Loud banging from around the whole house

[Ouijabored]

Hi, I am a complete plumbing divvy and currently suffering a loud banging at irregular times all around the house. Loud enough to wake us and the neighbours up. I believe that the banging does seem to happen when the heating is down low after it has cooled a while. We never turn the heating off (is this wrong?) Also I have tried bleeding the rads but although the water is pitch black there doesnt seem to be any air.

PLEASE HELP

 

[corgiman]

it could be from your Diverter valve(s)

if you are getting black crud then you had better do a search on

"flushing"

 

[seco services]

check your loft you may now have a turkish sauna up their.

 

[JohnD]

I wonder what sort of boiler you have I can't see it from here

I wonder how long it has been doing this.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6026

Try turning it off at night and see if the banging stops.

I agree with the others too.

 

[Ouijabored]

It is a gas boiler. One of those old ones that sit behind a fireplace in my living room. Not sure what make it is. I have lived in the house for 9 months and the banging has been for around 3 weeks. I went in the loft recently and it seems fine. The banging seems to happen when we turn the heating down. Also it is getting steadily worse!!

Thanks for your help guy's

 

[GforceJames]

Do you have thermostatic radiator valves fitted, if they are installed incorrectly they can bang as they close down.

Should the boiler have a pump overrun?

James

 

[JohnD]

You have a (doubtless old) back boiler and you have black gunge in the water. 50p says the system is half clogged with sediment.

Like an old scaled kettle, deposits inside the boiler allow spots of localised high temperature which causes steam bubbles to form, and then collapse with a bang. Another cause is poor circulation (which can be caused by sediment in the pipes or the pump, or a worn-out or clogged pump... we keep coming back to sediment and sludge i

Can you do simple plumbing? Do you know where the drain-cock is? Can you afford £15? Can you afford £100? Can you climb into the loft?

 

[Ouijabored]

I have never done any plumbing but I am not afraid to try. Normally I am OK at manual stuff. Yes I can get in the loft but no I dont even know what a drain -cock is. £100 is affordable for me but only if it cures the problem.

 

[Diyisfun]

I have never done any plumbing but I am not afraid to try. Normally I am OK at manual stuff. Yes I can get in the loft but no I dont even know what a drain -cock is. £100 is affordable for me but only if it cures the problem.

I feel the next piece of advice coming will be call a plumber.

They are after your money

 

[Ouijabored]

If I have to call a plumber then I have to call a plumber. I would just rather see if there is a way I can do this myself and obviously save some money.

 

[Nige F]

If I have to call a plumber then I have to call a plumber. I would just rather see if there is a way I can do this myself and obviously save some money.

I can see you live in Sussex ..My crystal ball tells me you won`t want to pay my prices

 

[JohnD]

well, for £15 you can buy a litre of Sentinel X400 which softens and breaks up old sediment. It is a mild, non-acidic cleaner that you can leave circulating for several weeks. When you have flushed it out you will have to add a litre of X100 or other inhibitor to prevent further corrosion.

However you will have to find (or fit) a drain cock since you have to flush out the dirty water when it is holding all that loose sediment.

For your extra £100 you can buy a Magnaclean and fit it yourself (you will have to drain the system since it involves cutting a pipe to fit it. It uses simple screw-together compression joints). What this will do is trap remaining sediment and hold it so that it cannot form new blockages (you will be surprised and gratified at how much it traps). Your initial clean will not get it all out and the Magnaclean will continue trapping sediment indefinitely. You have to use the chemical as well since old sludge settles into hard deposits that cause blockages.

You will first have to climb into the loft and bale out all the mud from your F&E tank and sponge it clean to avoid adding to the existing sediment load.

If you feel like doing one or more of these things, you will find lots of other posts about them. Do a search or browse the plumbing section and see if you have additional points.

If not you can employ a professional who will use a machine to do it quicker and will charge you some hundreds of pounds.

 

[patagonia]

As a matter of interest, do your radiators get hot all the way down?