Microbore system...8 rads only 1 hot and 1 warm...

[Hilly1979]

Need a little help...

I was putting up some blinds and I fell back and stepped onto the radiator, it came off the wall and pipe snapped. Plumber came out and fixed the pipe. I have since then put the rad back on the wall and connected back onto the system.

Now I have only to rads (upstairs) working, one hot one warm. All other rads in the house are stone cold.

I have bled all rads (alot) and only water has come out (clear water) no air. I have increased the pressure in the combi Boiler (BAXI) up to around 2.5 to try and push any blocked air. I have closed the two rads working....two different rads then start to work, I close these as well and then another 2 rads start to work......yep, I closed these and the last two came on. I then opened all the rads again two at a time and I was back to where I started.....two working upstairs and none downstairs.

At desperation I took a friends advice and went around all the exposed pipes hitting them with a hammer.....no joy.

Oh and I should mention the boiler kicks in and blast the heat straight up to 80c and then cuts out, temp drops to arounf 30c and then it kicks in a gain and blasts up to 80c.
Any ideas, I'm at a complete loss...!!

 

[muggles]

Check the valves on the heating pipes on your boiler - it might be that he switched them off while he was doing the repair and forgot to switch one back on again.

 

[Hilly1979]

I was with the lad when he repaired the pipe, the only time we went to the boiler was to top up the pressure......he showed me how and then we left the boiler as was.

He told me this microbore was a nightmare for blocks but it would be fine if I kept bleeding the rads.......I've took at least 2 buckets of water from each one so far!

Anything else you can think of..??

 

[spacethegas]

once you have water.
no need to bleed.
give buckets a rest.

 

[spacethegas]

to be serious it just sounds like the rads need balancing. i just hope no microbore has been kinked out of sight.

 

[powell30]

Hilly, How was the repair done? Can you confirm a drain down of the system? The cycling of the boiler from red hot to off quickly indicated an air lock to me not a balencing issue. Try to unscrew the pump head screww whilst boiler on. This may release air traped around boiler. You may need to do this several times. If this fails you may have to try blowing through. Drain system. close all rads off both sides and fill each one individually. If this fails. close off one rad and drain it. With one side closed connect a hose or get a bucket to catch water and open a valve. Keep it open for a minute or two whilst someone else keeps the filling loop open to keep water pushing through. You may have to do this to all of em. But try the pump screw first

 

[gasmataz]

Does sound like an air lock. To be honest your better off just draing system down from lowest point and filling system back up from down stairs to up stairs. Make sure you undo all bleeds and if and rads are on drops (pipes to rad being supplied from upstairs) they wont drain from main system drainoff you have to drain them separatley. If that dont work try balancing but that shouldnt be a problem as system hasnt been changed.