Hi Footprints,
Apologies for not posting a reply sooner. Was fairly flat out with work last week and was still hoping the plumber would be able to come and help me out.
Anyway on Saturday after having spent some more time researching and watching some videos on youtube to get some hints I decided that I was going to attempt to replace this aerjec myself.
I borrowed a blowtorch from a friend at work and went to the hardware shop with the orange letters above the door [
] to get some bits and pieces.
I practicticed with the blow torch first outside on some old pipework to get a feel for it then fully kitted out in PPE, I set about trying to desolder the aerjec.
It seemed a bit odd that I wasn't making any progress as my friend at work told me that once I saw the solder boiling I should have been able to twist the pipes and give it a wiggle to get it to come loose. I tried 3 of the 4 joints and wasnt making any headway.
I also tried using a 22mm pipe cutter but the space was too tight. So even though I know its a last resource I took a hacksaw to the connecting pieces as I thought this would be the qucikest way to remove the old aerjec but at the same time I wanted to leave as much as the original pipework untouched to aid a smooth installation of the new unit.
I got my first clue that I was about the hit the jackpot in terms of the root of the problem when I started cutting as I could see a pile of black dust appearing in on the floor of the cupboard I was working in.
After cutting out all 4 joints I inspected the aerjec and this is what I found.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8264578729/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8265648534/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8265649250/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8265644704/in/photostream/
So as you can see the first phot shows the feed in (left hand pipe) and output to the pump (right hand picture)
No wonder I had no heating or hot water when you see how restricted the pipe is.
However being a bit of a nosey guy, i wanted to look at the rest of the pipe which led to the pump. Even I wasn't prepared for the sight that awaited me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8264577037/in/photostream/
This is the end of the pipe closest to the aerjec.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59008699@N07/8264577825/in/photostream/
and this is the pipe that connected into the pump!!!!!
I also took the pump out and inspected it from both ends but it was fine with no blockage etc.
I then used a torch to look at the pipe which fed into the heating system from the circuit (not the cold water pipe from the F&E tank though) and thought it also looked a bit restricted. So I cut that out as well.
So with one hand I felt elated as I hoped I had finally found the source of the issue but on the other I was very apprehensive as I wondered if I had the skills to put it all back together properly.
I phoned another friend who although not a plumber to trade has done a fair amount of work in his own house and lots of others (sparky to trade) and he advised me to use the push on copper compression fittings instread of trying to solder all these connections.
So having already seen these push on connections in the orange lettered hardware store I went and bought some and a length of copper pipe and set about reassembling everything.
It was fairly straightforward after I had thought about the order in which to connect aerjec and pipes etc.
By the time I had finished this and drained down the reaminder of the downstairs radiators it was late and I felt that I was too tired to attempt to refill the system and deal with any potential issues.
So I slept on it, went to work yesterday and last night I commenced filling. Taking no chances I started downstairs after having isolated all the upstairs radiators at the lockshields and TRVS but making sure the zone valves were open.
The sound of the water rushing down the newly comissioned pipework was a joy and filling the downstairs radiators was completed in record time thanks to the water having an unhindered path into them.
After filling upstairs and bleeding the boiler, pump and bleed points on the hotwater tank I fired up the boiler to see what happened.
I decided that running it at the lowest setting was the safest option so I left it for about an hour but after only 10-15 minutes I could feel warmth at the radiators . After the hour was up I gradually turned the boiler up and let it run for another hour. Then as I could hear air in the pump, i shut everything down and rebled the pump and hot water bleed points - more air came out which I was pleased at.
I left everything running overnight and the house was roasting this morning so much so that my wife asked me to turn the heating down. My central room stat is set at 23 degs and I can honestly say that the heat from the radiators seems to be hotter than I ever remember, even when the house was brand new 11 years ago.
I have never had radiators so hot that I cant put my hands on them!
So right now the system is full of Fernox Restorer which I plan to leave in for a couple of weeks (Past Christmas anyway) as the water that was drained down at the weekend from pretty black from some rads.
I have another guy to call about doing this conversion work to a sealed system because I believe in the long term this is the best way to go to try and ensure that we dont have another repeat of this total blockage in years to come.
So just wanted to finish up by saying thanks for all your help, advise and virtual support which gave me the information and knowledge to feel confident to undertake this job myself.
Not bad for a guy whos day job is managing an IT Team eh?
Many Thanks again
Duncan