Boiler needs replacing after bleeding

[bigzed]

Weird one this. I had noticed that the heating system was making a lot of noise this morning ( gurgling ) so I tried to bleed the radiators. Nothing appeared to happen so I thought I had better check the expansion tank. The system just heats radiators and does not supply hot water.

The tank was empty and the ball-valve was stuck up. I released the valve, allowed the tank to fill then began to bleed all the radiators. After doing this, I checked that the tank was still full - it was & turned the heating back on.

After 5 mins, there still didn't seem to be any hot flow through the main 22mm pipes downstairs, so I went upstairs to see if anything was wrong. I was greeted by a dull red glow coming through he pilot light viewing hole and a nasty niff !!!!

I turned the boiler off instantly as you can imagine. I'm guessing that after bleeding the rads, an air-lock or summat had managed to find it's way into the boiler ? Is there a procedure to bleed the boiler/pump area ?

I can't afford to get anyone in atm coz I'm skint and the bloody weather means we need the heating on really, if only to prevent any freezing problems.

Any help would be gratefully received guys.

 

[twgas]

is your pump working

 

[bigzed]

is your pump working

Yes Mick, the pump is working - sorry I should have mentioned.

I was just looking at the pipework around the boiler. There is a pipe that goes between the feed and return pipes to the radiator with a gate valve on it that is open. I can see the pipes coming from the expansion tank as well.

I was thinking if the overflow pipe was blocked, could this cause this problem ? I would post a pic but my camera battery has decided to go u/s. However, I can draw the system pipework :-

 

[JohnD]

it is very common for the feed and expansion pipe (the 15mm pipe from the loft tank - what you call the boiler feed) to become blocked with sediment. If it has dried out this may have allowed old sediment to harden.

If water does not squirt out forcefully from the highest radiator in the house when you bleed it, the pipe is probably blocked.

You might be able to squirt it free by putting a hose on the vent pipe (the one bent over the F&E tank - what you call the bloiler overflow)

Otherwise there are hundred of posts on the subject of "blocked cold feed" on this forum - have a look.

You can use a magnet to trace the blockage - it is most likely where the 15mm pipe comes down and tees ontp the larger circulating pipes. you might have to cut it out and renew the tee.

You should use a sludge-removing chemical cleaner after you have got the water flowing.

 

[bigzed]

it is very common for the feed and expansion pipe (the 15mm pipe from the loft tank - what you call the boiler feed) to become blocked with sediment. If it has dried out this may have allowed old sediment to harden.

If water does not squirt out forcefully from the highest radiator in the house when you bleed it, the pipe is probably blocked.

You might be able to squirt it free by putting a hose on the vent pipe (the one bent over the F&E tank - what you call the bloiler overflow)

Otherwise there are hundred of posts on the subject of "blocked cold feed" on this forum - have a look.

You can use a magnet to trace the blockage - it is most likely where the 15mm pipe comes down and tees ontp the larger circulating pipes. you might have to cut it out and renew the tee.

You should use a sludge-removing chemical cleaner after you have got the water flowing.

Hi John, didn't know you frequented this area of the board If only I could just fit an RCBO to sort it aye Soz m8, couldn't resist

When I bled the radiators, they all hissed pretty loudly, then squirted water out at a fair old rate, so I suppose the F&E pipe should be OK ? I'll have a look on search and see if I can find a similar problem posted.

I'm just a little bit concerned about how much of the system I can actually play around with coz of the CORGI regs. As long as I turn off the gas, am I OK to play around with the water pipes ?

 

[twgas]

pos prob

 

[seco services]

shut the bypass gate valve to put full flow round rads.see if that shifts your airlock

 

[bigzed]

Well, I'm gonna sound like one of the customers we come across when we repair a fault in the telephone exchange without a visit to the house. You know the one.......when you ring them up to say the fault is now OK, they say "OOOH it's fixed all by itself"

The boiler has been off for the best part of a couple of hours. I suddenly realised that even though I HEARD the pump making a noise, I couldn't be sure that it was actually pumping water. After what JohnD said, I thought maybe some crap had fallen down the pipe, into the pump and was stopping it turning, so I went upstairs, turned the pump on & checked.

It was turning OK, then I suddenly noticed that the 22mm pipes were beginning to warm up, unlike previously, so I (tentatively) went round all the rads to see if they were getting warm & indeed they were. So could the airlock have sorted itself out ?

shut the bypass gate valve to put full flow round rads.see if that shifts your airlock

I just did that to see if anything happened....there was a load of whooshing and gurgling around the boiler forra couple of mins, then it all went quiet again - still working OK. Should I leave this valve shut now ? I can't see why this would be there anyway ? Is it some sort of pressure relief ? Why would that be needed in an open system like this ?

Thanks anyway guys, is there anything I should be keeping an eye out for from now-on ? I don't want to sit there thinking all is well when I could be sitting on a time-bomb

 

[seco services]

sounds like you have pushed the airlock round and it's found it's way out the vent pipe.

 

[twgas]

if boiler has a pump overrun, or you've got trvs on all the rads, the by-pass will need to be open a little, if not it can be closed

 

[bigzed]

sounds like you have pushed the airlock round and it's found it's way out the vent pipe.

Oh great I hope so, coz I can't afford a new boiler yet, even though I am gonna get one fitted coz this one looks like it came out of the ark

So what is that gate valve used for exactly if you don't mind telling me ?

<edit> too slow to reply again

 

[bigzed]

if boiler has a pump overrun, or you've got trvs on all the rads, the by-pass will need to be open a little, if not it can be closed

I'm guessing that by pump overrun you mean that when the thermostat turns the boiler off, the pump keeps running ? If that's right then no, it doesn't have that facility & I have no TRV's on any of the radiators.

So I'm definitely OK leaving this valve shut then ? ( Can't you tell I ain't too happy with anything gas )

 

[seco services]

leave it shut then

 

[bigzed]

leave it shut then

Thanks for that.

 

[gigz]

Next time bleed the pump as well Also where you say "capped off here" is possibly a manual air vent.