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Sorry, I should have been clearer - the cavity is no longer an external wall. It was, but is now the wall between the kitchen and conservatory. It just seemed neater than having the pipes running down the wall visible. Any ideas on the airlock problem?

I have an airlock in the CH feed to the conservatory (wasn't a problem when we filled it for the first time, but is now after draining the system.) The pipes run at loft floor level (above the kitchen ceiling ) in copper and then change to plastic and loop up and over to run down inside the...

Sorted. It was an air lock caused by the added on way that the system has built up over the years. I put the garden hose on the drain cock and positioned the wife in the loft to shout when the F&E level looked like approaching the overflow. There were a series of gurgling and farting...

The X400 instructions said a minimum of 2 hours or until satisfactory perrformance was restored. Given that I already had a satisfactory performance (until now) I thought 24 hours would be OK. What should I have used instead?

Thanks for that. I'll give it a go tomorrow. Does sludge have to be bad to get to that stage? The boiler was replaced a couple of years ago and we flushed and refilled the system with inhibitor then. The initial drain down at the weekend only showed a bit of terminal black stuff, most of it...

Hi I've just replaced 5 rads and thought I'd use the opportunity to flush the system. I drained the system at the drain cock by the boiler and the other at the lowest rad. Yesterday I added some Sentinel X400 sludge remover, opened all the rad valves and turned the water back on...

Right, meter has arrived from Maplins. All fuses in CU removed except the one that runs the utility room. Turned off boiler, fridge and washing machine in utility room. Round and roundy thing is stationary. Ran the tumble dryer for 97 minutes (worried the washing was looking brown...

Many thanks for that - on order from Maplins. Our meter (a roundy roundy one) has an 05 87 sticker which is I guess when it was installed or last checked. Do they become inaccurate with age? Can we ask for its accuracy to be checked, or a new one installed?

I'm keen to find out why our house still burns 30 units a day, even though only one child still lives at home and we heat and cook with oil (no gas). I'd like a meter that clips round a power cable and tells me how much the device is using, so that I can check if TVs on standby really do...

Many thanks - that will look much neater :D

I'm flooring the loft and will take the opportunity to replace the two lidless uninsulated scum filled 16 litre expansion tanks (one for the boiler, one for the Aga). At present, they're perched on a rickety tower. Is this necessary or can I just stand them on the loft floor? Aga and boiler...

Many thanks for that. Is there an ideal (or minimum) pressure I should set it at in order to keep washing machine and dishwasher working, or do I just turn it down until the pipe goes quiet?

The cold main travels DOWN a stud wall in our bedroom. (This is because when we built the extension, they were renewing the cold main in the road and we took the opportunity to run a new fat plastic pipe into the extension, replacing the narrow copper one into the original house). The upshot is...

One day later and the water is definitely hotter for having drained and refilled the system (or in spite of it). Water at the tap is 45 degrees as measured by a jam thermometer but still hot enough to kep you hand under. I'm sure it was previously too hot to do this. I assume that...

Turned off stopcock to header tank, drained Aga loop (isn't it easy to roll up a hose when it's had hot water running through?) Took the cap and spring off the valve wiggled the bottom bit to free it off, replaced spring and cap, screwed it half down as that's where it was to start with, put...

Opened the bleeding valve. As expected left with a lump of brass and a spring in my hand, but happily no water (nor air escaping noise) I't's a bit ifficult to tell what's changed as I'd put the immersion on to get hot water and I'm assuming that the reason the Aga pipes are now hot is that...

Our hot water cylinders (2) are heated by an Aga which is alight and up to full temperature according to the gauge on the front. Today the water from all hot taps is only lukewarm. The upper pipe from the Aga with the bleed valve is lukewarm, the lower pipe with the drain cock, is cool...

Thanks for the useful info. Sadly, running 28mm pipe isn't an option due to the locations, whereas running a short length of hot from the nearest basin is. The cold tank cannot be raised by any significant amount. Noise wouldn't be a problem with the proposed pump location. On thinking further...

We have two electric showers. One has died, the other has never been good for more than a warm dribble. (Ditto the hose off the bath taps). Technology appears to have moved on in 20 years! Can I 'pump the whole house'? I'd like to put a pump on the feed from the (twin) hot water cylinders. I'd...

We've always had a low level waste with a tall standpipe. In this house the waste pipe comes out from (goes in to!) the boxed in soilpipe 25ins from the floor. This barely gives a fall from the sink waste, but I'm concerned about adding in a standpipe for a washing machine. There is room for a...