air in hot water system

[mknott]

I'm in a council house with what I think is called a back boiler / gas fire system.

When we run the hot tap, after a while it will start to cough and splutter as if air is in the pipes however it only does this when the tank in the loft is low.

Is this normal? Also is it normal for a radiator to get warm (not full heat) when the hot water is turned on but the heating pump is not.

Thanks

 

[HERTS P&D]

Check the float valve in the cold water storage tank in the loft.

Andy

 

[mknott]

How would I do that? And apart from checking its there what would I be looking for?

All I know about the tank in the loft is that it is there lol. It's a square tank if that helps...

 

[45yearsagasman]

For starters check that the tank is at least 3/4 full and that when drawing off hot water, the ball valve drops to let in more cold water to roughly maintain that level. This is a rough guide only and if you are not sure about what you are doing then call the council repairs dept.

 

[mknott]

I know it fills up slowly as the pressure from hot tap drops after a bit.

When we mentioned it to them we was told its normal for the hot tap to have air in it....

 

[JohnD]

check that any stopcocks on the incoming main or feeding the loft tank are actually open, and have not been turned down to reduce the flow.

Look at the cold water tank. How big is it? How near the top is the water level? How long does it take to refil after running a bath?

This is a DIY website. if you are fond of diy the quickest and easiest thing would be to turn off the incoming water stopcock, remove the old ballcock from its stem, and fit a new one. This is easier and quicker than dismantling, cleaning out and rewashering the old one. A new valve is very inexpensive.

for a few pounds more you could fit a torbeck or fluidmaster silent valve.

Or, you could run a bath, and see how much water you get before the supply dries up. If it is less than half full, say thatto the HA or council and tell them the ballcock appears to be clogged and perhaps they will change it for you.

 

[dcawkwell]

Call council out. They are the landlord.

Heating should not heat up when hot water is on.