Glowworm24cxi at 0.3 bar - Blue fill tap does not work!

[PaulTaylor]

My boiler is a Glow worm 24cxi. I bled two radiators which were cold at the top last night and this morning the pressure was at 0.3 bar which is below the minimum operational pressure. The blue tap that operates the built-in filling loop does not let water into the system.

I noticed another thread from January where uprightmonkeyuk007 had this problem with a 24ci and Alfredo offers instructions of how to get the valve unstuck (see below). Is this the same for my model?

On this model it has a built in filling loop with a blue cylindrical tap on the lower RH side of the boiler to fill. BUT.....If you do not hear water flowing into the boiler when you open the tap its because the valve seating at the top of the blue filling loop tap is stuck shut. Its very common I'm afraid.

The cure is simple, but if you've never done it before you need to be careful.

1) Switch boiler off at the mains spur. Remove white boiler front (2 star screws)
2) Shut off cold water supply to boiler. I'd use the house stop tap, and not the isolator under the boiler. Some fitters install a secondary in line ball valve..either way you have to cut off the water supply to the boiler. Open hot tap somewhere to make sure supply is cut off.
3) Have bucket under boiler and plenty of paper towel. You shouldn't need it, but you can use it to protect electronics from spillage

4)Hinge down control panel to reveal blue filling loop tap. This is held in by two stainless slide in clips into black plastic housing. One on top holding copper tube, and the other going into the boiler. You need both out, but observe carefully how they fit before removing. Remove inner clip and pull tap unit out towards you, then remove clip from copper tube next. Look into tap where copper tube has come out, Open tap fully then prod the little valve gently with a small screw driver from the top. This will release it. Reassemble in reverse. MAKING SURE YOU GET STAINLESS CLIPS IN PROPERLY AND THAT TAP UNIT AND COPPER TUBE ARE PUSHED WELL HOME. If not you get a soaking when you restore water supply..hence bucket and paper towel.

In a later post Alfredo suggested that he buy a new filling loop assembly. Is this because the above is just a temporary fix, or because the above didn't fix the problem?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[jonseyrs]

If your boiler is not under a guarantee just have a external filling loop teed into the pipework as the boiler needs to be topped up anually approx.

 

[PaulTaylor]

No it's not under guarantee. I wanted to have a bash at fixing it really.

 

[Agile]

If you want to fix it yourself then you should follow those comprehensive instructions.

It will enable you to refill it now.

However it will probably stick again though.

I would put some silicone grease on the valve seal after drying it and hope that would reduce the tendancy to stick closed.

Tony

 

[PaulTaylor]

Thanks Tony, so the replacement filling loop is to hopefully stop it sticking in future. I'll have a go with those instructions and hopefully it won't need refilling for a good while! Just wanted to check those instructions were right for the cxi as well as the ci

Thanks for the tip about the grease!

 

[Agile]

Thanks Tony, so the replacement filling loop is to hopefully stop it sticking in future.

No, a stand alone filling loop has no effect on the internal valve sticking!

Its to enable you to refill the system even though the internal valve is sticking.

Tony

 

[jonseyrs]

good luck with it

 

[PaulTaylor]

In a later post Alfredo suggested that he buy a new filling loop assembly. Is this because the above is just a temporary fix, or because the above didn't fix the problem?

No, a stand alone filling loop has no effect on the internal valve sticking!

Sorry Agile, I meant is replacing the existing filling loop assembly to stop it sticking in future? Not fitting a standalone loop as jonseyrs suggested.

 

[ChrisR]

The internal tap isn't really meant for filling the whole system - it takes ages that way. An external loop would be useful anyway, I'd fit one to my own system.

 

[Agile]

Perhaps I had misunderstood both of you!

The internal filling valve is not a filling loop as we know it so is better called a filling assembly.

I see little point in replacing it unless we knew for sure that it had been modified to stop it sticking AND that modification worked.

If you put silicone on the dry seal then I dont expect it to stick again. But then it still might!

Once you have done it before its not such a big job to remove the valve and unstick it.

Not my favourite boiler though.

Tony

 

[PaulTaylor]

Thanks Tony. I'll definitely be using your suggestion of the silicone grease.

 

[PaulTaylor]

No silicone grease at BnQ and the local hardware shop have ordered it in for Thursday, but I decided to just go ahead for now and if and when it sticks again I'll use the grease.

Anyway - it was very straight forward. I could see the valve was stuck and I unstuck it with the screw-driver. I then checked it was opening and closing, and I put it all back together and then turned the water back on and opened the valve - and it stuck!! Realised closing the valve before I put it back together was a mistake! So I took it apart again and unstuck it and left it open. System repressurised to 1.4 bar - a couple of little drips while that happened - some from where the blue tap is and some from where the copper pipe that goes from the tap connects with another clip round on the left hand side of the boiler. I didn't think that was anything to worry about though.

Anyway I tested the system, all working but it increased by itself to 1.6 bar which I thought was a bit odd, but it's all working now so thank you all ever so much!!

 

[Agile]

An increase of 0.3 Bar to 04 Bar is normal when the rads warm up and the system water expands.

Tony