No motorised valves. Rads get warm when I run hot tap. Help

[richardrich79]

I have a nice new Ideal Combi 35 gas boiler fitted courtesy of British Gas under their NEST scheme (free as I'm disabled).
In addition to the boiler they fitted TRV's and 'power flushed' the existing system and fitted a wireless thermostat in the hall,
We are starting a small extension to the kitchen and a I shall be changing the radiators as they are rusty and leak. The C/H system is 10mm copper that looks like a diy job.
When the hot kitchen tap runs the boiler starts but it takes 42 ltrs until the tap runs hot.
The ground floor rads get warm but the CH pump is not running.
I have to DIY as money is so tight.
Please can someone explain (for dummies) how the hot water run is separated from the C/H run.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Is it not still under warranty as its nice and new? As you are disabled, I would advise against a diy attempt at repairs.

 

[richardrich79]

Yes the boiler is under warranty but that's all
Before my accident I was pretty good at all trades but master of non so I'm confident I can replace and re-site rads etc + I've got family to help.
The NEST scheme just did the boiler and valves, half the house has no insulation so it's bloody cold. I plan to insulate (Everything) but at the moment I want to stop heating the rads when I just want to was my hands.

 

[RickMoore]

The problem is with your boiler. As its under guarantee get them back to it. If you start poking around it you could well find yourself without a guarantee.

 

[richardrich79]

This is why I need the info' the boiler has simply been swapped for the old one, it's all fitted beautifully. The thing is the flow in and out have no diverter valves or whatever. The boiler has a switch that supposedly H/W only or combined rads & H/W. I surely cannot work if there is no way of diverting the hot water away from the CH circuit.
I need to know how it's supposed to work so I can take British Gas to task.
Thanks

 

[gigz]

Turn the hot tap on when the heating is off, now feel the pipe on the left hand side of the boiler, if this gets hot the diverter valve is passing and needs sorting under warranty.

 

[RickMoore]

The divertor valve is inside the boiler.

 

[gigz]

The switch is for summer/winter setting. Select HW only and your'e heating should never come on (unless frost stat kicks in) select heating/HW and use the stat to operate heating, hot water is always priority so when you open the tap the diverter goes to HW then reverts to heating when tap is closed. Do yourself a favour and get them back out, you may void the warranty if you DIY.

 

[richardrich79]

Don't worry I'll not be doing anything to the boiler. I just need to know how the hot water is separated from the C/H. The pipe for the hot water is T'd off from the 22mm C/H pipe that feeds the ground floor. This pipe gets hot hence the lower floor rads getting warm. When I turn on the C/H fully the pump comes on and all the rads heat up.
Unfortunately, thanks mainly to IDS and the daily mail all the disabled are treated like sh**t and ripped off by all organisations and B Gas are no exception, they think we're all simple. Are there 2 different 'hot' pipes that exit the boiler?

 

[gigz]

Are you sure its a combi ? HW should'nt be tee'd into heating, if it was every time you opened a hot tap you'd drain your'e heating. You sure its not a heating pipe thats tee'd in ?

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

If the HW is teed off from the CH pipe I would be seriously concerned....

Pipes from the boiler should be (in no particular order), Central Heating flow, Central Heating return, mains cold water in, domestic hot water (DHW) out, Gas supply, plastic condensate drain and pressure relief discharge to outside the building.

When DHW is required boiler should sense pressure drop in the pipework as the tap is opened. This should then activate the divertor valve, allowing full output from the boiler to be fed through a heat exchanger (instead of around the radiators), within the heat exchanger the heated water from the boiler passes across to the cold water coming in from the mains, thus heating it before it flows out the boiler to the taps.

If the divertor valve is faulty the boiler loses some (or all) of the output to the radiators instead of putting it into the DHW. Hence rads start to warm up and 'hot' water from the taps just isnt.....

 

[richardrich79]

Thanks to you all, unfortunately my phone does not have a flash but when it's daylight I'll try and post some photos and would very much value any opinions.

 

[richardrich79]

Thank you everyone British Gas/ NEST are 'going to send someone out'.
The reason I thought the HW was connected into the heating was/is that's the pipe that gets hot when the hot tap gets turned.
Assuming the boiler gets sorted I still have to do the rest, it looks like a badly served dogs dinner at the moment.

 

[richardrich79]

Well the fault is fixed by the makers. It seems there are faulty 'diverter valves' around so they send someone out as soon as you call them.
Cannot fault Ideal on customer care just a pity it was needed.