No hot water

[bongos]

Today I took out an old bathroom suite at a friends house and ended up draining the hot water tank in the airing cupboard at the same time because I was unable to turn off the taps isolating that part of the sytem. Turned everything back on again and thought that was that.

She's rung me tonight to say that there is no hot water. At first I thought maybe the pilot had gone out on the boiler but she confirmed that her radiators were hot so I can't think that it can be this. I turned on the hot taps before I left and thought that all the air had been bled out of the system but could there be an airlock?

Its an old boiler and heats the radiators and hot water. She stated that there was some gurgling coming from the hot water tank in the airing cupboard so I wonder if there maybe any air in there?

Any ideas how I might be able to solve this problem?

thanks

 

[ChrisR]

You didn't need to drain the hot tank, only stop its supply!

Yes probably an air lock - do a search there's plenty here.

 

[bongos]

cheers ChrisR,

I did try to isolate to avoid draining the entire tank but limescale had got the better of the taps so just drained the whole system in the end.

Any idea of how to best to remove an airlock?

Sorry should add its a gravity fed system. I can't find any way to remove an airlock if water is running out of the hot tap but it won't get hot.

Thanks

 

[bengasman]

I did try to isolate to avoid draining the entire tank but limescale had got the better of the taps so just drained the whole system in the end.
[/i]

if there is that much limescale, you may have found the problem. you need to get all the carp out to make it semi reliable. you could try to back-fill. check the overflow pipes and floatvalve before you go any further.couple of new gate valves here and there might be an idea as well

 

[alan m 1974]

If theres water out the hot taps,then its not airlocked there is it,obviousley the circs,why not see if any vents on them by the cylinder,if not pull the stat on the boiler until you can hear it banging and turn the boiler off,put stat back in

 

[bongos]

how would I know if it was a circulation problem? the water sounds as if it is circulating in the cylinder when the hot taps are run.

There doesn't appear to be ay airlock as the taps are working normally. the boiler still shuts down when you power up the hot water circuit.

tried using the immersion heater to heat the water in the cylinder but this doesn't appear to be doing anything either.

think i'm going to have to cll out a pro.

thanks for the suggestions anyway!

 

[ChrisR]

Can we clarify:
1) You didn't touch the heating system/pipes?
2) do you get water out of the hw taps?
3) If 2 is true is it the same volume as before, just cold?
4) Did you replace the bathroom suite/taps?
5) If 4 is true what taps did you fit. Mixers?
6) If 4 is Not true how and where did you cap the pipes?
7) Is the house cold water (ie in bathroom) from the mains or the loft tank?

 

[bongos]

1) Heating system left well alone

2) Water comes out of hot taps (but its cold obviously!)

3) Same volume as before

4) Bathroom suite not ret replaced

5) -

6)pipes capped by using a push fit blanking cap around 300mm below previous tap level

7) not sure but think its mains water

thanks

 

[gasmick2]

it sounds like it could be a primatic cyld that is silted up after draining i cannot understand why the boiler shuts off when you open the hot water tap??? as the hot water in the cyld is completly seperate even on a primatic or as some people call them an auto vent cyld it it sounds like a new cyld is called for but primatics are few and afr between nowdays so it will mean an indirect and a header tank unless yo are lucky and it clears itself over a period of time