My heating system has yet another nasty surprise

Kashkai

I had a guy out this morning to have a look at my leaking central heating system. He took off a rad and flushed it and boy was it full of crud. He then put a leak sealant into the system and went to refil the system but the refil valve in the hotpress wouldn't put water into the heating pipes. He had to hook a hose up to the outside oil boiler and fill the system that way up to 1.5bar.

Any ideas why the refil valve in the hotpress has ceased working? The valve will open and close when you turn it so it doesn't appear stuck, but it won't put water into the system.

heinbloed

The pipes in the hot press - at least the one which was tried - might not be pressurised. Maybe this pipe is 'dead' (disconnected), or it comes from a tank in the attik.....

Kashkai

This refil pipe was working, i.e. I could turn it to fill the system but now it has no effect whether I turn it ful on or off.

soultrain

2 points to note dave

1. why does the system need pressurising?
2. why is the water in the rad like"crud"?

ok so your plumber pressurised the system back through the boiler at possibly, a drain off cock (not recommended) and hopefully now your heating is working...............TEMPORARILY!!!!!

now i stress i can only advise you on the info you have given but there sounds like you have a leak in the system

• refilling/repressurising?- signals loss of water from system
• "crud"- in the business we use the more technical term "sludge", which results from corrossion in your system...(gun barrel piping, steel panel rads, fittings) caused by the mixture of these materials, air and water (similar to electrolysis). water and materials are a given but if there is a leak water escapes, air gets in
• if your system is oil fired, and uses a F+E tank and the circulating pump is installed in the wrong location you could be getting "pitching"

the big thing to note is that your plumber today may, at your request, just put a band aid over your problem and you may have bigger problems.

cheers

JohnnieK

Dave

I think you should think about replacing your heating system at this stage:D.

Main question. Has the leak that was causing you all the grief at the start been fixed? If so, is your system a semi-sealed system?
And a reason your top-up valve might not be working now is that it is blocked.

By all accounts your system appears to be very fouled and needs a complete overhaul.

As a plumber I really feel for you on this one. There is nothing more frustrating and head wrecking than a heating system that wont work properly.

soultrain

JohnnieK wrote: »

Dave

I think you should think about replacing your heating system at this stage:D.

Main question. Has the leak that was causing you all the grief at the start been fixed? If so, is your system a semi-sealed system?
And a reason your top-up valve might not be working now is that it is blocked.

By all accounts your system appears to be very fouled and needs a complete overhaul.

As a plumber I really feel for you on this one. There is nothing more frustrating and head wrecking than a heating system that wont work properly.

whoooaaa there johnny ..... you cant possibly make those statements without seeing this system or at least having more info. this system could just as easily be a few years old, corrosion can be extremely rapid.

there is a problem, of that i have no doubt, but dont scare the man into unnecessarily "throwing the baby out with the bath water"

JohnnieK

soultrain wrote: »

whoooaaa there johnny ..... you cant possibly make those statements without seeing this system or at least having more info. this system could just as easily be a few years old, corrosion can be extremely rapid.

there is a problem, of that i have no doubt, but dont scare the man into unnecessarily "throwing the baby out with the bath water"

dave pm me if you need further info

Alas Dave has been on before about this very system. He had a terrible leak in his system that no one could find for him and was shafted a few times. And as far as I can remember from previous post it is an old system and I'm sure he will correct me if I'm wrong. Also I was only joking about changing his system, there was a smiley beside it.

Kashkai

My system is 3 and a half years old now. It is a sealed pressurised system. It was done by possibly the most incompetent plumber in Ireland. The pipework is a mess with hot and cold pipes touching which results in warm water coming out of cold taps when you first turn them on.

I have had 5 or is it 6 plumbers look at this system over the years trying to get it working properly but to date no one has succeeded.

The leak manifested itself under the floor outside the hotpress where it ruined the laminate floorboards. The floor was dug up here by 2 plumbers but they could find no leak. An acoustic listening device was used and I was told there definitely was a leak but it couldn't be pinpointed. This is why I went with the leak sealant hoping it will work.

The faulty refil valve is just the latest in a long line of problems with the plumbing.

I can't for the life of me understand why I can't get a plumber who will actually sort out these problems. Its not as if I'm expecting to have it sorted for free :rolleyes:. I have literally contacted most of the plumbers in my area and am still waiting for them to "call me back", up to six months on in some cases. I lost about 6 days off work waiting for guys who never showed up to keep the appointments they made with me.

Forgive me for sounding a bit bitter but did the Celtic Tiger entice a lot of guys into the trade for quick money on straightforward jobs but at the first hint of something trickier, they don't want to know? I'm prepared to take out a fecking loan to pay for a system overhaul but cannot get anyone to take the job on - and with my experience to date I'd also be worried I'm pissing away more good money on plumbers who (a) aren't interested in doing a thorough job and (b) haven't the experience/skills to find the problems and (c) the professionalism to want to fix the plumbing to have it working at close to 100% as possible.

Recession or not, it seems that plumbers I've had in barely have stepped across the halldoor when they are making moves to head to their next job. I almost feel like apologising for delaying them:rolleyes:

Finally, apologies to all the good plumbers out there. Just wish I knew where you lived so I could kidnap you and get you to sort out my central heating problems

yoshytoshy

Dave ,time is a big factor in problems like these. It usually involves checking the water levels at various days and getting an idea of the condition of the system.

I'd say your best bet is to get a good plumber locally ,try your level best. Maybe go into your local merchants and ask around.
Even as a last resort ,ask at your nearest fas centre. Fas have records of good plumbers who train young lads and they'd have a good idea of proper plumbers.

Personally ,I'd love to try and sort it out for you ,but I know it would take too much time to sort out from where I'm based.

johnjoe 123

i agree with yoshy 100%

Alex M

dave pm me