Help identifying part

[DJM]

A friend of SWNBO is having to move back into the ex matimonial home after a year of it remaining empty. Long story and as I am led to believe an acrimonious divorce and attempted sale of house, so house left empty for a year and to make matters worse a burst pipe caused more damage.

As she is very skint, SWMBO offered me to have a basic look to determine what needs to be done (either by me or by the professional) to make it habitable again.

Having had a look there are a couple of jobs on the heating system which will need doing. I want to make sure she gets best value for what little money she has and therefore want to ensure I understand all the jobs to be done.

Most are not a problem and if she had more time I might do them for her, but as she will become homeless shortly need to get them done soonest.
The one plumbing job I can see needs doing, but I don't recognise is this

which is leaking. It is on teh pipework to/from the back boiler.

Can somebody identify it for me.
Thanks

 

[waterworks]

Hi it's a safety valve, designed to lift and relief pressure it's been leaking by the looks of it.

 

[DJM]

thanks for the reply, yes it's leaking. One of the jobs that needs doing, just trying to work out how expensive it's going to be for SWMBOs friend. Sounds like that part isn't too expensive

 

[BingoBongo]

if its been empty for a year i would get the system checked over and serviced.

good chance that pump will be seized

 

[Agile]

They were fitted to coal boilers as an additional safety device.

Most likely its not needed now.

The old SMC pump will probably need replacing.


WARNING

Its very likely that that system is made of 3/4" tubing.

Thast OK as long as you buy a good stock of 3/4" to 22 mm end feed adapters in advance. They are not always stocked locally.

Tony

 

[DJM]

Thanks for the replies
Central heating works, they run it for a couple of hours a day after the pipe burst to help dry the place out. It's certainly seen better days, but just prior to the divorce they had started some updates to the house and so some of the system has been updated. Pump works and is quieter than our Grundfos
I will recommend the boiler is serviced at the same time, but she's in a very difficult position. House isn't selling for enough to cover the equity loss and she is about to be forced out of her rented accomodation so has no-where else to go. If the bill gets too large then she may lose the house as well.
Therefore trying to keep it to the minimum safe level. I'll do what I can, but the stuff I can't or that which needs to be done in a time frame I cant accomodate due to work and our family has to cheap and cheerful. Frankly now I've seen the state of teh place I wish we could find another way, for her and the kids, but we dont have the space for them with our kids and she has to live somewhere. Ceiling which took brunt of pipe burst needs to be repaced as well - no idea how much that will cost.

 

[Agile]

I forgot to ask whats an SWMBO ?

Those old SMC pumps are very quiet but they dont push as hard as a current one.

But it does not need to be changed if its still going.

Tony

 

[ColJack]

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

the missus in otherwords..

from arthur daily I believe?

 

[dextrous]

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

the missus in otherwords..

from arthur daily I believe?

thought it was from Rumpole of the Bailey.

"'er indoors" was from daley I think.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Ceiling not too difficult to do, couple of bodies, some plasterboard and plasterboard screws. Plasterboard isnt drastically expensive, and the guys in plastering forum might help with that one.

 

[anotherbgeng]

those old springloaded pressure releif valves tend to leak fairly often so if the system is open vented the valve can be removed and the tee capped with a 1/2inch bsp plug (or 3/4inch plug on some)

 

[DJM]

Thanks guys
intend putting post on plastering board nut we have a power cut and replying by phone at the moment. Want to save battery so will have to wait until we get power and warm up

 

[DJM]

Just a thought, is it safe to continue to run the heating with this leaking?
Heating is being run at the moment, but don't want the problem to get bigger

 

[Terrywookfit]

Yes no problem.

 

[Onetap]

those old springloaded pressure releif valves tend to leak fairly often so if the system is open vented the valve can be removed and the tee capped with a 1/2inch bsp plug (or 3/4inch plug on some)

Excuse me?

Safety Valve? Remove and cap? I do not think so.

Who trained you? BG? That would explain it.

It is a spring loaded safety valve, as many others have said. I've seen an identical one on an early '60s gas boiler.

It seems to have been leaking, but the reason they usually start to leak is because they have operated to discharge an excessive pressure and they then fail to re-seat because a bit of grit from the water gets under the seat. The encrustation is lime-scale, left by the water that evaporates from the hot valve. Over time, this will concrete the valve shut and stop it operating.

I would suggest that you replace it with a new safety valve. There may be one on the boiler, but unless you've confirmed that, and checked it works,
it would be inadvisable to remove a safety device that may have operated at some time in the past.