Only one rad working

punky brewster

OK,so self explanatory,when i turn the heating on only one rad heats up and thats in the upstairs bedroom,closest to the boiler.None of the rads are working down-stairs.I've bled them all,but no joy.I read somewhere it might be the pump thats knackered,if so,is this expensive to fix? btw i have oil central heating. Thanks in advance.

Billy Bunting

Had the heating been off for any length of time ?

punky brewster

yes roughly a year, bled rads and all were working ,that was 3/4 weeks ago and 1 by 1 the others dont heat up now

Billy Bunting

Your pump maybe just seized and could be freed dependent on the pump and your capabilities.

punky brewster

so whats my next step

Billy Bunting

type of pump ?? picture ???

punky brewster

where would it be ..beside oil burner????

Billy Bunting

more than likely, possibly in the back if its an outside boiler.

punky brewster

no its in the house under the stairs,ill try get a pic up now

jjf1974

punky brewster wrote: »

OK,so self explanatory,when i turn the heating on only one rad heats up and thats in the upstairs bedroom,closest to the boiler.None of the rads are working down-stairs.I've bled them all,but no joy.I read somewhere it might be the pump thats knackered,if so,is this expensive to fix? btw i have oil central heating. Thanks in advance.

A fairly good circulating pump will set you back about €65 If that's your problem.

punky brewster

2nd image is from a pump i got replaced about 2 years ago

punky brewster

jjf1974 wrote: »

A fairly good circulating pump will set you back about €65 If that's your problem.

sounds reasonable and are they difficult to replace?

Billy Bunting

It's the Grunfos pump.Turn off all heat and allow to cool.The large screw in the middle is unscrewed, there will be a small amount of water leak but a cloth below and bowl will sort it, behind the screw is the pump shaft, there is a slot in the end you can put a screwdriver, turn manually until free, return screw and turn on.

jjf1974

punky brewster wrote: »

sounds reasonable and are they difficult to replace?

There easy enough ,I will try to explain it I am sure there are other posters who can explain better.
1. MAKE SURE that power coming to the pump is off.
2. turn the screws on the flanges on the pump until they are at 90 degrees to the pump , this will stop the water on both sides.
3.loosen the large nuts that hold the flanges on the pump , remove the pump.
4. disconnect the electric cable.
5.fit the new pump making sure the washers are in place.
6. tighten pipes,connect electric cable
7. loosen nut in the centre of the pump to let any traped air out.

punky brewster

thanks for all the replies billy, my tools are in work and would you believe ive no screwdriver in the house , ill tackle this tomorrow and report back to you ,cheers

punky brewster

jjf1974 wrote: »

There easy enough ,I will try to explain it I am sure there are other posters who can explain better.
1. MAKE SURE that power coming to the pump is off.
2. turn the screws on the flanges on the pump until they are at 90 degrees to the pump , this will stop the water on both sides.
3.loosen the large nuts that hold the flanges on the pump , remove the pump.
4. disconnect the electric cable.
5.fit the new pump making sure the washers are in place.
6. tighten pipes,connect electric cable
7. loosen nut in the centre of the pump to let any traped air out.

sounds simple enough, hoping it doesnt have to replaced, but if so id manage that myself,thanks man

Billy Bunting

If you do end up changing the pump go very easy on the 2 pump valves, they can leak once turned back on and you will then need to drain the system to change the valves.

jjf1974

video here should give you an idea..[URL="http://www.yo
utube.com/watch?v=QEoYwlbBApY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEoYwlbBApY[/URL] If you do need to change the pump, they usually are not as bad as the one in this video but they can be.

punky brewster

right so i undid the screw , water came out, moved the motor manually with a screwdriver ,turned on , even changed speed settings and could here the motor "speeding up" but still only had one rad heating up so a fella from work suggested i balance the system, i turned all rads off and left the working one on then turned one on at a time while closing the working one, this was working perfectly ,i 6 out of 8 rads working , all upstairs and 1 in the hall just cant get the one in the kitchen and sitting room working now but they were working recently ,could it be a bit more balancing needed to get these to work?

Tokyo

punky brewster wrote: »

right so i undid the screw , water came out, moved the motor manually with a screwdriver ,turned on , even changed speed settings and could here the motor "speeding up" but still only had one rad heating up so a fella from work suggested i balance the system, i turned all rads off and left the working one on then turned one on at a time while closing the working one, this was working perfectly ,i 6 out of 8 rads working , all upstairs and 1 in the hall just cant get the one in the kitchen and sitting room working now but they were working recently ,could it be a bit more balancing needed to get these to work?

Sounds like a bit of bleeding and balancing should sort it all out. Though seeing as the entire upstairs is out, have you checked to see whether the house is zoned? i.e. a switch or thermostat that allows you to heat the upstairs and downstairs separately???

punky brewster

No i have all upstairs and one rad downstairs working fine,its just the kitchen and sitting room not working yet, ive already bled all rads but id say a bit more balancing will sort it out

Tokyo

punky brewster wrote: »

No i have all upstairs and one rad downstairs working fine,its just the kitchen and sitting room not working yet, ive already bled all rads but id say a bit more balancing will sort it out

Apologies - I misread the earlier post. Yep, sounds like you just need to balance the system properly. And just for the sake of elimination, go round to the radiators that are not heating up and make sure that the valves are open (obvious I know, but you'd be surprised), and bleed them plenty - even when water comes out, let it run into a bowl for a minute or two.