(Amature) Diagnostic confirmation please

[Russ41]

Hi folks!,

I've a few quirky issues with my boiler since I moved in and I've spent all evening buffing up on central heating tech and terms and I think I've diagnosed the issue. I would greatly appreciate if one of you kind people could tell me if I'm right or wrong.

Just to let you know I'd never heard of Honeywell until a few hours ago and if you asked me what an Y system was, I'd have described a form of underwear toilet access to you.

My heating system has from what I can see a single 2 port (Honeywell) valve and the only tempreature i can adjust is the front of my oil boiler.

The Honeywell appears to be working fine however the orange wire doesn't go anywhere? (when CH is ON) it literally just opens and the boiler and pump remain off.

When I first saw this valve I thought it would be to open the HW loop if the CH was on but after turning the CH on, the valve opens and nothing else happens, no heat

now when the HW is on, the valve does nothing and the hot water gets (Scolding) hot, and one radiator in the kitchen (next to the tank) gets to hot to touch.

So basically I can't turn off my HW and must have it on to use my CH.

Is this normal, I was hoping it would be the other way and I could turn off the HW and give a bit more pressure to get the rads furthest from the boiler a bit hotter!

I think I'm stuck with this? am I right?

 

[seco services]

so it's fully pumped but you have to have hw to get heating.
the valve is just a means off shutting the heating side off controlled by the heating on.
to get the boiler to fire will only happen from the hw on control.

 

[D_Hailsham]

My heating system has from what I can see a single 2 port (Honeywell) valve and the only tempreature i can adjust is the front of my oil boiler.

Is it this type of valve? Is it in the radiator circuit or the HW cylinder circuit?

View media item 11762

 

[bengasman]

If you only have one zone valve, it is either installed wrong or you have a very old pumped heating/gravity dhw system.

Ether way, it would be worth it to get a pro in to do it properly if your heating skills are somewhat limited. Upgrading the system to a fully pumped one with a 2 channel independent timer and a proper roomstat and cylinderstat will give you an enormous increase in comfort and a significant saving on your gasbill.

 

[Russ41]

so it's fully pumped but you have to have hw to get heating.
the valve is just a means off shutting the heating side off controlled by the heating on.
to get the boiler to fire will only happen from the hw on control.

Hi I'm guessing its fully pumped? there is a pump, then it goes in to 2 and then in to the two sides of the boiler at the bottom (Panda 65 oil) and then two pipes come out of the top, one has the valve in it.


D_Hailsham! Yes thats my valve!

bengasman POSSIBLY a very old system, from a guess the house used to have an AGA or similar cooker/all in one. but the only signs of this is the chimney. The hot water tank is a (fairly new) Indirect type (with the coil in it, one in, one out to the boiler) cold in, taps out, gravity fed with boil over vent pipe in to a smaller (empty) water tank.

there are 2 pipes coming down from the loft, and one has a red hand valve in it, and then just under the floor it "T's" in to the other? don't know what this is about but it gets warm nearer the floor so its connected somewhere. Is this to fill up the system? (I played with it when I first moved in and cant remember if it was on or off :S )

I'm fairy stumped. I'm looking in to this because its pretty cold in the house, the heating is struggling in one end (badly) and its chewing through 50 litres of Kerosene a week at 45p a litre and I've just lost my job

I'm all up for saving cash but I have limited funds at the moment so getting a pro might not be an option that's available.

Thanks for quick and educated response, i appreciate I'm probably getting to involved for an amateur.

 

[Russ41]

......its chewing through 50 litres of Kerosene a week at 45p a litre and ......

b.t.w Its only heating a small 2 bed bungalow not a big place, and I turn off as many rads as I can, including extras to boost the temps down the far end of the house.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Photo's might help here, boiler, valve etc. Smaller tank should have some water in it, about 1/3rd full is ample. Check ballvalve isnt stuck shut. The 2 pipes from the loft are possibly the cold feed and vent to the CH system, one (the vent) will terminate over the Feed and Expansion (small) tank in an inverted 'U'. The valve in the cold feed should be open unless you needed to drain the system.

Assuming there is adequate water in the system, the pump is working ok and there's no circulation issues then balancing the rads (see FAQ's) might get all the rads working as they should. It doesnt sound a massive place to heat so shouldn't be struggling under normal circumstances.

 

[Russ41]

Some photo's (never done this photo linking thing so it might not work (this is a hotlink, -apparently)



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Uploaded with ImageShack.us



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You can see the pump to the left of the old beast, the pipe splits in to two after the pump and then goes in to the bottom of the boiler. then two pipes come out (the one on the left does a 180 and goes behind the boiler then down to the Honeywell valve.

Would it be possible to make this system turn off the HW and just do CH either manually or on a timer?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Thats got me puzzled, looks like the pump is on the return, but not sure what the connection is after the pump though....

 

[gavinda]

just an old and worn gravity system. get it serviced and make sure it will see your winter out safely and then rip it out and put something nice and efficient in next spring. nice little combi.

 

[seco services]

but not sure what the connection is after the pump though....

go's to both the bottom returns.

 

[Russ41]

just an old and worn gravity system. get it serviced and make sure it will see your winter out safely and then rip it out and put something nice and efficient in next spring. nice little combi.

Ohh, shame, I was hoping to achieve something a bit cheaper (obviously at 65% efficiency its not going to be a great saving!)

Could I switch that 2 port valve over on to the hot water pipe so I'm able to shut it off for most of the day?

With regards to RAD balancing, I tried every RAD and as soon as I cracked the valve from full with my spanner, almost everyone leaked! so I left them all on full) the only way to "balance" is with the hand turn valve at the other, I'm doing my best with it.

Probably in the wrong area here but I'm going to block up a few vents and air bricks, as there is at least one 250x150 air brick in most rooms as this house used to be heated by a combination of back-boilers and fires so there is plenty of air flow round here, its dam near draughty sat on the sofa!!

Many Thanks for all your replys and time and any more advice and tips are very greatly appreciated.

 

[gavinda]

couldnt comment on your air vents but at least leave the on in the room with the boiler alone. get yourself a co detector too. as for swapping the valve over, you'll need to add a cylinder thermostat to the tank as well at which point you may as well do a fully pumped conversion at which point you may as well flush the system at which point you get my point

 

[seco services]

can't see why you can't add another on the cylinder return and rewire the programmer etc to give independant hw/heating.

 

[Agile]

Now that Mad Mod 9 has shrunk your boiler I thought it had a draught diverter on top.

When I enlarged it I found it was a lampshade but what is that coloured spaghetti at the back right?