Hello Experts
We have some problems with our central heating that are getting worse, and B/Gas are not interested in getting to the root cause. They want to charge us £1200 to "seal" the system to prevent air getting into it but are not, in my mind, adrressing the multitude of issues that we have. They have been quite willing to take the monthly 3* insurance cover for the last 10 years, though. So, here's what's happening.
1) This is the minor irritation. One of the downstairs rad is cold at the bottom and hot at the top. Or, rather, it was like that until a B/gas eng took a water sample from it 2 days ago. Now, that rad is always COLD, even if the TRV is set to MAXIMUM and all other rads are switched off on theirTRVs. The water, by the way, was clear from that rad, i.e not full of muck / junk / debris.
(I am going to insist on a repeat PowerFlush - the first one was done in 2005.)
2) Here's the major irritiation. The central heating pump (made by Circulating Pumps) makes the most awful noise. Sometimes it happens straight away after C/H is switched on, sometimes it takes several hours to happen, sometimes it lasts all day, somestimes it doesn't happen at all and never happens when B/Gas have come to check it out !! It sounds like a "dry bearing" noise, but it isn't necessarily constant in pitch or intensity. Suffice it to say, but that sound permeates the entire house, drives you mad, and we end up turning the C/H off, just to get rid of the sound.
As soon as the pump is turned off, there is a gurgling sound like water returning, so I accept air is a factor. But, we have had the same system for 10 years and the problem for the last year. If air was the only cause, then why was it OK for the first 9 years ?
(This is also the 3rd pump from B/Gas)
Sometimes, the noise is coming from the pump and yet the boiler (Potterton) itself is not firing, so there must be some circulation problem ?
3) B/Gas contend that at leats some of the problem is cause by the "bad design" of having ~ 2m of horizontal pipe in the loft, because the tanks are not vertically above the boiler. This may well be poor design, but it's been like it for at least the last 10 years and certainly as long as the 3* B/Gas insurance cover. So, to my mind, if it's that serious a design law, then it should have been spotted 10 years ago when we started the insurance.
4) The boiler does do a lot of banging. We are in a hard water area, so I accept that's probably limescale.
So, experts - can you advise me ?
I want to address the noisy pump first of all and think that it needs bleeding, but it's not evident where the "bleed" valve is. It looks like a Circulating Pumps "CP" model, from their website.
Cheers
AndyT[/img]
We have some problems with our central heating that are getting worse, and B/Gas are not interested in getting to the root cause. They want to charge us £1200 to "seal" the system to prevent air getting into it but are not, in my mind, adrressing the multitude of issues that we have. They have been quite willing to take the monthly 3* insurance cover for the last 10 years, though. So, here's what's happening.
1) This is the minor irritation. One of the downstairs rad is cold at the bottom and hot at the top. Or, rather, it was like that until a B/gas eng took a water sample from it 2 days ago. Now, that rad is always COLD, even if the TRV is set to MAXIMUM and all other rads are switched off on theirTRVs. The water, by the way, was clear from that rad, i.e not full of muck / junk / debris.
(I am going to insist on a repeat PowerFlush - the first one was done in 2005.)
2) Here's the major irritiation. The central heating pump (made by Circulating Pumps) makes the most awful noise. Sometimes it happens straight away after C/H is switched on, sometimes it takes several hours to happen, sometimes it lasts all day, somestimes it doesn't happen at all and never happens when B/Gas have come to check it out !! It sounds like a "dry bearing" noise, but it isn't necessarily constant in pitch or intensity. Suffice it to say, but that sound permeates the entire house, drives you mad, and we end up turning the C/H off, just to get rid of the sound.
As soon as the pump is turned off, there is a gurgling sound like water returning, so I accept air is a factor. But, we have had the same system for 10 years and the problem for the last year. If air was the only cause, then why was it OK for the first 9 years ?
(This is also the 3rd pump from B/Gas)
Sometimes, the noise is coming from the pump and yet the boiler (Potterton) itself is not firing, so there must be some circulation problem ?
3) B/Gas contend that at leats some of the problem is cause by the "bad design" of having ~ 2m of horizontal pipe in the loft, because the tanks are not vertically above the boiler. This may well be poor design, but it's been like it for at least the last 10 years and certainly as long as the 3* B/Gas insurance cover. So, to my mind, if it's that serious a design law, then it should have been spotted 10 years ago when we started the insurance.
4) The boiler does do a lot of banging. We are in a hard water area, so I accept that's probably limescale.
So, experts - can you advise me ?
I want to address the noisy pump first of all and think that it needs bleeding, but it's not evident where the "bleed" valve is. It looks like a Circulating Pumps "CP" model, from their website.
Cheers
AndyT[/img]
