No heating or hot water with radiators removed.

[pieceofmind]

Hi All,

I've seen similar problems answered on here, but not quite the same thing. Hopefully someone knows the solution!

I've removed 2 radiators to decorate the lounge and now have no heating or hot water. Both radiators had lockshields at either end, so I locked them down and removed the radiators.

The rest of the system is still full of water, the boiler fires and the pump turns when heating is switched on, but the only thing that gets hot is a single pipe in the airing cupboard which just about melts your skin off as you touch it.

The system is an old (open vented?) type with a floor standing oil boiler (no gas where I live).

 

[JohnD]

(open vented?)

You mean there is no pressure gauge on the boiler?

if you try to bleed the highest radiator in the house, does water squirt out forcefully, and without dying away?

When you tipped the radiators into a bucket, what colour was the sludge?

Go and look in the feed and expansion tank in the loft. How deep is the mud? How deep is the water? When you press the float down, does more water squirt in?

Take some photos of the pipework and other things in the airing cupboard, and around the boiler, please.

 

[mrStat]

As JohnD said, photos.

Just out of curiosity, are you sure you had lockshield valves on both ends of the rad? Are you sure this is not some kind of hodgepodge 1 pipe heating system? Do you normally get hot water in the summer with the immersion only?

 

[pieceofmind]

As JohnD said, photos.

Just out of curiosity, are you sure you had lockshield valves on both ends of the rad? Are you sure this is not some kind of hodgepodge 1 pipe heating system? Do you normally get hot water in the summer with the immersion only?

The upstairs radiators come on when the hot water is on unless you individually shut them down. Just about to post photos of the pipework etc.

 

[pieceofmind]

 

[pieceofmind]

Will go up into the loft shortly if still necessary after seeing these.

 

[mrStat]

So I am looking at this and seeing gravity hot water... Thus, a good bit of heat in the boiler should get the hot water going again... Although the top vent connection has been poorly configured and the pipework is somewhat undersized for gravity - So may need some coaxing to get the process going again.

As for the heating... I would suggest 1 pipe. Try turning the heating off and leaving the boiler (HW) turned on for a while to see if the heat starts to circulate around the cylinder.

If the heating is 1 pipe, the only solution will be linking between the radiators with a bit of tube. Or, buy a fan heater until the decorating is done. Have you drained any water off of the system at all or is it just the rads that have been removed? Once again, are you sure both valves on the radiators were lockshields and not lockshield and wheelhead?

 

[JohnD]

Will go up into the loft shortly if still necessary after seeing these.

well please start by trying to bleed the highest radiator.

Then look in the loft when you have regained your strength.

 

[pieceofmind]

Have you drained any water off of the system at all or is it just the rads that have been removed? Once again, are you sure both valves on the radiators were lockshields and not lockshield and wheelhead?

It's just the rads that have been removed. How do I tell the difference between wheelhead and lockshield valves? Neither have any caps on them (I was turning them with an adjustable spanner). I've had the immersion heater running to supply hot water, so rather than waiting a day or so for it all to cool down is there another way to tell if the HW is working with the heating switched off?

 

[mrStat]

As JohnD said - Which I have presumed (Maybe wrongly)... That you have bled rads and checked and double checked to make sure there is water in header tank.

If the system is gravity:

Point A will get very hot (Whatever temperature the boiler is set to
Point B will get warm
Boiler will start to cycle on/off as the water starts to gravitate round the system.

As for the heating - What normally happens when you turn a radiator off? Do they all turn off (This will confirm 1 pipe)? Have you checked to see whether other rads are simply turned off? Was the heating actually working before taking the rads off of the walls?

 

[pieceofmind]

well please start by trying to bleed the highest radiator.

No water pressure when bleeding the top radiator. Just the noise of air at first. Of course I cannot tell whether it's air in or air out . It petered away to nothing and now there is just silence when I open the bleed valve. I'll go into the loft after answering MrStat's question.

 

[pieceofmind]

As JohnD said - Which I have presumed (Maybe wrongly)... That you have bled rads and checked and double checked to make sure there is water in header tank.

If the system is gravity:

Point A will get very hot (Whatever temperature the boiler is set to
Point B will get warm
Boiler will start to cycle on/off as the water starts to gravitate round the system.

As for the heating - What normally happens when you turn a radiator off? Do they all turn off (This will confirm 1 pipe)? Have you checked to see whether other rads are simply turned off? Was the heating actually working before taking the rads off of the walls?

There is plenty of water in both tanks in the loft, or there was yesterday. I'm going back up in a minute to double check. Heating was working fine before and I'm pretty sure that we have shut down individual rads before and the others have worked.

 

[pieceofmind]

When you tipped the radiators into a bucket, what colour was the sludge?
/QUOTE]
Black.

 

[JohnD]

No water pressure when bleeding the top radiator. Just the noise of air at first.

Aha!

 

[pieceofmind]

Go and look in the feed and expansion tank in the loft. How deep is the mud? How deep is the water? When you press the float down, does more water squirt in?

Yes more water squirts in when you push the float down.