or pipes.In very cold conditions the best solution for your house and pipes is to leave the heating on all the time at a low temperature this way your house stays at a constant temperature and your pipes will not freeze up.The cost is not hugh for the week or so involved.

beenaeem

well the thing is i lost water on sat, reason was frozen pipes and tank in attic was empty but we kept heating on. today we have got water so for past 4 days heating was on without water and worked well. i dont know how???????
bord gais also asked me that we should keep central heating running

Lady Davenport wrote: »

Hi guys. I need a little bit of education, if anybody knows anything about this stuff!


So, obviously the water shortages / cut-offs isn't new news at this stage. But my gas heating isn't coming on either, so I take it to mean that it has used up whatever water was available to it. Where exactly is the water reserved for the heating, and is there any way I can get water back into it!? Sorry this must sound like a really ditzy question, but my water and heating has been gone since saturday, and the place is like an ice box

All I need now is to lose electricity and I might as well go live in a cave!



Thanks in advance

items

Sealed systems ( most modern oil and gas boilers) are separate from plumbing, if a sealed system has no underlying problems it will work no problem should their be no supply of mains or storage water. Might be a case where boiler has lost pressure thats why it wont come on, if boiler pressure gauge is below 1 to 1.5 bar then boiler is low on pressure, might not work if boiler fitted with pressure sensor.

Combi gas boilers (heating & instantaneous hot water) may not work correctly or not work at all when no mains water is available.

Open vented systems, back boilers, ranges, stoves etc can also work safely for a period of time while no mains supply currently available. Again provided their is no underlying problems. These systems have a dedicated attic tank to supply water, once tank is full or mostly full, heating can continue.

In a nut shell, once heating is full with water, not riddled with leaks it will work fine for a few days / weeks without mains supply, apart from combi boiler.

Sandyman

Hi Items,
I think I have on of those sealed systems(No Separate tank in Attic). My upstairs heating hasnt been working lately, this has happened before but I turned of all rads downstairs and the heating upstairs started woking again. I tried this again along with bleeding all radiators and my heating upstairs still wont work. I have been blaming low water pressure for this. Also i bled all radiators but over the past few days they are making alot of loud squirting noises. Looks like alot of air in the system. I have been slow to bring in the professional as i thaough that he wont be able to do anything because of the county wide low water pressure. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated. Oh i have a kerosene heating boiler.

Regards
sandyman

davebuck

Sounds like you may have a lot of air in your system normally its in one rad but no harm to bleed all the rads,you'll also have to fill the system up even if its a sealed system try looking in the hot press you may have a fill valve going into a non return valve plus you should see a pressure gauge which normally is around the 1 bar mark.I'd say your pressure is close to zero and your system needs filling up.

Sandyman

Hi Dave,
Many thanks for youyr reply. There is a plastic valve beside my boiler on a hot pipe that half opens when twisted and seems to allow water to escape/Enter ?. Is that the return valve you mean ?.

Regards
Ray Logan

davebuck

Hi Ray,

The valve will be on the cold feed not hot and is normally close to the pressure gauge so you can keep an eye on it as the system is pressurised.Can you see the gauge and look for the cold feed into your heating system?

items

Sandyman wrote: »

Hi Items,
I think I have on of those sealed systems(No Separate tank in Attic). My upstairs heating hasnt been working lately, this has happened before but I turned of all rads downstairs and the heating upstairs started woking again. I tried this again along with bleeding all radiators and my heating upstairs still wont work. I have been blaming low water pressure for this. Also i bled all radiators but over the past few days they are making alot of loud squirting noises. Looks like alot of air in the system. I have been slow to bring in the professional as i thaough that he wont be able to do anything because of the county wide low water pressure. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated. Oh i have a kerosene heating boiler.

Regards

sandyman

Sealed systems once full require very little venting, my folks house plumbed and heating 8 years ago and I've never had to vent rads once after filling 8 years ago.

Might be a case where you system was never filled properly or your losing water somewhere. If all rads are full with water but some not heating then its more a balancing problem. Check up on an old post called luke warm rad, plenty of balancing info there.

Your heating could be filled off mains or attic tank, once tank has water or enough pressure in mains to have water to fill tank then your covered either way to fill heating properly. Might be something simple, heating valve not open, or a stuck NRV on heating fill pipe work. Find out where heating water comes from then let me know.

items

Sandyman wrote: »

Hi Dave,
Many thanks for youyr reply. There is a plastic valve beside my boiler on a hot pipe that half opens when twisted and seems to allow water to escape/Enter ?. Is that the return valve you mean ?.

Regards
Ray Logan

Boiler safety valve, shouldn't be opened at all.

Fill valve should be in hotpress, all user valves should be located in hot press. Look for a half inch pipe coming down from attic, small red wheel head valve, below valve should be a cylinder / barrel type brass fitting, pipe leading into 3/4 pipe near cylinder, if heating filled from attic then that's the fill valve. If filled from mains, it could be again in hotpress, silver flexi type hose.