Boiler weird noises and smell

[Eli]

Hi There, I'm a single parent and have had many problems with the Potterton Puma Combi boiler thats in the house I rent. So much so the landlord won't call in the plumber again unless its an emergency.

However, there's a couple of things that I've noticed happening recently that are worrying me, which haven't happened before.

Firstly when I first switch the Central Heating on the boiler makes a very big gushing water sound, almost a bang, at the moment I press the button. This is followed by noisy gurgling sounds for about 10 minutes. Also I can hear a tinkling sound in the pipes next to the boiler when the central heating system is switched on. All of these noises have only started within the last month.

Secondly, I seem to be getting fume smells coming and going in the house. The boiler is situated in the basement and I can smell the fumes at the top of the basement stairs and in rooms above the boiler.

The boiler does have a corgi safety check every 12 months and I've been out today and bought a carbon monoxide detector just in case.

Both problems have got worse since the boiler was repaired a few weeks ago. I had a leak on one of the central heating valves, the radiators were drained, the valve replaced then radiators filled again. Also something was injected into the radiators to seal any other leaks.

Does anyone know what could be causing these things and are they a serious problem?

 

[oilman]

The noises are air in the system, can you bleed the radiators and pump? There are lots of posts on the forum about how to do it. The noises are not serious, it's just inefficient. You will need to look up filling loop as well to ensure the system pressure is right.

As for the fumes, I deal only with oil, but my starting point is there should be NO smells in the house from a heating system that come from inside. If the wind blows them in through a window that's not good, but there are limits about what can be done.

I can understand your landlords attitude, (sorry, and I'm not necessarily supporting his attitude) it gets quite expensive to try and sort out heating problems, so he gets little or no income as a result. If the people who come round to fix it keep saying they can't find anything wrong, he is a bit stuck. This is where diplomacy might help.

Can you describe the fumes?

 

[Eli]

Thanks for your reply. I've bled the radiators but don't know how to bleed the pump so I'll have to look that up. I've checked the pressure too and thats ok.

As for the fumes I'm not sure how to describe them. The windows don't open in the basement but the back door does have a gap in the bottom. Is there a posibility that the fumes are coming through there?

 

[COG]

As Oilman said there should be no smel of fumes from your boiler , you should contact a Corgi reg heating eng after you shut your boiler off. if your worried about cost you can phone transco (the number should be on your gas meter or under G for gas in the phone book) they will check for a gas leek for shure and should advise on any free safety checks your entitled too.