We have an old (Gas) back boiler system in a house recently acquired and it is really struggling at the moment. I would just mention that the entire system will be upgraded/replaced early 2006 after some buliding work has been completed but I need to keep it going for now during these cold months.
At the moment when the CH system is switched on the boiler sometimes comes to life but after about a minute the boiler goes off. There is hot water in the main supply pipe but it doesn't seem to reach as far as what I would regard as the nearest Rad to the boiler. The pump appears to be working OK but after a while it gets very hot so I switch the system off rather than risk damage to it.
When the system was working some of the Rads were cold at the bottom, one of the doubles didn't heat up at all on the front panel, a towel rail in the bathroom (lower floor level and installed we think about 2 years ago) didn't heat up at all. All Rads produce water if bled. There is a drain outlet on the KItchen Rad which is the lowest point of the original system.
The HW side has been temperamental for some time although it hardly ever gets switched on but at present it suffers the same symptoms as the CH. The HW is stored in 2 tallish copper cylinders joined at the top (and I think at the bottom) but can't see any feeder tank or expansion tank anywhere. There is a 22mm pipe from the top of the second cylinder which heads off through the adjacent outside wall and also down through the floor and out through another outside wall. There is a drain valve near the pump which looks as if it serves the HW system. When the system is switched on it does send hot water up the pipe to the top of the cylinder for a short while but can't feel any heat from the actual cylinder as if it doesn't seem to want to enter. The return pipe (which has a red gate valve at its highest point) gets warm when I would expect it to be cold from what should be a tank of very cold water.
Both the CH & HW systems have their own electrically operated shut-off (non-return valve??) and I have checked them and they are both functioning however I did notice that the HW valve does leak slightly when the HW system is ON.
I'd be very grateful for any suggestions from the experts or anyone who has had similar problems.
Thanks in advance.
At the moment when the CH system is switched on the boiler sometimes comes to life but after about a minute the boiler goes off. There is hot water in the main supply pipe but it doesn't seem to reach as far as what I would regard as the nearest Rad to the boiler. The pump appears to be working OK but after a while it gets very hot so I switch the system off rather than risk damage to it.
When the system was working some of the Rads were cold at the bottom, one of the doubles didn't heat up at all on the front panel, a towel rail in the bathroom (lower floor level and installed we think about 2 years ago) didn't heat up at all. All Rads produce water if bled. There is a drain outlet on the KItchen Rad which is the lowest point of the original system.
The HW side has been temperamental for some time although it hardly ever gets switched on but at present it suffers the same symptoms as the CH. The HW is stored in 2 tallish copper cylinders joined at the top (and I think at the bottom) but can't see any feeder tank or expansion tank anywhere. There is a 22mm pipe from the top of the second cylinder which heads off through the adjacent outside wall and also down through the floor and out through another outside wall. There is a drain valve near the pump which looks as if it serves the HW system. When the system is switched on it does send hot water up the pipe to the top of the cylinder for a short while but can't feel any heat from the actual cylinder as if it doesn't seem to want to enter. The return pipe (which has a red gate valve at its highest point) gets warm when I would expect it to be cold from what should be a tank of very cold water.
Both the CH & HW systems have their own electrically operated shut-off (non-return valve??) and I have checked them and they are both functioning however I did notice that the HW valve does leak slightly when the HW system is ON.
I'd be very grateful for any suggestions from the experts or anyone who has had similar problems.
Thanks in advance.
