help.woke up to flooded kitchen.

hi there,hope someone can help me.
Had central heating replaced 5 weeks ago and woke up today to find the solder joint on the kitchen radiator has been leaking overnight.
I cant get in touch with the engineer who did the work so I`m planning to replace the elbow joint myself with a compression fitting.
2 questions:
1) I`m not sure how to drain the system
2) Will this invalidate my guarantee?

cheers in advance.

oeeeeeeg said:

2) Will this invalidate my guarantee?

cheers in advance.

Click to expand...

How would we know? it depends on the g'tee

draining depends on type of boiler.

in short, turn water off, look for drain valve (usualy at lowest point) open valve

As beezer says depends

as long as you drain, repair, flush and refill as per manufacturers intsructions you'll be apples

in other words, drain it down repair the joint re fill and vent it properly, and if in doubt get someone out.

Duff solder joints held watertight with flux instead of solder usually show up quicker than 5 weeks.

Replacing the failed joint with a compression fitting MAY be your best option but remember that you won't be able to get the solder joint off without getting the pipe dry and applying heat. So you'll have to cut out one (or two) sections of pipe to get the new joint in -and the pipes won't meet any more.

Also - draining the system needs forethought. Is it a 'sealed' or 'open vent' system?

First step: turn off the boiler and heating system electrics - not a good idea for the boiler to try to run empty.

If sealed, the system pressure (gauge on boiler) should by now be zero (or certainly very low). If so,all you've got to do is drain it via the drain-cock - which I hope you've found. You'll only get out a few litres of water initially.

If it's an open vent system (less likely if it's quite new), there'll be a small tank in the loft with a ball-valve. Turning off the whole mains supply will stop this tank refilling but if you can turn it off near the tank, then you can turn the mains supply back on and the rest of the house water systems will work.

If you're planning to do the repair, you'll probably need to drain the whole system to get the pipework in the kitchen dry enough to work on comfortably (there'll be more water held by airlocks in all the other rads, waiting to descend on you unexpectedly!).

Where are you located?

thanks for the info.
I`ve turned off boiler /electrics and turned off water and drained system. I`m gonna cut the offending pipe and replace with a flexible compression fitting for a temporary repair,pending the arrival of the heating engineer (if he ever answers his phone).
my only concern now,is the venting of the system after repair.I`m a fairly competent DIYer and I`m not daft enough to attempt something that I`m not sure about.
after repair should I leave the boiler off until I can get a corgi man in,or is it a simple (and legal) procedure for me to do?
I`m in leeds BTW.

cheers again.

Hi,

Do you mean that you can't get in touch with the engineer permanently? If so, how do you invoke your guarantee, or any responsibility the installer has?

Personally I would make safe (and dry!) and call in an engineer on Monday, unless:

a) the guarantee/warranty is worthless
b) you are happy and competent enough to repair the fault yourself
c) you are familiar with your system and the correct way to maintain it.

Rgds.

(PS posted before reading Oee's response above.)

As kes says leave it till monday, why drain the system twice, why chance a "flexible" hose as a temp repair, and dam your plumber to hell for having a sunday off and not answering his phone what a git

Call him on monday it will take him no time at all, but make sure he replenishes the inhibiter when the system is re filled

thanks again for your responses.
repair done,I`m just about to turn water on again.anything further on venting the system? or should I now leave it off?
we really can`t do without hot water till tomorrow.

cheers.

what boiler do you have?

I`ve turned water back on,no leaks.
Its`s an Ariston Microgenus HE24.can I now safely turn boiler on? or do I need the corgi guy? how would I vent it?

cheers.

The automatic vent inside the boiler SHOULD be already open.
Fill the system until the pressure is 1.5 Bar or so. Then bleed air out of the rads, starting with the lowest. (You'll need to top up the pressure as you go.) Then turn the gas OFF at the meter and start the CH system. This will run the pump in the boiler without firing it and you'll probably hear lots of 'air in pipes' noises and whining from the pump. This should quickly die away. Recheck pressure turn gas back on, reset lockout on boiler (caused by trying to light with no gas) and restart CH. Should now work.

Remind (****) plumber to re-add inhibitor to system after repair.

hi again.
thanks for everyones help.system now back up and running.just need to get in touch with heating engineer for permanent repair.

cheers and thanks again.