Hi,
We've just moved house and the heating system is made up of 8 rads without convector "fins" on them plus a fair amount of microbore pipe (although there is a 22mm spine down the centre of both floors of the house and some 15mm spurs). I want to change all the rads for modern convector ones plus get rid of all the microbore (the guy who's going to fit the new boiler said this was a sensible pre-requisite before putting the new boiler in).
The questions I'd really like some help with (so far!) are:
* If I drain the system, can I leave it drained for long-ish periods of time without affecting the parts of the heating system that will remain?
I think the answer is "yes" - I'm intending to change all the rads and powerflush the system before refilling, so I think the worst that can happen is that the old rads will get rusty shortly before they go off to radiator heaven Be keen to hear from you if I've missed something and am being dumb.
* Am I OK to continue to use the hotwater from the combi-bolier while the C/H system is drained?
This one I'm less clear on - I'm hoping that the two circuits (domestic H/W and C/H) are sufficiently isolated inside the boiler that I *can* do it. Again, sage advice in advance to stop me doing something stupid would be *much* appreciated. It's an old-ish Worcester Bosch 35 CDI (non-condensing).
* I've inherited a second hand towel rail from a friend who's recently upgraded his b'room from posh to really posh. There's a small amount of rusty deposit around the connectors. Fine to plumb in if the system is going to be powerflushed and filled with decent inhibitor, or steer clear and buy a new one?
Really not sure on this one, so voices of experience welcomed...
Also - keen to hear from anyone who's tried this type of thing before. I think it's a pretty straight forward job - drill the joists in the right place, plastic pipe & push fit connectors and check the system with an air pressure tester before refilling - but any helpful/cautionary tales welcome.
Thanks folks
We've just moved house and the heating system is made up of 8 rads without convector "fins" on them plus a fair amount of microbore pipe (although there is a 22mm spine down the centre of both floors of the house and some 15mm spurs). I want to change all the rads for modern convector ones plus get rid of all the microbore (the guy who's going to fit the new boiler said this was a sensible pre-requisite before putting the new boiler in).
The questions I'd really like some help with (so far!) are:
* If I drain the system, can I leave it drained for long-ish periods of time without affecting the parts of the heating system that will remain?
I think the answer is "yes" - I'm intending to change all the rads and powerflush the system before refilling, so I think the worst that can happen is that the old rads will get rusty shortly before they go off to radiator heaven Be keen to hear from you if I've missed something and am being dumb.
* Am I OK to continue to use the hotwater from the combi-bolier while the C/H system is drained?
This one I'm less clear on - I'm hoping that the two circuits (domestic H/W and C/H) are sufficiently isolated inside the boiler that I *can* do it. Again, sage advice in advance to stop me doing something stupid would be *much* appreciated. It's an old-ish Worcester Bosch 35 CDI (non-condensing).
* I've inherited a second hand towel rail from a friend who's recently upgraded his b'room from posh to really posh. There's a small amount of rusty deposit around the connectors. Fine to plumb in if the system is going to be powerflushed and filled with decent inhibitor, or steer clear and buy a new one?
Really not sure on this one, so voices of experience welcomed...
Also - keen to hear from anyone who's tried this type of thing before. I think it's a pretty straight forward job - drill the joists in the right place, plastic pipe & push fit connectors and check the system with an air pressure tester before refilling - but any helpful/cautionary tales welcome.
Thanks folks