Any advice/suggestions re the following problem will be greatly appreciated:
In an extended section of the house my son has owned for a couple of years there has always been a problem with part of the central heating system. In my humble opinion (as a retired electrician !) I think it is a water circulation problem.
The boiler (Glow worm 15 hxi) is at ground floor level and has just a gas supply and water flow and return connected to it. Just next to the boiler the flow and return are 'teed' to serve upstairs and downstairs.
In the airing cupboard is a maze of pipework with a (to me) strange contraption alongside motorised valves and a circulating pump.
I will try to upload photos of the arrangement.
My son has been told it probably needs power flushing so today, as a try-out, we drained the whole system and removed the radiators at ground level. We flushed the radiators in the garden and although the water was very dirty it was certainly not 'sludgish'. We then attached a hose to the pipework at the position of the radiator furthest from the boiler. The most problematic one. Another hose was attached to a drain point elsewhere on the installation at ground level. Water was flushed through this local part of the sytem with no problem.
The radiators were replaced and all valves left closed. The ball valve in the loft make-up tank was released and the sytem began filling. I then opened the valves on each radiator and bled them in turn, starting with the most problematic one on the ground floor. All radiators filled very quickly without problem.
My assumption is that because the system filled quickly and without problem, on just a gravity feed from the make-up tank, the problem is not a restricted flow due to polluted pipe runs. It is more likely to be a lack of flow from the pump through to the radiator(s) added to the original system at a later date. Opinions please ?.
When the system was full I switched the heating on. Once again, the radiators upstairs began working well quite quickly but downstairs did not. As the system gained heat the radiators nearest the boiler gradually warmed. The others, in the added section of the house, remained cool. After a couple of hours the pipe feeding one end of these radiators began to warm, I assume as a result of warm water 'drifting in this direction.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible / advisable to fit a second pump into the system at ground floor level to assist circulation in this area ?. If so it would be very convenient / practical to install it in the ground floor cupbaord, next to the boiler. Are pumps normally connected into the flow or return pipe ?.
All suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Many thanks
In an extended section of the house my son has owned for a couple of years there has always been a problem with part of the central heating system. In my humble opinion (as a retired electrician !) I think it is a water circulation problem.
The boiler (Glow worm 15 hxi) is at ground floor level and has just a gas supply and water flow and return connected to it. Just next to the boiler the flow and return are 'teed' to serve upstairs and downstairs.
In the airing cupboard is a maze of pipework with a (to me) strange contraption alongside motorised valves and a circulating pump.
I will try to upload photos of the arrangement.
My son has been told it probably needs power flushing so today, as a try-out, we drained the whole system and removed the radiators at ground level. We flushed the radiators in the garden and although the water was very dirty it was certainly not 'sludgish'. We then attached a hose to the pipework at the position of the radiator furthest from the boiler. The most problematic one. Another hose was attached to a drain point elsewhere on the installation at ground level. Water was flushed through this local part of the sytem with no problem.
The radiators were replaced and all valves left closed. The ball valve in the loft make-up tank was released and the sytem began filling. I then opened the valves on each radiator and bled them in turn, starting with the most problematic one on the ground floor. All radiators filled very quickly without problem.
My assumption is that because the system filled quickly and without problem, on just a gravity feed from the make-up tank, the problem is not a restricted flow due to polluted pipe runs. It is more likely to be a lack of flow from the pump through to the radiator(s) added to the original system at a later date. Opinions please ?.
When the system was full I switched the heating on. Once again, the radiators upstairs began working well quite quickly but downstairs did not. As the system gained heat the radiators nearest the boiler gradually warmed. The others, in the added section of the house, remained cool. After a couple of hours the pipe feeding one end of these radiators began to warm, I assume as a result of warm water 'drifting in this direction.
Can anyone tell me if it is possible / advisable to fit a second pump into the system at ground floor level to assist circulation in this area ?. If so it would be very convenient / practical to install it in the ground floor cupbaord, next to the boiler. Are pumps normally connected into the flow or return pipe ?.
All suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Many thanks
