OVERFLOW LEAKING AND RADIATORS MAKING SO MUCH NOISE

[JohnD]

try bleeding the highest rad and see if it fills up with water.

I suspect it may not.

Turn the boiler off first.

 

[LOLLA]

...2 radiators upstairs (highest level of the house) are only warm at the bottom and 1 downstairs in the kitchen. I will go and bleed them now and let you know what happens.......

 

[LOLLA]

....Turned off the boiler and bled one if the radiators upstairs. I had to leave it out for about 3 minutes for all the air to come out. It seem like ages before water eventaully came out.

i will try and do the same for all the other 2 remaining radiators..


..thanks again

 

[JohnD]

sounds to me like a partial sediment blockage in the cold feed.

All those in favour?

 

[LOLLA]

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[LOLLA]

Pictures of the tank in the loft.

It looks like the lid on the tank had collapsed (sunk deeply in the middle) and fell into the tank and the weight of the lid collapsed on the ball. The weight on the ball increased the pressure in the tank causing it to overflow. We only saw one tank and couldn’t see the exact place where the water was coming from..


THANKS AGAIN

 

[wishiwascorgi]

You need to change your 3 way diverter. It should never have been installed upside down. It needs to be above the horizontal flow

 

[JohnD]

Hahahaha!

You can get a plastic lid for the F&E tank at the DIY shed or plumber's merchant (measure the tank first).

You can also save yourself money by putting a red jacket round that cylinder, and plastic foam lagging round all the pipes. The money saved will pay for the cost within a couple of months. It is better than that old sleeving you have.

In the loft or other unheated spaces, you should use the thicker variety of foam sleeve (it is nearly as thick as your arm) you will find it on the shelf at your DIY shed.

Because the tank has been filling up with new water, it will probably have washed out any inhibitor (which prevents corrosion) and aded oxygen in dissolved air to the circulating water. this will speed up corrosion. that would also cause "air" inside your radiators and black sludge to form

I see from the empty bottle that you previously had Sentinel in it which is a good product.

We can tell you how to clean it out if you like (best to fix it before the radiators rust through or sediment causes blocked pipes). Cleaning out the sludge wil also improve efficiency of your radiators.

 

[Softus]

sounds to me like a partial sediment blockage in the cold feed.

Not to me. It sounds more like a poorly installed system that has been unprotected for quite some time and now has accumulated rust and Magnetite all over the place.

You can also save yourself money by putting a red jacket round that cylinder...

It's a foam-lagged cylinder, so I doubt that a red jacket will achieve very much. If it does, then in theory you could save even more with two red jackets. In fact, why stop there...

 

[wishiwascorgi]

I would rip it all out and stick a combi in.

Has any1 ever seen a diverter valve installed upside down before?
And as this one has been what else have they installed wrong?

 

[wishiwascorgi]

also the corrosion on the overflow pipe suggests that it has been doing this for a few years

 

[LOLLA]

What is sentinel. The empty container was left by the previous owner of the property.


Please how can we clean out the sludge?

 

[JohnD]

You can also save yourself money by putting a red jacket round that cylinder...

It's a foam-lagged cylinder, so I doubt that a red jacket will achieve very much. If it does, then in theory you could save even more with two red jackets. In fact, why stop there...

So it is. My mistake. I must have been looking at some other pictures earlier. The pipes still want doing though.

BTW my foam-lagged cylinder has two red jackets (I had them spare after my previous cylinder sprang a leak). Yes, they do make a difference, but diminishing.

What is Sentinel. The empty container was left by the previous owner of the property.
Please how can we clean out the sludge?

Sentinel is a good brand of Chemicals for Central Heating systems. Another good brand is Fernox.

Buy a litre of Sentinel X400 for £15 in the DIY shed while you're buying your lid and Climaflex or similar pipe insulation

Tie up the ball valve in the F&E and bale out the old mud and sediment from the F&E (to avoid washing extra sediment into the system) and sponge it clean

Drain off a bucketful of water from the bottom of the system

Tip your X400 into the F&E and untie the ball valve, give it a stir to mix, it will be drawn down into the system to replace the bucket of dirty water you drained out

Run the system normally for a few weeks, the chemical will loosen old sediment which will be washed round in the water.

Then drain it out, refill, rinse, flush. On the final fill add a litre of Sentinel X100 or other corrosion inhibitor which will combat further corrosion.

This simple clean will reduce the amount of sediment and improve efficiency, and will reduce the chance of future blockages. There are other methods of cleaning better at additional expense and/or effort but this is the simplest and cheapest way that you can DIY. By loosening the old sediment it will also make other cleaning methods more effective if you decide to do it later.

More info on //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37170

 

[LOLLA]

Please does any one know how long (how many hours) it will take to change the 3 way diverter. I understand it was installed upside down. It needs to be above the horizontal flow.....(whatever this means)

thanks

 

[Nige F]

well, if you`re near Ashford . A good friend of mine will probably help you out...my eMail is in my profile