Radiator and Boiler problem

B

burger1979

Registered User
Messages
142
Hi folks,

well after the 'summer' months it has come to that time to turn the central heating back on again. anywho i have a problem. i went around all the radiators and turned off all the valves on them. set the room thermostats to 20 degrees c and then went to the boiler (Model is Ideal S24) and switched it on. started straight away no problems. then after about 5 mins the boiler stopped. gas turned off and nothing from it. I was having a problem with a rad in the front room that it was never getting hot enough. so when all the other rads were turned off i would open the valves on that one fully and get it roasting hot just to make sure that it was ok. when opening the valves the boiler switched off. i thought air in the system so switched the boiler back on bled the rad and nothing but water came out. then went to the hot press and opened the airvent and some air came out. in mthe mean time the boiler switched off again. the rad in the front room is connected i think to a rad in the hall, one on opposite sides of the wall. so i thought that there might be something in the connection between the 2. so i opened the valve on that one and switched the boiler back on it fired up and the hall rad got warm. the front room one didnt. turned off the rad valves for the one in the hall to see if the water would divert to the one in the living room and nothing. then after a longer period the boiler turned off. i have absolutely no idea on how to fix this. i am going to open up all the rad valves again and turn on the heat to see if the boiler stays on but does anyone have any ideas on what might be wrong with my living room radiator? the valves on the rads are not thermostatic just normal rad valves.

thanks in advance.

burger.
 
Firstly, with all the rads turned off and the boiler on, did you expect the boiler to light for a long period? It just came up to temp. fast (and not good for the appliance either)

As for you rad not heating, sounds as i you have an airlock, I assume the
pipes coming into your downstairs rads come out of the wall (as opposed to
out of the ground) and if so, the airlock is above the rad (at the 90deg bend
in the pipe at ceiling level) and the rad will need to be drained, removed, system over pressured and flow and return flushed out until the air is removed.
 
I think the fact the hall rad worked rules out a pump problem, I would be inclined to go with airlock or blockage in the pipe or one of the valves as the problem, of course I am presuming the rad was vented.
 
Glenamaddy - no not the pump as i turned on all valves on the rads and let them heat up.

DGOBS - i didnt think that the boiler would stay on long but it was off within a minute of firing up so thought it was a bit strange. you right the pipes come out of the wall. i turned on all rads after doing what i said and went around every rad and drained them all of air till water was coming out of the vents on all of them. all the rads for the exception of the this one and another one in the kitchen got nice and hot and i left the heat on for a few hours. whilst it was on i went back to the rad in the living room and opened the vent and let the water run out for about 5 mins, it was cold and never got hot. the funny thing is, is that the pipes before the valves on the rad get hot just not the rad itself. now also the kitchen radiator is not getting hot either which just adds to the problems:mad::mad:. there is a rad on the other side of the wall to the kitchen one that gets hot though so i am going to have to try and get the kitchen one working tonight. the kitchen rad has gotten hot before so no reason to not work now. anyways thanks for the help. the living room one has never really been hot.

burger
 
sounds like there may be a blockage at the valve or in the rad, turn off both sides, either life and spin on it's head quickly and cover ends with thumb or rip at valve and drain. Then remove and clean outside. Once the rad is off, get a bucket and open valves to ensure they operate correctly.
 
i thought there might be a blockage alright. i think i will try to get the kitchen rad working tonight by turning off all the rads and just leaving that one open. when taking off a rad is just a case of turning off the rad valves, unscrewing the bottom end connections and lift off the wall? of course trying to catch as much water as possible?

thanks,

burger

P.S. past one hundred posts wahoo:D
 
sounds like the airlock is where I said, just on the return side of thee rad (where it usually is!) venting at the rad will do nothing (and most likely caused another air lock!)
 
right so to take the rad off the wall, turn off the valves at the bottom. unscrew the joints at both opposite ends catching the water as it comes out. lift the rad off the wall. then to flush it out, how to do that? i dont have a hose but can get one. also how do you know which one is the return valve? i have two white valves on each rad, one grooved and one smooth.

then go back to the valves and open them both up to make sure they are not blocked. now the fill for the heating system is connected to the mains in the hot press so should i leave this open when the rad valves are open so as not to let more air into the system? then if the valves are letting out water put the rad back on the wall screw the connections back to the valves. turn on the heating system and vent all rads again to get the system back up to pressure. does this sound right?

thanks for the help

burger
 
Not quite,

with rad removed, you will need to connect a hose to either side (flow and return) to outside if possible, turn off all other rads, the dhw balance, pressure the system to about 2.5 bar, the let out either side until you get hot water and a splutter, but to be honest, not done right you may end up worse off with more airlocks than you started.

I wouldnt recommend this to someone who is a novice
 
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