Central heating issue

Apple_7_99 · 05-12-2014 12:20am #1

Hi,

I have a Potterton Suprima boiler.
The people in my house have complained about all the rads not working correctly..particularly the three downstairs..being very cold, working intermittently etc.

Boiler was serviced late last year and at that time, he mentioned that the pump was very hot to touch but that the system should be flushed by plumber to eliminate any blockages etc.
House is 12 years old.

Current tenant has flagged this now again so I got plumbers in to flush the system.
However, this did not work.
Upstairs is scorching, and the boiler...downstairs is not working.
He said if we leave the system on max each evening for a few days that it may free itself.
He has since said that the issue may be the pump and/or the valves.

I went there tonight and took a few pictures.
The pump is a Salmson NYL 33-25P
On the right hand side of the top of the boiler there is a vertical copper pipe with a Myson Power Extra valve attached (operating light is on)
Behind this there is a similiar valve hanging loose with no light on.
On the left of the top of the boiler is the copper piping and little 'tap' that is the only place that this valve could be sitting.

(I don't know why this is not fitted, it may have been removed during the boiler service and not replaced)

The boiler turns on, runs for several minutes and then turns itself off and continues to repeat this loop.

I took it uponmy self to close the tap on the pipe...it was open, I closed it.
There was a different sound now from the system of flowing water...not gurgling or anything like that but flowing away.
The on/off sequence continued.
However, the rads downstairs started to heat up gradually..kitchen, followed by hall and eventually living room....this took an hour and I had to leave at that stage.

I put this tap back to the open position (I was fearful of leaving it to the position I moved it to in case there would be an explosion of some sort during the night

) and within a few minutes the pipes entering the rads had cooled significantly again.

I left it at that.

Has anyone any advice on what to do/try...I am already down the bones of a grand at this point.

Thanks.

DGOBS · 05-12-2014 6:10am

I went there tonight and took a few pictures.

Would tell a thousand words.

You may have turned off a valve to the cylinder etc, but seeing would help

scudo2 · 05-12-2014 8:10am

DGOBS wrote: »

Would tell a thousand words.

You may have turned off a valve to the cylinder etc, but seeing would help

6am reply !!
Tony I've seen your photo.
You badly need your beauty sleep.

Or get a real job !

Apple_7_99 · 05-12-2014 9:02am

Sorry guys..I'm new to this site...how do I attach a picture to a thread?

Wearb · 05-12-2014 9:18am

Apple_7_99 wrote: »

Sorry guys..I'm new to this site...how do I attach a picture to a thread?

You need a minimum number of posts before you can attach a photo. You may be able to upload it to a place like Dropbox a post a link here

Apple_7_99 · 05-12-2014 11:44am

It won't let me post urls so can't add via dropbox..any other suggestions?

Wearb · 05-12-2014 11:53am

Apple_7_99 wrote: »

It won't let me post urls so can't add via dropbox..any other suggestions?

Make it look like it's not an URL. Write "dot" rather than using a period.

Apple_7_99 · 05-12-2014 11:56am

https://

dldotdropboxusercontentdotcom/u/46826588/IMG_0194dotJPG

This is the current pump and to the left you can see where the valve is that the motorised valve has been removed from.

https://

dldotdropboxusercontentdotcom/u/46826588/IMG_0196dotJPG

This is the motorised valve that is to the left hand side of the pump on the copper pipe there. You can't really see it but the other one is hanging behind this by its power cable..I believe that that should be sitting to the left of the pump as per the first picture here.

Wearb · 05-12-2014 12:23pm

Reposted for Apple_7_99 with working links.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/46826588/IMG_0194.JPG

This is the current pump and to the left you can see where the valve is that the motorised valve has been removed from.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/46826588/IMG_0196.JPG

This is the motorised valve that is to the left hand side of the pump on the copper pipe there. You can't really see it but the other one is hanging behind this by its power cable..I believe that that should be sitting to the left of the pump as per the first picture here.

Apple_7_99 · 08-12-2014 11:48am

Hi lads,

I turned off all rads on Saturday, and the tank.
Then opened the main large one downstairs...living room.
Closed the valve near boiler so there was nothing going upstairs.
Boiler still comes on/off intermittently...rad was slow to get going and start getting warm....then the boiler started making noises...like banging inside it and down the pipes a few times.
I turned it off straight away and put it back on later along with rest of downstairs. Other two rads heated up quick enough and the big one did but over more time.
Turned off after a few hours and then turned on again later and it heated a lot quicker that time.

Opened rads upstairs and then turned the valve near boiler open again, but not fully.
Rads upstairs hot very quick.

Left it at that.
Yesterday back to same story...cold downstairs, hot upstairs.

The thermostats are both on max..for upstairs and downstairs. I am correct in saying that these are completely independent of each other?

filbert the fox · 08-12-2014 4:24pm

Apple_7_99 wrote: »

Hi lads,

I turned off all rads on Saturday, and the tank.
Then opened the main large one downstairs...living room.
Closed the valve near boiler so there was nothing going upstairs.
Boiler still comes on/off intermittently...rad was slow to get going and start getting warm....then the boiler started making noises...like banging inside it and down the pipes a few times.
I turned it off straight away and put it back on later along with rest of downstairs. Other two rads heated up quick enough and the big one did but over more time.
Turned off after a few hours and then turned on again later and it heated a lot quicker that time.

Opened rads upstairs and then turned the valve near boiler open again, but not fully.
Rads upstairs hot very quick.

Left it at that.
Yesterday back to same story...cold downstairs, hot upstairs.

The thermostats are both on max..for upstairs and downstairs. I am correct in saying that these are completely independent of each other?

I can't see the photos so this could be evident to others. You may have
some sort of zoning in the system with motorised valves. These can be tempremental and are susceptible to clogging and malfunctioning if the system is older.
If you have one unscrew it and use a pliers to turn the brass valve on the pipework manually.
If it feels stiff due to deposits in the system the small motor in the valve is unable to turn it . You may now hear different sounds as the water moves past the valve and with a bit of luck you'll get hot water elsewhere. If this is the case replacing the valve may be your only option.

dersawazzie · 08-12-2014 6:09pm

I've read through your posts and tried to get a picture in my head of your set up. Do you have 2 room stats ? One for upstairs and one for downstairs ? Are you saying one zone valve powerhead has been removed and you are closing/opening the valve manually ? If this is the case, there is a possibility the zone valve you have taken a picture of with D/S written on it (downstairs) is not opening even though the powervalve light is on.

The water side of those valves can sometimes seize, or the motor in the powerhead may have given up. There is a chance the pump is playing up but it really doesn't seem like a big problem. Either way a simple task for a qualified and competent professional.

Central heating issue

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