Recent content by feynman

O rings in push fit joints might last 20 years, but when they leak, water damage is a real,issue. Our previous house used push fittings, and one leaked above the kitchen ceiling. To locate the actual leak, I had to cut out four sections of the ceiling - of course, the water had flowed a long way...

This system goes : 28mm Boiler feed pipe, air separator with 22mm vent pipe, 28mm out of air separator, 28/15mm T off to FE cold feed, then into the pump. Cold feed certainly is blocked - magnetite all around the 15mm into the T junction, as found with a strong magnet. Plumber's Merchants had...

No, but pump is downstream of the junction between the boiler flow and vent pipe, i.e. the pump is 'sucking' away from the overflow. This is just really strange. For example one radiator comes on normally, but then goes cold after about 30 mins. Nothing else has changed. The boiler is still...

Some TRVs removed this morning and I will see what happens. I will also see if I can force out the airlocks if there are any. I have been vibrating the pipework, (hammer drill set to hammer only with a plastic puck I made), where the magnetite is in the pipes, hoping I can at least get some...

Weird one this. Some radiators sometimes get warm sometimes they remain cold. (but not because of the TRV's or room stat, or boiler stat or boiler overheat stat - all those are normal and set appropriately). We have tried every combination of CH and HW. Both zone valves move and work correctly...

+1 on most of that. Every one of the (4) central heating systems I have inherited in recent house moves have had problems and not had a filter installed. So not surprisingly, things have got blocked up, and have not worked reliably. So why didn't the professional installers fit filters to these...

OK but in that case, it begs the question why have a central heating forum at all. I am an engineer of about 40 years, specialising in electronics. Just needing to fix a simple circuit board. I understand gas safety concerns; and the corporation where I was originallly trained for three gears...

I heard you the first time. :) We are talking simple electronics here, not gas. A gas man would just change the whole board, they wouldn't fault-find to component level and change the failed component. So. Do you know which component(s) tend to fail on the board? I removed both the relays from...

I cannot see from the photo, but as long as all the Yorkshire fittings have a thin silver bead of solder showing all around between them and the pipe, the joins should be good. Note: bright silver, not dull grey. If you are worried and uncertain, I see you have capped off the pipes at the...

My Potterton 80E has just failed. It has the clicking air pressure switch and the fan runs and cuts out - runs and cuts out etc. The flue is clear and not rotted out - the air pressure switch moves and the switch contacts change electrically, but the control board does not start the ignition...

Using a whacker might attract unwanted attention from busybodies....... For such small holes, just use a sledge hammer.

What is really frightening is how unreliable modern pressurised systems are. "Old" vented-to-atmosphere systems with a small vent and feed tank in the loft, go on for years and years; 20 - 30 years is not uncommon. However, the three modern pressurised systems I have inherited in various...

Use a metal cutting cone cutter in your battery drill on low gear, to ream out the folded over bit at the end of the pipe - quick, accurate and easy. Bending springs are not easy - you can get them out by putting a bar through the end and unscrewing them as it were. But I would, (did), invest...

Depending on the type of aerial it has, a good ground/earth might help reception. I would earth to a nearby copper water pipe if you have one, unless there is another good earth source.

You could try wiring a small speaker onto those terminals, but I would use a speaker with as high impedance as possible, i.e. several hundred Ohms rather than 4 or 8 Ohms, (should be printed on the back of the speaker : a number with an Ω symbol). The 'audio out' of the camera might be an output...