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Underfloor heating problem

(0 reviews)

So the guy from Greenflame came on Tuesday and set up the pellet stove and thermal store leaving us to get it feeding the underfloor heating, that’s two days ago and still no heat, the stove gets up to 70degrees which it is set at and this should suffice for all the heat and hot water, it then cuts back and ticks over, the problem is the hot water is not getting to the manifold, the flow pipe is hot but everything else is cold, many wasted hours have now been spent with no results- help!

37 Comments

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Got a photo of the blending valve..?? And the manifold..?

 

Blending valve could be on back to front  

Is the manifold all open? Do you have actuators?

One rail has the actuators and the other should have flow gauges. The flow gauges turn anti-clockwise ( 3 revolutions maxinum !! ) to allow / regulate the flow. Check these are not tight closed ( try turning clockwise, if they move then they’re open ). 

No blending valve just a thermostatic mixer apparently image.thumb.jpg.f0a001662d2207dbca6dd9f47b2ccc3f.jpg

What is the thermostatic valve set to..?? Top left above the pump. 

We’ve had it at various positions anywhere from 20-50 but we want to keep it down as the slab hasn’t been heated before 

Can I see a better square on close up view of the manifold, I can't see any flow meters.  Also a close up of the actuators to see if they are "on"

 

If in doubt as a test unscrew all the actuators and by default all circuits will be on BUT mark which one is which before removing them so they will go back in the same order (otherwise you will have a whole different problem to solve)

 

Obvious question, can you hear that pump running?

(edited)

@Nickfromwales all actuators are open and flow gauge there are no flow meters @ProDave just hex blanking plugs can’t hear the pump but can feel it 

Edited by Christine Walker

Note the position of the thermostatic head with marker pen, and open it fully anticlockwise. Give it 20 mins and check for heat. If still no heat, get a flat blade screwdriver and turn the slotted valve, ( on the adjacent pipe to the right of it ), again anticlockwise, and see if that gets things shifting.

Has the system been purged? eg has cold mains been used to force all the air through the loops.

Next, are all the isolation vales open? Follow the pipes from the thermal store all the way to the manifold and see whats in the path. Confirm that they're all open / functioning etc. Hopefully you'll have a 2-port zone valve between the TS and the manifold to stave off unwanted heat loss during the non heating season. 

Still be interested in that slotted valve to the right of the head.

13 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Note the position of the thermostatic head with marker pen, and open it fully anticlockwise. Give it 20 mins and check for heat. If still no heat, get a flat blade screwdriver and turn the slotted valve, ( on the adjacent pipe to the right of it ), again anticlockwise, and see if that gets things shifting.

Normally the slot would be vertical for open, it looks to be horizontal at the moment,. i.e. closed.

 

Can I see a close up picture of how those bottom row of pipes connect, I have not seen that type of manifold before.

Those bottom pipe connectors. Using an allen key, turn each one 1 turn anticlockwise. I think they may be the flow adjustment?

If there is a pump circulating water between the TS and the manifold pump, check the pump isolation valves are fully open. 

What has happened to the installers? Why are they not sorting it for you?

 

Time for a visit from a certain Welsh Plumber?

21 minutes ago, ProDave said:

What has happened to the installers? Why are they not sorting it for you?

They probably don’t know either ?

5 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

I’ll fuel up the batmobile ? 

 

Underpants on the outside.... 

 

Head north to the land of Iron Bru and McEwans Export ....

8 minutes ago, PeterW said:

 

Underpants on the outside.... 

 

Head north to the land of Iron Bru and McEwans Export ....

Speedo’s on back to front is my normal workwear. ???

And steel toe cap boots of course. 

“Safety first!”  

Exactly my thoughts re the installers, I thought when I paid for installation it would include actually getting the thing working but apparently it was only the actual installation of the pipes and manifold then you’re on your own, there is a pump on the TS which is for the radiators upstairs and the UFH, works ok for radiators so I’m assuming the valves are fully open, yes a visit from @Nickfromwales would be great pity he’s so far away! And by the way it’s IRN bru?

I KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS ....... ?

 

Or at least I think I do... if the upstairs and UFH are on together, the upstairs pump will be pulling against a fairly low pressure circuit so the circulation pump on the manifold is basically trying to both pull against the circulator and push against several hundred meters of UFH coils .....

 

Do they both share a tapping on the TS..??

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