Baxi bermuda 401. Boiler works fine, no heat to the radiators.

[garnet]

As I said, I bled the radiator until water came out.
Pump is running, but I can feel the pipes are hot upto (or down to) the vertical valve. I assume when heat is requested the horizontal valve (the one leading to the hot water tank) will be closed and the vertical one open to direct water to radiators. So either a stuck valve of lack of enougt water.
I am note there now to check the valve.

 

[Johntheo5]

Yes, that's correct, but if the boiler does not fire up until you request the heating on then it can only mean that at least the actuator part of the valve has opened because there is a switch with a permanent 230V supply inside this actuator that closes and tells the boiler (and circ pump) to run, its possible but very highly unlikely that the actuator has become detached from the valve so the valve is not opening, you can also turn up the cylinder stat after noting its setting( usually 60C) to get the boiler to fire up and see does this give enough circulation to keep the boiler running, return the stat to its normal setting when finished.

 

[garnet]

From 0 when the heat is called for, the boiler burner starts. 2-3min later it stops as it has heated all the water in the heat exchanger and the pipeworks to the pump (1.5m away). Do we still think this is the valve? Something started the boiler in the first place - isnt it the valve?

 

[Johntheo5]

Yes, the motorized zone valve actuator is powered on once the the roomstat or cylinder stat is not satisfied, the valve actuator(s) end switch then tells the boiler to fire up, so, because the boiler is firing up, unless the valve has somehow become detached from the actuator then it must be open as well so that can't be the problem, have you tried the cylinder heating?., my first step would be to check the water level in the cistern,, to get that out of the way.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

This is the third post on this system, first was Locked by Mods as it was encroaching on Gas Safety. The Boiler was turned off by the Gas Safe Engineer who attended, and I don't think we are getting the full story here.

Please note, the OP also has a Hydro Spartan, there is no F&E Cistern and has previously been told it is unlikely to be an electrical issue.

 

[garnet]

I don't think it is electrical issue.
I have that. I don't know if there's a cistern in the loft as it is locked. There is a pipe going though the ceiling.
Does that mean anything?

 

[Johntheo5]

This is a description of how these Spartans are supposed to work, it shows 3 pipes, the bottom inlet is from the boiler flow I think and the right hand one is the HW cylinder outlet & the left hand one goes to the hot taps etc, your's only appears to have two pipes?? the left hand, Top pipe might just be coming from a (the) cold water storage cistern in the attic as the expansion is supposed to be taken up in this spartan? (I've never heard of it until the above post)

 

[garnet]

This is the whole installation top and bottom.
Question is now with this Spartan, is it a purely lack of water issue or stuck valve?

 

[Justin Passing]

Thems are Honeywell valves, you don't see anything move.
That pump should be horizontal - it's not noisy, is it?

 

[Johntheo5]

This is a cutaway of the Spartan, If the pipe going into the (yours) Spartan on the left is coming down from a CWSC that also supplies your HW cylinder and you are getting HW then its very unlikely that there isn't any water available for the Spartan, assuming the other bottom pipe comes from the boiler and assuming you have drained down the boiler/CH system then the way I see it working to refill the system is that the cold water from the CWST will fill the upper chamber in the Sparten and then start flowing down the standpipe to start filling the boiler/CH system via the bottom pipe and air will be released from that air vent on the bottom left until the water level covers it, there should then be a cushion of air trapped between that and the division plate to take up the expansion, or something like that.

I don't know why you keep on about the "stuck" motorized valves, I think you've established that the boiler doesn't fire up until the CH valve is energised open, if so then the valve must also be opened for reasons pointed out a few times above.
Having said that, before refilling the system any motorized valves should be manually opened and latched open via the levers to allow easier removal of air etc, its not the end of the world if this isn't done but certainly helps IMO, opening these vaves manually will not tell the boiler to fire up, they are only used (manually) to fill (and drain) the system.

 

[garnet]

Thanks. So we are narrowing down this issue to water refill of the system. Is this done at the cistern at the loft?

 

[Johntheo5]

If there are only 2 pipes attached to your Spartan then a good chance that the problem is lack of water in the cistern in the attic, you might just try bleeding a little water from one of the upstairs rads, if no water at that level then definitely a lack of water IMO. Is there a pressure gauge on your boiler?

 

[garnet]

If there are only 2 pipes attached to your Spartan then a good chance that the problem is lack of water in the cistern in the attic, you might just try bleeding a little water from one of the upstairs rads, if no water at that level then definitely a lack of water IMO. Is there a pressure gauge on your boiler?

No, no pressure gauge. I think this is open vented system - is it not gravity fed?
There is no upstairs - it is a flat. One flat above and the loft.

 

[Johntheo5]

You will just have to gain asses to your loft.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If there are only 2 pipes attached to your Spartan then a good chance that the problem is lack of water in the cistern in the attic, you might just try bleeding a little water from one of the upstairs rads, if no water at that level then definitely a lack of water IMO. Is there a pressure gauge on your boiler?

There are 3, the vent from the cylinder goes behind the Spartan and presumably is connected to the rear, as it should be. The pipe leaving the opposite side of the Spartan then continues to vent over the CWS Cistern. I would assume the cistern is full otherwise the OP wouldn't have any water at the hot taps. It also sounds like there may be a communal CWS Cistern, so others would also be affected if this was empty.

There wont be a pressure gauge as its an open vented system, only difference is the filling and expansion is done via the Spartan.