Cold or Luke warm radiators

[matopia]

Problem: cold or lukewarm radiators.

This maybe a problem but so far we are not bothered about it because we have hot water: Water is hot, in fact very hot at times, especially in the shower.

I had some joy last week getting the radiators to react (I downloaded the manual for my boiler (Ocean 80-FF)). I followed the instructions and the boiler lit up and the radiators were warm for two nights, and then went cold again.

The boiler is set on a timer to go on between 6pm and 1am, and then on again at 6am to 8am. Problem is, the radiators just don't warm up even though the boiler has all the burners burning. What I can't understand is why the radiators are not getting hot. Adjusting the dials on the radiators doesn't seem to do anything. This evening when we arrived home, the radiators were lukewarm. I noticed the burners in the boiler were all on. The missus had an extremely hot shower, and then thereafter the radiators went cold. I noticed the boiler only had two burners on.

In some earlier posts this week I attempted to put in CH cleanser with little success because the plugs are too small for the pipe.
I had some excellent advice from Kevplumb and Co suggesting I buy Fernox which can be injected into the radiators. I'll be doing that this weekend.

What I want to know is.
What is the idea of this stuff?
Does it clean the radiator out so that they warm up again?
Is it going to solve this problem?

What other possible problems could there be with my system?

How does the Pump effect things?
I've been reading many posts where advice has been given to take off the cover and stick a screwdriver into the hole to feel for the mechanism inside...
What does this actually prove?

Is it something I should be trying?

Just another bit of useful information. Last month out gas bill was £54. Extremely high I thought, considering we only had a couple of days where the heat actually worked. The rest of the time we had luke warm rads and the boiler seemed to be working overtime. There must be a bigger problem, but I have no idea what.
What should the gas bill be around about for two people in a house (2 bed, 2 reception, 1 bathroom). [Monthly or quarterly]

I am willing to admit defeat because we have been damn cold this past couple of nights. No amount of blankets has made us sleep warmly.

I am willing to call in a plumber. But would like to know what the potential problems are and what we are up against?

What sort of costs are involved?

Any response from the experts will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Mike

 

[kevplumb]

diverter valve stuck mid position
fornox gets all the cr*p into solution so it can be flushed out
no i dont think it will but it wont hurt
see above
it proves that the thing is running
yes try it by all means
plumbers costs get the cheque book out
hope this helps

 

[matopia]

Hi Kevplumb,

Diverter valve stuck mid position.... What does that mean, and where would I find that? Is that something in the pump? Or is that not a good idea for me to be fiddling?

Brrrrrr....

 

[kevplumb]

not a good idea mate get somebody in
hope i answered the rest of your questions

 

[matopia]

Ok! Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

 

[kevplumb]

no probs
my cot is calling

 

[the boiler technician]

with a boiler thats over 10 years old the dustbin is the best place, i suggest that u have a new boiler installed and reap the benefits of low gas bills. Must be a condensing boiler though. Did my C & G course yesterday, so im up to date. Any boiler 10 years + is a waist of time. u fix 1 thing then the next goes wrong and before u realise it u paid for more than a new boiler. By 2007 gas charges will double cos we aint got much N.G. left so we have to buy it in, at the moment its coming from africa, volotile or what!! so next is Russia, same again.
the boiler technician

 

[kevplumb]

system boiler or combi