I'm having some problems with my central heating & hot water system and I think I need to understand how it works before trying to fix it but I'm scratching my head. Any help would be welcome.
I have a standard boiler (non-combi) and copper cylinder. In the airing cupboard the feed to the cylinder seems to be via a Drayton Thermostatic Radiator Valve with a thermocouple sticking out of it and going to the side of the tank. There's an isolator type valve too, a plumber who came round to fix a burst pipe said it's a diverter or bypass valve (can't remember) and said it was open but should be closed so he closed it. There is a two port valve that I think controls flow to the radiators and a digital programmer and analog room thermostat downstairs.
The problems we get are:
- heating doesn't come on unless hot water is switched on too (on timer)
- sometimes upstairs radiators get hot when hot water only switched on
- sometimes noisy (flow of water, not knocking or banging)
- I think pump runs all the time hot water is on
- Sometimes hot water gets too hot but this has been better now I turned boiler down after the winter
- Room that airing cupboard is in gets really hot, the pipes do run under the floor however.
Should the diverter valve be closed as the plumber says, as surely then when the TRV closes then the pump will not be able to circulate water as the flow will be blocked? If it needs to be open how do I know how much?
I have a standard boiler (non-combi) and copper cylinder. In the airing cupboard the feed to the cylinder seems to be via a Drayton Thermostatic Radiator Valve with a thermocouple sticking out of it and going to the side of the tank. There's an isolator type valve too, a plumber who came round to fix a burst pipe said it's a diverter or bypass valve (can't remember) and said it was open but should be closed so he closed it. There is a two port valve that I think controls flow to the radiators and a digital programmer and analog room thermostat downstairs.
The problems we get are:
- heating doesn't come on unless hot water is switched on too (on timer)
- sometimes upstairs radiators get hot when hot water only switched on
- sometimes noisy (flow of water, not knocking or banging)
- I think pump runs all the time hot water is on
- Sometimes hot water gets too hot but this has been better now I turned boiler down after the winter
- Room that airing cupboard is in gets really hot, the pipes do run under the floor however.
Should the diverter valve be closed as the plumber says, as surely then when the TRV closes then the pump will not be able to circulate water as the flow will be blocked? If it needs to be open how do I know how much?