By strange coincidence, we seem to have the same problem as of today. The zone thermostats had been turned down during the day and we turned the ground floor hall stat up towards the end of the afternoon
as it was starting to get cold. There was a horrendous banging noise round all the radiators (I was upstairs and heard it in my bedroom rad. though that circuit was not switched on and the pipes were cold). We went down to the cellar where the boiler is situated and heard this loud ticking/banging which my husband thought was coming from the boiler but I thought it was coming from the motorised valve. We turned the hall stat off and the noise stopped but the valve did not whiz closed and the boiler continued to fire. I switched off the ground floor heating on the programmer (the hw and first floor were already switched off) but still the boiler continued to fire and the valve stayed open. The pump light is on. If we turn up the hall stat so that it clicks on, the loud banging/ticking starts again. So is the motorised valve broken or is it a wiring problem?
We have had some noise problems ever since we had the new (Potterton Kingfisher MF (conventionalflue) boiler and variable speed pump installed. We get ticking noise in the upstairs rads. which wakes me up when the system comes on in the morning (this may start in the cellar but certainly happens in the pipes which go through the study cupboard); the plumber says it is due to expansion but we didn't get it before and it happens before the flow pipes even get warm; we sometimes get a hissing noise in the rads nearest the boiler on both floors; we used to get air in the towel raid and I had to bleed it every day till I discovered (somewhat late in the day) a rad. valve was leaking and tightened the nut, since when it hasn't happened; the boiler has started to kettle and the expansion tank has sludge in it; one of the drawing room rads doesn't seem to get hot all the way down to the bottom; the boiler seems to be on most of the time and I am dreading getting the heating bill; I have noticed recently that it cuts out and then keeps trying to switch on again with a sighing noise and after a few false attempts comes on again. It locked out once during the summer.
With our old boiler we had a half inch cold feed pipe but this time the installer put in what looks like a 28mm combined feed and vent. I am not clear how this is supposed to vent, however, as there is no longer a pipe going over the expansion tank in the loft; it goes in near the bottom. The towel rail is on whenever the boiler is firing but does not fire the boiler; it presumably acts as a bypass for the boiler; otherwise there is a manual bypass valve and a short bit of piping near the boiler which I assume is a bypass. Can anyone tell me the following:
1) Should there not be a vent pipe over the expansion tank?
2) Should the pump have an automatic vent?
3) Should we have an automatic bypass valve?
4) Do we need a power flush? The system was supposed to have been cleansed and flushed when the new boiler was installed but it was not power flushed. I suppose the air which kept accumulating in the towel rail might have caused corrosion although he was supposed to have added an inhibitor.
5) Would we be better off with a sealed system and doing away with the expansion tank? (This was suggested by one plumber but I can't now remember why.)
6) How does one stop noise emanating from or near the boiler transferring to the rads all round the house?
My husband had a recurrence of his spinal cancer shortly after we had the boiler installed so we had to give up attempts to get the installer back (once paid he didn't want to know) and it is now about 5 yrs so too late for any redress. I am already on medication for depression caused by anxiety and we want to sell our house so need to sort out all these problems p.d.q. so all suggestions and advice wd. be greatly appreciated. I presume the only way we can turn off the ground floor heating when we go to bed is to switch off the master switch and then we will have no heating in the morning.
as it was starting to get cold. There was a horrendous banging noise round all the radiators (I was upstairs and heard it in my bedroom rad. though that circuit was not switched on and the pipes were cold). We went down to the cellar where the boiler is situated and heard this loud ticking/banging which my husband thought was coming from the boiler but I thought it was coming from the motorised valve. We turned the hall stat off and the noise stopped but the valve did not whiz closed and the boiler continued to fire. I switched off the ground floor heating on the programmer (the hw and first floor were already switched off) but still the boiler continued to fire and the valve stayed open. The pump light is on. If we turn up the hall stat so that it clicks on, the loud banging/ticking starts again. So is the motorised valve broken or is it a wiring problem?
We have had some noise problems ever since we had the new (Potterton Kingfisher MF (conventionalflue) boiler and variable speed pump installed. We get ticking noise in the upstairs rads. which wakes me up when the system comes on in the morning (this may start in the cellar but certainly happens in the pipes which go through the study cupboard); the plumber says it is due to expansion but we didn't get it before and it happens before the flow pipes even get warm; we sometimes get a hissing noise in the rads nearest the boiler on both floors; we used to get air in the towel raid and I had to bleed it every day till I discovered (somewhat late in the day) a rad. valve was leaking and tightened the nut, since when it hasn't happened; the boiler has started to kettle and the expansion tank has sludge in it; one of the drawing room rads doesn't seem to get hot all the way down to the bottom; the boiler seems to be on most of the time and I am dreading getting the heating bill; I have noticed recently that it cuts out and then keeps trying to switch on again with a sighing noise and after a few false attempts comes on again. It locked out once during the summer.
With our old boiler we had a half inch cold feed pipe but this time the installer put in what looks like a 28mm combined feed and vent. I am not clear how this is supposed to vent, however, as there is no longer a pipe going over the expansion tank in the loft; it goes in near the bottom. The towel rail is on whenever the boiler is firing but does not fire the boiler; it presumably acts as a bypass for the boiler; otherwise there is a manual bypass valve and a short bit of piping near the boiler which I assume is a bypass. Can anyone tell me the following:
1) Should there not be a vent pipe over the expansion tank?
2) Should the pump have an automatic vent?
3) Should we have an automatic bypass valve?
4) Do we need a power flush? The system was supposed to have been cleansed and flushed when the new boiler was installed but it was not power flushed. I suppose the air which kept accumulating in the towel rail might have caused corrosion although he was supposed to have added an inhibitor.
5) Would we be better off with a sealed system and doing away with the expansion tank? (This was suggested by one plumber but I can't now remember why.)
6) How does one stop noise emanating from or near the boiler transferring to the rads all round the house?
My husband had a recurrence of his spinal cancer shortly after we had the boiler installed so we had to give up attempts to get the installer back (once paid he didn't want to know) and it is now about 5 yrs so too late for any redress. I am already on medication for depression caused by anxiety and we want to sell our house so need to sort out all these problems p.d.q. so all suggestions and advice wd. be greatly appreciated. I presume the only way we can turn off the ground floor heating when we go to bed is to switch off the master switch and then we will have no heating in the morning.
