Boiler Banging / Kettling

coda2 · 5 Oct 2004

Had a Glow worm space saver 45-60B balanced flue boiler from new (1983). Gravity fed HW with pumped CH. Had trouble free operation all this time. Last week boiler banging - HW only selected no CH.

Work so far to cure the problem.
1.Checked Boiler thermostat and phial - Okay
2.Bled system and cut HW flow and return at HW cylinder - Everything okay no restriction or blockage.
3.Serviced boiler as it was due its annual service.

Boiler still bangs with HW only selected. With CH selected banging eliminated and we do get hot water albeit the cylinder takes longer to heat up.

My Thoughts - the HW side of the boiler heat exchanger is blocked / restricted with sludge. A possible solution would be for me to remove the boiler and physically clean the heat exchanger with a pressure hose. An alternative might be to add FX 300.

Anyone any thoughts on my situation - I am not going to replace the boiler with a combi as they give lots of problems.

Many Thanks....Mike

kevplumb · 5 Oct 2004

as you did your own service i assume you are corgi reg?

oilman · 5 Oct 2004

as you did your own service i assume you are corgi reg?

Why? As long as it's not your occupation, at best it's a grey area as to whether it's legal to work on your own property for maintenance purposes. Given some of the total fkkin space wasters I've seen and heard of, coda2 would be pushed to be as bad.

All this corgi reg don't know how to do leak testing etc, it's so dangerous for people to do their own in case they kill themselves or someone else. How do you explain the R. Sole driving at high speed in congested urban areas where 30 mph limits apply, and done by no less than your super safety concious.......................you've guessed it, corgi service man, surprise.

kevplumb · 5 Oct 2004

and i suppose no oftec reg man would think of doing such a thing?

oilman · 5 Oct 2004

Two wrongs make a right then? Why bring this up? If someone posts on the forum, and gives as much info as they can, and says what they did to their boiler, the botty smackers all come to the surface. There is only one legal prohibition, and that's for unvented cylinders. You can't do one of these even if it's your own without a G3 certificate.

kevplumb · 5 Oct 2004

got nothing to do with botty smacking(unless your that way inclined ohhh misus)
the boiler does not have a hot water side to the heat exchanger it uses the same area for both
more chance to be localised boiling due to scale rarther than sludge
in my humble opinion(for what its worth)

coda2 · 6 Oct 2004

Well guys thanks for the legal stuff - for the record I am a qualified instrument technician and very competent. I am also aware of the legal stuff ACOP's Corgi etc - the problem/work I described was carried out with my uncle who is Corgi registered etc. He does all the gas stuff and I have done everything else, he and I were a little stuck on how to resolve my problem hence the posting.

As of last night I have drained the system, added FX 400 and refilled the system. Too early to say if it has had any effect yet.

If I do have to upgrade I spoke with Glow-Worm they suggested their Ultimat 60 (I think thats the correct name) as a direct replacement. The advantage to me is that I would avoid floorboards and carpets up in two rooms in order to route hot and cold water pipes to the boiler location which is in my attached garage. Anyone any thoughts so far ?

Thanks...Mike

DP · 6 Oct 2004

X400 may or may not clear the debris that is causing the knocking. I would have used Fernox DS40 but then again the boiler you have will probably already have a hairline crack where the water will start to leak from in which case you will be changing the boiler.

Good start having introduced chemicals to clean the system

PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN · 6 Oct 2004

You would need Sentinel X200 and X100 for descale, I find it works pretty well on noisy Glowworms, lets face it the old Glowworms were noisy from new, think it was added deliberatly for effect.

ChrisR · 6 Oct 2004

OIlman - G3/unvented situation is similarish to Corgi - you only have to be competent, but that's whether its your own gaff or not.

PVM - Youadd X100 to X200? to descale? X200 and DS 40 I could understand..

coda 2 , whose is FX400?

and saying things like " I am a qualified instrument technician and very competent" isn't a good idea unless you want derision. You might be the world's best instrument technician. Doesn't make you a competent cook, or plasterer, or gas man.

Probably it's a sound decision to avoid combis if you can. But watch the gas pipe size - if it's a long way in 15mm it likely won't be big enough, even if it has been working for 20 years. I daresay you have access to the numbers, come back if not.

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Boiler Banging / Kettling

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