Another quick plumbing question....
Discussion
What a time for the central heating to pack up 
...10pm last night and the pipework in the boiler starts banging and clanking like a good 'un then abruptly shuts down. The system is open vented with a header tank in the loft.
The heating has been playing up for a while with some rads red hot and others only getting luke warm. The hot rads / warm rads are not always the same ones so I think its either an airlock or, more likely IMO, sludge or similar in the system which is being pumped around. I'm guessing that some of this muck could have found its way into the boiler pipework and the water pressure sensor is telling the boiler to shut off about 30 seconds after it fire - does this sound about right ?
I plan to bunk work in a couple of hours, drain the system, flush through a couple of times with clean water and then run a litre of Furnox Central Heating Restorer through the system for a couple of days.
Is the correct course of action ? And are their any pitfalls I should be on my guard for in draining / refilling the system ??
Cheers for any advice all...
...10pm last night and the pipework in the boiler starts banging and clanking like a good 'un then abruptly shuts down. The system is open vented with a header tank in the loft. The heating has been playing up for a while with some rads red hot and others only getting luke warm. The hot rads / warm rads are not always the same ones so I think its either an airlock or, more likely IMO, sludge or similar in the system which is being pumped around. I'm guessing that some of this muck could have found its way into the boiler pipework and the water pressure sensor is telling the boiler to shut off about 30 seconds after it fire - does this sound about right ?
I plan to bunk work in a couple of hours, drain the system, flush through a couple of times with clean water and then run a litre of Furnox Central Heating Restorer through the system for a couple of days.
Is the correct course of action ? And are their any pitfalls I should be on my guard for in draining / refilling the system ??
Cheers for any advice all...
I have the same problem at the moment. It has been going on for a month or so.
You could consider shutting down all the radiators so that when you drain the system you only drain the pipework. It might be that your sludge is collecting in some of the lower pipework (are the radiators that go cool on the ground floor?). Leaving the radiators full will make it easier to refill. If there's a blockage because of sludge then you're really going to find out about that when you try to refill.
I found draining my system was not enough to shift the sludge. And I'm waiting for someone with a power flush machine to come round and give it a go. I wonder if you can hire these from HSS or somewhere similar?
Good luck.
You could consider shutting down all the radiators so that when you drain the system you only drain the pipework. It might be that your sludge is collecting in some of the lower pipework (are the radiators that go cool on the ground floor?). Leaving the radiators full will make it easier to refill. If there's a blockage because of sludge then you're really going to find out about that when you try to refill.
I found draining my system was not enough to shift the sludge. And I'm waiting for someone with a power flush machine to come round and give it a go. I wonder if you can hire these from HSS or somewhere similar?
Good luck.
Sounds like an airlock in your pump. They usually have a bleed valve if you can get to it - maybe try that first.
Plus have a look here - www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl034.php
>> Edited by nubbin on Tuesday 24th January 10:46
Plus have a look here - www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl034.php
>> Edited by nubbin on Tuesday 24th January 10:46
Cheers chaps, much appreciated...
Its typically only the ground floor rads that display varying temperatures.
A brand new pump was fitted a month ago with a higher flow rate - we have 17 rads and the last pump was probably too small. It has improved circulation but nowhere near enough to clear any blockages. When the screw on the front of the pump is undo, water comes out. There isn't any hissing so I don't think the pump itself is airlocked.
The expansion tank in the loft is full and the ballcock works fine..
Wouldn't it be worth leaving all the rads turned on such that clean water then Furnox flushes have some chance of ridding the system of any sludge that may be sitting in the rad bases ?
Keep 'em coming guys, I'm on a rapid learning curve here !
Its typically only the ground floor rads that display varying temperatures.
A brand new pump was fitted a month ago with a higher flow rate - we have 17 rads and the last pump was probably too small. It has improved circulation but nowhere near enough to clear any blockages. When the screw on the front of the pump is undo, water comes out. There isn't any hissing so I don't think the pump itself is airlocked.
The expansion tank in the loft is full and the ballcock works fine..
Wouldn't it be worth leaving all the rads turned on such that clean water then Furnox flushes have some chance of ridding the system of any sludge that may be sitting in the rad bases ?
Keep 'em coming guys, I'm on a rapid learning curve here !
nubbin said:
Plus have a look here - www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl034.php
Cheers nubbin
Might be using that site if it all goes Pete Tong...Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff