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Heating Off But Radiators Warm


Onoff

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3 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Put the valve in, wrap PTFE across the join between the olive and the brass body and then do it up with some of your favourite goo on it ...

 

Out with the rag then:

 

2018-12-12_07-59-35

 

Edited by Onoff
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6 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Those olives are a long way from the end of the pipe.  Offer up the new fittings.  If the pipe bottoms out in the new fitting before the olive touches it's cone, then they are never going to compress. If that is the case, cut a bit off the end of the pipe.

 

They're 28mm, the pipe goes in about an inch. This is how far the valve pushed the olive along of the pipe is in the full inch:

 

2018-12-12_08-06-00

 

Best I'd get on!

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14 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Can you not use the nut to push the olive off?, put an adjustable wrench behind it and tap it off with a hammer!

 

Did exactly that thanks.

 

Now any pointers as to refilling later tonight? More a 2am list for me!

 

- Take string off of ball valve

- Set 3 valves to MAN

- Open valves either side of pump

- Open balancing valve at bottom of cylinder that I shut

- Shut downstairs rad drain dock under floor

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31 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Pour a good dose of inhibitor into the header tank first.

 

Ta.  Found this. No idea how old. Label says to run a cleaner through the system first? Chuck it in the header?

 

20181212_220759

 

20181212_220807

 

Going to start filling and chuck the valve wires into the existing abortion I got as far as deciphering a short while back. Got a whole load of DIN rail terminals to do it properly.

 

2018-12-12_10-09-06

 

More worried about "when" I can fire the boiler back up? 

 

Cheers 

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Tbh I never put inhibitor in until it’s all leak tested as otherwise you’re chucking money away when you drain down again. 

 

Get the system full of water now and get it cycling to get the air out of the rads etc then run the boiler up. 

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17 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Tbh I never put inhibitor in until it’s all leak tested as otherwise you’re chucking money away when you drain down again. 

 

Get the system full of water now and get it cycling to get the air out of the rads etc then run the boiler up. 

 

Going to sound super stupid but how do I get it to "cycle"? Just cut the feed to the boiler (on its own fcu) so everything switches and pumps (hopefully) but the boiler doesn't fire?

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2 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Yep - manually open a valve to trigger the pumps but ignore the boiler is a good way to clear air from a system. 

 

Can't I just control via the upstairs and downstairs room stats and the  heating / hot water call settings on the the two QE2 controllers?

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10 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Manual lock over is the way to fill a system 

 

All 3 valves are on manual if that's what you mean? As in I've gently pushed them over and latched them. Pipes are gurgling and bubbling. Header tank still filling - ball valve crappy but can only feel it over the top not see it. 

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Two leaks, both on existing ball valves! This longstanding one I managed to fix by backing the nut off and tightening again. Another I caused shifting pipes. Just tightened that one. Both probably just ptfe'd originally.

 

2018-12-12_11-20-16

 

On the 3 replacement valves no leaks so far.

 

I only put ptfe on the 3-port along with Jet Blue Plus that with the old nuts and olives.

 

 On the two 22mm 2-ports just Jet Blue Plus, no ptfe but the nuts and olives that came with the valve. For some reason the Honeywell nuts didn't seem to want to go on easily with tape.

 

Impressed with the Honeywell valve quality and the cabling.

 

20181213_000724

 

 

20181213_000800

 

Power off to the boiler deliberately.

 

I boosted upstairs and downstairs heating and the hot water. OMG the gurgling! Seems to have quietened down now. Pump running. Still hearing the odd "surge", guess air still.

 

Haven't yet bled any rads. Presume do that before I fire the boiler up?

 

How will I know when the boiler is "full" i.e no air?

 

Cheers. Appreciated btw.

 

 

Edited by Onoff
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Just bled the upstairs (4 only) modern 'ish rads. 

 

Went to do the downstairs single pipe system. 1st rad OK, modern (I fitted). Rads 2 & 3 in the playroom couldn't even get to them for tat & toys stacked high. Rad 4, old style, the radiator key too big a diameter as are all those thereafter! Tomorrow night job.

 

Back in the loft for a quick check. Bloody ball valve leaking a bit again!

 

The pipe comes in from the left from the last rad on the line downstairs. Then off to the right where it commons up with the upstairs return. Hoping I can close the valve and back the nut off for some magic Jet Blue Plus. Again, tommorow.

 

Bed now after a lukewarm WASH! :(

 

2018-12-12_11-20-16

 

Edited by Onoff
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Last night really rubbed in the heat loss in this old house. Frost outside last night. Just hoping the loft pipes will be OK.

 

Plan is to sort the leaking ball valve, then find a suitable rad key and bleed downstairs then fire up the boiler and keep an eye on everything, re-bleeding as necessary.

 

Re-doing the spaghetti junction of a wiring centre, though necessary, will have to wait.

 

In terms of a system cleaner, via the header any recommendations?  I've a Screwfix, Plumb Centre and a couple of independents to get it from.

 

John The Chippy's SiL is a plumber and I can likely borrow a "Power Flush" kit. Worth doing or not?

 

Cheers

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10 hours ago, PeterW said:

Before - two or three wraps on the olive. 

 

Looking at that sludge I would also plan to put a mag filter in the circuit somewhere and whack inhibitor in after running some system cleaner through it for a few weeks. 

 

Look on BES, they have a Cura branded one that is really tidy and cheap - their inhibitor and desludge is good too at about £3 a bottle. 

 

Thanks for the link. Saw the Cura one. Only thing is my pipework is 28mm from the boiler to the 3-port. How about this discounted one?

 

https://www.bes.co.uk/intaklean-2-magnetic-filter-28mm-22831

 

I've a vertical section of pipe straight after the boiler but before the air separator and filling tee coming down from the header. Is that a reasonable place to site it?

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They can go pretty much anywhere but really should be in the boiler return pipe as it catches the crud before it gets to the boiler itself. I’ve used this one before as it also has a gauze filter to catch other rubbish and it makes an easy dosing pot for additives directly into the circuit. 

 

Reducing a short section to 22mm wouldn’t affect the flow tbh and you could do that with a couple of compression connectors and a reducing set in each. 

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8 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

In terms of a system cleaner, via the header any recommendations?  I've a Screwfix, Plumb Centre and a couple of independents to get it from.

 

John The Chippy's SiL is a plumber and I can likely borrow a "Power Flush" kit. Worth doing or not?

 

 

 

Cura cleaner is pretty good and dirt cheap. I don’t use the Fernox stuff now as it’s far too expensive for what it is. 

 

TBH I wouldn't bother power flushing as you’re more likely to find or create leaks and wash crud into the boiler heat exchanger. 

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Back up and running...'ish...

 

Jury's out on the two leaking 22mm ball valves. Tba.

 

HW running. Upstairs rads roasting. 

 

Downstairs single pipe system...8 rads: Not getting hot. Downstairs stat calling for heat, 2-port seems to be operating.

 

Only thing I can think of is I haven't yet bled rads 2 & 3 on the 8 rad run?

 

 

Edited by Onoff
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Bled ALL downstairs rads. Nice & hot coming out of the 2-port valve in the loft. Then 11m run of 22mm copper pipe to the first and only modern rad, Rad 1. (7m horizontal, 2.5m drop to ground 1.5m horizontal to the rad. Tbh it's warm but not that warm. Rad 2 actually warmer than rad 1. Rad 2 an old rad but it does have swept tees in & out. Rad 3 warm but not that. Rad 4 to 8 stone cold. Return line up in the loft again stone cold.

 

Maybe things are gradually getting warmer but very, very slowly. 

 

Sludge?

Edited by Onoff
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So you have very little flow round that single pipe downstairs system.

 

Go and shut off all upstairs radiators to ensure maximum pressure on the downstairs loop and see if that gets it moving.

 

Could be an air lock, could be crud.

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3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

So you have very little flow round that single pipe downstairs system.

 

Go and shut off all upstairs radiators to ensure maximum pressure on the downstairs loop and see if that gets it moving.

 

Could be an air lock, could be crud.

 

I didn't shut the upstairs ones off individually per se but simply turned the upstairs room stat down so the 2-port shut figuring that would give more pressure to the downstairs system?

 

I can borrow one of these btw:

 

2018-12-13_08-10-50

 

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26 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

I didn't shut the upstairs ones off individually per se but simply turned the upstairs room stat down so the 2-port shut figuring that would give more pressure to the downstairs system?

 

I can borrow one of these btw:

 

2018-12-13_08-10-50

 

 

Don’t do it unless you want to find every pinhole in every pipe .....

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