hot water over flow!!!!!

[Faz2726]

Ok i am not expert so ill try to explain my problem and hopfully someone can help!

Basic i have come back after xmas and the over flow which i think comes from the hot water tank has started to flow . I have two tanks one big cold water and one smaller one which is the problem. The pipe is the one that arc's over and is filling it with hot water . Soon as central heating is off it stops then starts when turn on again. I have tried running all the hot water taps no help! Any ideas?

Thanks ben

 

[JohnD]

I understand you to mean that the vent pipe bent over the top of the F&E tank is pouring out water into the tank; not that the level of water in the tank is so high that it is coming out of the overflow and dripping or running down outside the house..

If you mean it has recently started doing this, and you have not made any alterations to the system or pipework:

very likely you have a partial blockage of sediment

this is caused by corrosion of the metal by water. the radiators corrode away and produce a black oxide.

easy things you can do:

find the pump and turn it to lowest speed

turn on all the radiators

go to your nearest DIY shed or plumbers merchant and invest £15 in a litre of "Sentinel x400" which loosens sediment so that it can be drained and flushed out.

Adjust the ball valve in your F&E tank so that the water level is only a couple of inches above the outlet pipe near the bottom

you will know the X400 is working when the water goes deep black.

As these steps are cheap and easy, do them now and let us know what happens.

If you post some pics of the pipes around the pump and the cylinder, that will help

If you have had anything altered, and the system has subsequently started pumping over, tell us what has changed.

 

[Faz2726]

cheers for the quick reply, yes it is the bent over pipe water comin out is hot. Its not over filling and coming out of the house! just trickling out but think the pipe comes from downstairs as i have a back boiler. Nothing has been changed but have been away from the house about a week, although i did leave the heating running for 20 mins a day, but no water was used. When my gf turned the heating on aparently the boiler was whistling ! then stop after a bit!

 

[JohnD]

it might have been singing like a kettle? this will happen more because it is picking up dissolved air as it is pumped over, so you will get little air bubbles as well as accellerated corrosion.

hope you have turned the pump down now.

 

[Faz2726]

i take it turning down the pump will just slow down the problem but not solve it . im going to bleed the rads tomorrow ,will this help?

 

[JohnD]

no.

slowing the pump will not take away the cause but it might stop the pumping over

the X400 may well solve it though

if you do not clean it out now, the blockage will get worse. once a pipe is fully blocked you will have to cut it out since X400 cannot circulate.

you can run it for a month or so then drain out the accumulated sediment which will have been loosened and will mostly wash out with the water

after flushing and rinsing you must refill with a corrosion inhibitor such as X100

Can you do simple plumbing and afford an extra £100?

 

[Faz2726]

Just turned the pump down to 2 and it stopped imediatly. So it must be corrosion stopping the flow yeah? Ill pop to the diy store tomorrow and give the liquid a go. CHeers for your help was started to get a bit stressed !!!!

 

[JohnD]

you can turn the pump back on for a couple of minutes after you have added the X400 to mix it in well with the circulating water

bale out any mud from the tank and sponge it clean first so you do not add more sediment to the pipes.

 

[Faz2726]

Well i have the x400 , but i really could do with a step by step guide how to add it. Instructions on back are very limited!

 

[wishiwascorgi]

turn your boiler and town mains off.
Then the little header tank that your water was overflowing into, pour the sentinal in there.
Then go down stairs and drain about twice the size of the sentinal bottle of water from the radiator, this is to lower the water level and allow the sentinal to circulate when u turn the boiler and water back on.
Turn on towns mains then boiler.
This should then get around the system

 

[JohnD]

turn off the boiler

look in your F&E tank. If it has mud at the bottom, tie up the ball float, bale out the mud into a bucket, sponge the tank clean (to avoid adding further sediment to your system)

Adjust the float valve so that the water level is only a couple of inches above the feed pipe near the bottom (this is to give you maximum expansion space)

in most cases:
draw off at least a bucketful of water from the lowest point of the system. this will cause water to be drawn down from the F&E.
in your case, since it is pumping over, you do not need to do this, but it is always good practice to drain off dirt and sediment before you start

tip the litre bottle of X400 into the F&E tank
untie the ball valve so fresh water flows in
stir to mix the chemical with the water
it will then be drawn down the pipes to refill the bucketful of water you drained out earlier

(in your case, once it stops filling, you can run the pump for a minute at high speed, the pumping over will ensure it is well mixed. then turn the pump down to low speed.)

run the system for at least a week, preferably four, during which time it will loosen sediment and carry it round in suspension.

bleed the radiators at intervals. you can expect the water to be very black.

after this period, drain the system. the dirty water will carry a lot of sediment out. refill with water, circulate, drain again to flush and rinse. When the water seems reasonably clean, add a litre of corrosion inhibitor such as X100 in the final fill to prevent future corrosion.

If you can afford £100 extra, buy a Magnaclean and fit it on a vertical 22mm return pipe at any time prior to final fill. you will have to drain down first. this device will trap and capture remaining circulating black sediment indefinitely.

edited: bah too slow!

 

[Faz2726]

So how much is it for a power flush , is it worth it ?

 

[gasglider]

Powerflush is anywhere between £250 and £600, depending where you live, the size of the system, and who you get to do it.
I would say that if you are confident enough to do it, then the steps above will solve your problem nearly every time, and a lot cheaper than a powerflush!

 

[JohnD]

I think so too (I am just a householder) on an old open vented system there is going to be a lot of old black sediment, and X400 plus a Magnaclean will loosen and capture a surprising and gratifying amount of it. Even better, the Magnaclean will trap whatever new stuff comes loose or develops later and circulates in the water, so reduces the chance that you will get any new accumulations and blockages.

It is much more work to fix it once a blockage occurs.

If you do end up needing a powerflush later, the other treatments will have loosened and removed at least some of the sediment, so will do nothing but good.

 

[Faz2726]

well its been a couple of weeks since i put the x400 in , should i notice any difference ? Put the pump up and still overflows . Im leaving it in for 4 weeks