Radiators not Heating up

jacknife

Over the past week when I turned on the heating noting happened, I leave it for a few hours and try again and it worked fine.

The same thing happened yesterday of all days the radiators did not heat up, despite the burner and pump kicking in.

Its an oil supplied central heating, the burner and pump come on but the radiators are not heating up.

I went up to the attic there is water in both tanks and oil in the tank.

Could it be frozen pipes? Normally when you turn the heating on you can hear the radiators crackling.

Buford T Justice

Sounds like frozen pipes to me.

jacknife

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Sounds like frozen pipes to me.

Will pouring hot water on the pipes help or make things worse if it refreezes

crossmolinalad

have since a week almost the same
mine heat up different some going hot and some are just warm
In the past i got the house in half an hour at 20 degrees now its not going higher then just 17 degrees
And the boiler dont stop burning

maybe they need to be bled

jacknife

Just down from the attic, the big tank has ice in it and very little water, seems to be a frozen pipe, whats the best way to thaw it out, bring a heater up? At the moment I'm fillling up the kettle and going up and down

I've never had this happen before, just goes to show whats in store for the future

suitseir

jacknife wrote: »

Just down from the attic, the big tank has ice in it and very little water, seems to be a frozen pipe, whats the best way to thaw it out, bring a heater up? At the moment I'm fillling up the kettle and going up and down

I've never had this happen before, just goes to show whats in store for the future

A neighbour of mine used a blow torch, very gently! I wouldn't be that brave!!! But it worked for him as the ice was only on top!

Iwannahurl

I wouldn't claim to be a plumbing expert, but I would offer the following.

You say your header tank has ice in it? That shouldn't happen, no matter how cold it gets outside.

I assume your house, including the attic, is adequately insulated. Is the insulation in the floor of the attic, ie laid between the joists?

If so, check whether the space just under the header tank is completely insulated. This is not a good idea generally, as it can lead to the header tank getting cold enough to freeze. You should leave an uninsulated area beneath large enough to keep the water in the header tank above freezing point.

All the same, you may have been lucky! Sometimes the pipes in the attic freeze, burst and flood your house from the top down. A horrible and expensive mess. That happened to a couple of our neighbours during last winter's big freeze, and it was very distressing to see skips being filled up with their flood-damaged but otherwise perfectly good furniture, bedding etc.

jacknife

Iwannahurl wrote: »

I wouldn't claim to be a plumbing expert, but I would offer the following.

You say your header tank has ice in it? That shouldn't happen, no matter how cold it gets outside.

I assume your house, including the attic, is adequately insulated. Is the insulation in the floor of the attic, ie laid between the joists?

If so, check whether the space just under the header tank is completely insulated. This is not a good idea generally, as it can lead to the header tank getting cold enough to freeze. You should leave an uninsulated area beneath large enough to keep the water in the header tank above freezing point.

Thank for that info, yes there is insulation under the water tank.

I had another good look and there is a thin layer of ice on top of the tank, it seems like the pipes are frozen as its not filling ,the pipes are insulated as well, I've put an electric heater up there hopefully it will thaw soon.

jacknife

Going to sound like a right idiot, looked into the water tank again and pushed the stop cock and water started justing into the tank, the stop cock was stuck probably with a bit of ice.

So if the water is flowing no freezing pipes i hope,

Radiators are working now as well

Sparkpea

^^ no not always the case

OP, sounds like frozen heating pipes to me

jacknife

Sparkpea wrote: »

^^ no not always the case

OP, sounds like frozen heating pipes to me

Thanks for the information, I'll keep an eye on it.

I must invest in a DIY manual, I'm totally useless in these situations

Iwannahurl

jacknife wrote: »

Thanks for the information, I'll keep an eye on it.

I must invest in a DIY manual, I'm totally useless in these situations

Can you start another thread: recommendations for best DIY manual available?

Buford T Justice

You can try hot water over the heating pipes you can see outside as that may work, but it also may not.

In terms of the water in the attic, it could be freezing in the wall on its way up somewhere. Anyhow, remove the insulation from below the header tank, allow the heat from downstairs to rise and it will prevent the water in the tank from freezing.

Liamario

Hi guys/gals,

Radiator in kitchen is really hot with boiler on, but other radiators are barely luke warm. Pipes were frozen but they have thawed out this morning. There was a burst pipe near where the boiler is, but has since been shut off via the nearby valve.
Is this burst pipe possibly necessary for boiler to heat the radiators. Why is one radiator heating perfectly fine?

Buford T Justice

Liamario wrote: »

Hi guys/gals,

Radiator in kitchen is really hot with boiler on, but other radiators are barely luke warm. Pipes were frozen but they have thawed out this morning. There was a burst pipe near where the boiler is, but has since been shut off via the nearby valve.
Is this burst pipe possibly necessary for boiler to heat the radiators. Why is one radiator heating perfectly fine?

Repair the burst pipe and see if it cures it. It could be that the burst was in the loop after the kitchen rad, which would explain it.

Liamario

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Repair the burst pipe and see if it cures it. It could be that the burst was in the loop after the kitchen rad, which would explain it.

Thanks fingers. That does make sense. I'll keep you posted- whether you're interested or not