Noisey Heating system, please help.

[plastic_peanut]

Hi Folks,

I am really getting frustrated and i hope you can help me. I moved into the house nearly a year ago and have completed numerous diy jobs ( new bathroom suite, new kitchen, moved a radiator etc) which involved me having the heating system/water system turned on and off a lot. The Potterton boiler was making a kettling noise and the pipes banged.

My plumber mate, came round and we ran some fernox cleaner through it for a couple of weeks and then the system was drained completely. The system was refilled and corrosion inhibitor/ boiler silencer added and the air removed from the system. It worked brilliantly and the boiler ran quietly for 3 days. I bled the remaining air out of the radiators and it continued to run quietly for a couple of days before the kettling returned and the boiler knocks (im sure its the boiler and not the pipes??)

I put up with it until a week ago, so again i drained the system and refilled and bled it as we had done before. It again ran silently until friday and the noises have returned.

I hope some one can advise me as when the heating kicks in at around 6am it wakes us up as the boiler is wall mounted in the kitchen and we sleep in the bedroom above it. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Many Thanks in Advance

James

 

[corgiman]

what potterton is it?

 

[plastic_peanut]

Hi CorgiMan,

It a Potterton Prima F. The house is 10 years old and i assume it has been in since new.

Thanks

James

 

[plastic_peanut]

Anyone??? just throw some ideas into the air please?????

Really frustrating. I dont want to have to drain the system each week just to allow me to sleep properly for 5 days

Cheers

 

[plastic_peanut]

Is it possible to bleed the air directly from the boiler as well as the radiators???
I feel that may help???

 

[noonespecial]

Assume it is fully pumped?

The kettling could be caused by scale / other deposits in the heat exchanger or inadequate water flow rate through the boiler.

As it gets quieter when you drain and refill to descale, it could be that air / gas is occurring after a few days which is then causing a partial airlock and reducing water flow. Are you able to check if there are any unvented high points in the system (eg where the pipes rise up and drop / slope down without an air vent at the highest point.

Did the boiler make a kettling / banging noise when you moved in or was it after you carried out works?

Does the noise occur at all times when the boiler is hot or only when you are calling for radiator heating or domestic hot water heating?

Have you got a bypass valve that perhaps you closed when you carried out the works?

Have you got TRV's?

Have you got 2 No. two port motorised control valves or 1 No three way control valve?

 

[plastic_peanut]

Hi Noonespecial,

We moved in last July and didnt really have the heating on. But I am sure it was not noisy until after the heating system had been interupted.

Originally the 3 way valve located in the airing cupboard did not have the motorised valve fitted to it. It was tooked out of the way and the plastic case was damaged although the l.e.ds did light up. The 3 way valve was adjusted so that by flicking the hot water on, on the control panel. It also fed the central heating. Problem being when the tank was warm enough the radiators would then go cold as the boiler would not kick in as it was at temperature.

So when we drained the system the first time, we also replaced the mototrised valve which allowed us to regain full control over both the CH and Hot Water.
So we now use both the Hot Water and C.H as oppose to just the Hot Water to heat the house and tank.

The pump is running on position 1 of 3, i have tried it on higher speeds but i then find it noisey in operation.

The boiler clicks on and off for a few minutes before actually firing up as if it is checking something before igniting. It then fires up fine for the first minute before the kettling noise starts and then after a while in operation the knocking then starts aswell.

Thanks for your help

James

 

[plastic_peanut]

All radiators are fitted with thermostatic valves aswell if that helps.

Thanks

 

[noonespecial]

ok - following for you to check:

1. That the three way valve is connected correctly

2. Does it kettle when in heating and hot water mode or just one of these.

3. Does it happen if you up the speed of the pump (when you do this make sure it does not pump over the f&e cistern if you have one)

4. What about unvented high points - do you know how the pipework is run between the boiler and the cylinder for instance. If these are ok and you get kettling when in hot water mode then it is not likely to be an air lock.

5. What temperature setting have you got the boiler on - what happens if you turn the boiler stat down

 

[noonespecial]

All radiators are fitted with thermostatic valves aswell if that helps.

Thanks

You need a bypass then - have you got one?

If not you could expect kettling in heating mode when your property gets up to temperature but not when the cylinder is calling for heat.

 

[plastic_peanut]

I will just go and do some test and will be back shortly. I hope you will still be online.

Many Thanks

 

[plastic_peanut]

All radiators are fitted with thermostatic valves aswell if that helps.

Thanks

You need a bypass then - have you got one?

If not you could expect kettling in heating mode when your property gets up to temperature but not when the cylinder is calling for heat.

Could this have been why the motorised valve was removed and the 3 way valve adjusted to feed both the how water and central heating???

Where would i find the bypass?? I apologise for my ignorance.

It doesnt appear to be making a noise with just the hotwater on and the boiler is set to 2 and adjsuting it did not affect the knocking etc So it does appear it is just with the central heating on.

Thanks for sticking with me.

 

[plastic_peanut]

Sorri ignore that, it has just started banging with the hot water on.


doh

 

[noonespecial]

Did you mean boiler set at No. 2 or pump set at number 2?

What happens if you put boiler at maximum temperature setting?

If it is only happening when in heating mode, is your property up to a relatively high internal temperature?

Are all your TRV's on maximum setting? If not turn them all up and see what happens or if they are all up can you readily take the TRV heads off and see what happens - trying to determine if noise decreases or is resolved with increased water flow rate.

Are all your TRV's around the correct way?

 

[noonespecial]

Sorri ignore that, it has just started banging with the hot water on.


doh

ok - that is probably because the heating water temperature has increased now.

So what happens when you tunr the pump up to a higher setting?