Bathroom rads hot but thermostat is off and hot water is off

[MilindPuri]

Strange problem - not sure if has just started or if I have just noticed it. The bathrooms are really hot in this warm weather and the central heating thermostat is still set low to stop central heating from coming on. This happens even when the hot water is off on the main controller. The bathroom rads are hot and I can hear a pump running. If I turn the central heating off on the main controller the pump stops running after about 30 seconds. I'm worried that a lot of heat is going to waste and electricity wasted running a pump when it is not needed.

The reason the central heating is on - well for some reason the hot water doesn't work unless both the central heating and hot water are on the main controller.

Any tips on what to do to fix this appreciated!
Cheers

 

[meldrew's_mate]

And your system comsists of..........????

 

[Nige F]

And your system consists of..........????

2 bathrooms they can afford a heating engineer

 

[MilindPuri]

And your system comsists of..........????

Potterton Netaheat boiler
Gravity Fed system
hot water tank
Lifestyle LP241 electronic controller
1 room thermostat
All rads with TRVs except bathrooms

 

[MilindPuri]

And your system consists of..........????

2 bathrooms they can afford a heating engineer

So is this a special code word for everyone on the discussion board to not help me?

Just because the house I have has 2 bathrooms makes me rich?

How about the fact that Mortgage plus Bills exceeds salary whilst supporting wife and young kids whilst she can't work which means that I can't call out the heating engineer until I understand better what the problem is so I don't get ripped off by the guy who turns up and thinks - this is an expensive house how can I wangle some extra cash today?

 

[ArtfulBodger]

Netaheats can be configured for gravity hot water and pumped central heating. It's not really clear from your description which one you have.

You have a pump, do you also have any motorised valves anywhere?

 

[MilindPuri]

Netaheats can be configured for gravity hot water and pumped central heating. It's not really clear from your description which one you have.

You have a pump, do you also have any motorised valves anywhere?

Showing my ignorance now as I don't understand the question? What do I look for?

 

[ArtfulBodger]

Showing my ignorance now as I don't understand the question? What do I look for?

Silver box or boxes, close to the pump with wires coming out!

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Why do people instantly assume they will get ripped off when calling a plumber, if you cant afford the house your in, do the same as everyone else and move to one you CAN afford to live in, probably one with only one bathroom.

 

[MilindPuri]

Why do people instantly assume they will get ripped off when calling a plumber.

Believe me it happens - even when we did live in a house with 1 bathroom!

E.g. plumber called to reseal around bath and change taps....

"oh sorry I don't have enough sealant - I'll have to go and get some more".

2 hours later he returns - and bills us for the time! And he worked for a 'big' company as well!

Another example - the fuse on the circuit board on my boiler blew (separate post about this). When phoning round for people who could come and look at it you would not believe the number of people who simply said "you need a new boiler mate". All that was wrong was the fan!

Oh don't worry its not just plumbers - have to be careful with electricians, builders, roofers etc as well!

 

[MilindPuri]

Silver box or boxes, close to the pump with wires coming out!

I see 2 boxes - both dark blue not silver. Can't see them very well they are tucked in next to the hot water tank. They both have a switch on them labelled 'A' and 'B'.

 

[ArtfulBodger]

Right you have an "S" plan system. What was the problem again?

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

He's living beyond his means or too tight to call a plumber, who cares.

 

[Softus]

Rest assured MilindPuri, some of us care. I will have a think about your problem and post something back here.

 

[Softus]

Hi MilindPuri

On balance this is probably a non-problem; reasoning as follows...

As ArtfulBodger observed, the presence of two two-port MZVs (motorised zone valves) indicates that you have an S-plan system. (Dark blue-headed valves are probably Danfoss branded). The Lifestyle LP241 is a dual channel programmer, so it's also compatible with an S-plan system.

In normal circumstances, with no faults, the CH MZV will open only during when the programmed times AND when the room thermostat demands it.

If either of these conditions doesn't apply, and you're still getting hot water to one or more radiators, this implies that the CH MZV is not closing. This would be a fault, the easiest cure being to replace the valve.

However, it might not be a fault - it could be by design, since bathroom radiators are frequently plumbed to the DHW (domestic hot water) circuit instead of the CH, the objective being to heat the room(s) in which you're at your most naked even when the CH is off. This is great for towel rails, for example. Sometimes the bathroom circuit even bypasses the DHW MZV (as a handy heat sink on boiler overrun, although AFAIK the Netaheat doesn't have an overrun feature).

So, to which circuit are those bathroom radiators connected, and to which part of that circuit? You may be able to find some clues close to the cylinder.

Regards
S.