Some rads work, cisterns take ages to refill

Potential-Monke

Hi All,

Right, moved into a house last December and thought all was ok. After a few months of living alone, when the better half moved in i realised a few problems.

First off, I have 8 rads, and only 4 work. The bedroom ones work, and the sittingroom one works. The hallway, updatairs toilet and 2 in the kitchen don't. I bled all of them yesterday, and air came out of the working ones, and water came out of the non-working ones. No part of the rads get hot, and even the pipes coming from the ground don't get hot. Aside from one of the 2 in the kitchen, they are all on the right side of the house (2 downstairs, 1 upstairs).

Second problem, the 3 toilets. They work, but take 5+ hours to refill. After flushing, if i check the cistern, there's a very slow drip... drip... drip... coming from the middle of the part that the water comes from. Not a huge problem, but head wrecking.

So, if anyone has encountered these problems and could give me a bit of advice. I know i'll probably need to get a plumber, and i have €600 saved, but don't know if this will be enough... Do plumbers do free estimates?

Cheers!

Edit: Forgot to say, the main toilet shower is a bit mad too. When you turn it on, and put it to the hot water side, cold water comes out, but when you turn it to the cold water side nothing comes out. Supposed to be a new shower...

Sparkpea

turn off all the rads except one in the kitchen for example - see if it works, if it does turn on another in the kitchen etc. it could be the water circulating pump is only powerful enough to heat 4 rads and not 8, the motor may have worn down over the years and needs replaced.

is there thermostatic radiator valves (trvs) on the radiators?

sounds like the system could do with a good powerflush

toilet problem sounds like a diaphragm washer needs replaced but its weird that its all the toilets. i'd still go down that route first tho, take a pic of the inside of the cistern and i'll tell u what to do.

Potential-Monke

Sparkpea wrote: »

turn off all the rads except one in the kitchen for example - see if it works, if it does turn on another in the kitchen etc. it could be the water circulating pump is only powerful enough to heat 4 rads and not 8, the motor may have worn down over the years and needs replaced.

I'll give that a go later, still at work for now!

is there thermostatic radiator valves (trvs) on the radiators?

I take it thats the round bit on the left of the rad with 1, 2, 3 and a black dot for max? I really know nothing about plumbing... The other side has that copper flat point.

sounds like the system could do with a good powerflush

Is that something i can do, or a professionals job?

toilet problem sounds like a diaphragm washer needs replaced but its weird that its all the toilets. i'd still go down that route first tho, take a pic of the inside of the cistern and i'll tell u what to do.

I'll take a picture when i finish at 10, and attempt to upload it (no laptop, have to use the ps3!!!)

Sparkpea

yes trv is 1,2,3 etc. you should take the trv head off incase it is faulty.

this is a myson trv head for example



u might be able to screw that chrome nut off with ur hand or a pair of water pump grips, it shouldnt be on too tight. this will mean if the head is faulty then the trv wont let water pass through thus rad not heading.

powerflush is a professional job but well worth it

Potential-Monke

Sparkpea wrote: »

yes trv is 1,2,3 etc. you should take the trv head off incase it is faulty.

this is a myson trv head for example



u might be able to screw that chrome nut off with ur hand or a pair of water pump grips, it shouldnt be on too tight. this will mean if the head is faulty then the trv wont let water pass through thus rad not heading.

Thats exactly the ones i have, so i take that off and turn the revealing part myself?

powerflush is a professional job but well worth it

Think i might do that, do you know if it's an expensive job?

Sparkpea

turn the valve to the black circle (on full) then unscrew the big chrome nut once u unscrew the had u will see a pin in the end of the valve, push this in a few times with something hard (I use the flat part of the head i've just took off cos its handy). the washer may have jamed in the valve. the pin head could be stuck in but pushing it in and out may release it, if not gently pull it out slightly with a pair of plyers.

I dont know what price people charge for powerflushing in the south, up north I charge about £260-£300 for up to 12 rads. it depends on the type of system, any complications with flushing etc. but gives u an idea anyway.

Potential-Monke

Most excellent, i'll try all that in a bit, and if all goes to all i'll fork out for the powerflush. You have been a gentleman and a scholar, and i thank you! I'll let ya know how i get on.

Potential-Monke

ok, i took off the trv and the pin is going in and out fine! Can't get a pic up until tomorrow night.

Sparkpea

did u try turning some rads off?

Buford T Justice

I wonder would there be a motorized valve closed somewhere.......

Potential-Monke

Sparkpea, you are truely a legend. When i got home from work, herself was after coming back from Limerick, and when i walked in the door at ten the hallway was melting!!! I took the trvs off the other rads and they're all red hot! I'm a very happy monkey!

As for the toilets, the pics are attached. If you look at P271210_22.09, the slow drip comes from where that round plstic tube with the clear "bag" connects to the white screw shaped bit... If that makes sense...

Sparkpea

ok, get yourself to a plumbing wholesalers or even b&q and get some diaphragm washers (sometimes called ballvalve/ballcock washers). I pay about £1 each for them in wholesalers, I expect b&q may be a bit more. The ones your looking for should be like this;

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Ballvalve-Diaphragm-Washer/invt/421629

you will need 1 washer per toilet that not working/filling properly.

once u have them isolate the feed, there might be a ballofix valve on the feed pipe to the cistern, looks something like this

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/project_images/Ballofix/valve.gif

turn it off, or turn off the cold feed from the tank in the loft, or mains water if its mains fed. push ballcock down to test water stops, flush toilet to empty cistern to make it easier to work with.

you may need a pair of footprints or water pump plyers, i use these water pump plyers - great job http://www.hyperclaw.com/pic/products/water-pump-plier-bj-L.jpg

ok looking at the last image theres 4 main parts which I'm going to randomly describe as

big nut (left hand side of screw thingy)
screw thingy
small nut (right hand side of screw thingy)
locknut (far right beside the black washer that is at the side of cistern)

ok you dont need to touch the locknut

unscrew the small nut to allow you to lift the arm and float out (watch nothing falls out)

once you have that out and on the floor its easier to play with

unscrew the big nut and you will find your diaphragm washer, I use a pen knife to poke it out from around the edge or a small tester screwdriver would do the same job. make sure u watch what way its in so you can put the new one in. I expect the one you take out will be domed and looking slightly white or green. put in the new washer and connect the big nut back up, then the small nut, turn on water and test. if the water doesnt stop then you've the washer in back to front. if it stops but the water level is too high or too low use the hexagon nut at the start of the arm to loosen the pin and a screwdriver to move the pin in or out to adjust the water level then retighten the hexagon nut. (this can be done while the water is on).

thats all really! water should flow faster with a new washer in it. if u dont understand anything i'll try describe it a bit better lol

good luck

Potential-Monke

Most excellent, i shall get all them and try this evening.