Noisy pump

[Janeybaby]

Hi,

I am but a mere single mum. I have just had my old heating system converted to fully pumped? ... i think thats what the plumber called it.

Anyway everything appears to be well but i have noticed some of my radiators are not as hot as normal. I telephoned the plumber who talked me through turning the pump onto number 3 (it was on 2) but when i did this it sounded like a lion roaring, the plumber that this was air and to bleed the radiators and see how it settled.

It still sounds bad, so i turned it back down to 2 and the noise stopped and my radiators are cooling down again, the plumber wants another £80 to fit me another pump.

Is there anything else it can be?

Thanks,

Janey.

 

[JPC]

hi..... janey baby

ask him to come out and check the system over. he should have had it running properly b4 he left.

if indeed it requires a new pump then so be it.

but make sure that that is the problem and not summit else he has not done right.

pumps should run on the lowest speed poss. so try 1 then 2 then 3.
is ur house a large one ?

£80 for a new pump fitted is a good price. (but so it should be if he has done aload of other work for you) ask for a grunfoss pump.

 

[Janeybaby]

Hi JPC,

No everything runs lovely when the pump is on speed 2, but i find some of the downstairs radiators could be hotter, when its on 3 they do heat up downstairs, but as i said the pump is really noisey like a lion roaring, someone said it could still be air? .... i have bled the radiators now for days and all i get out is water , no air!!!

And yes i have around 12 radiators in the house.

Should i get him to fit a new pump then? ... and could this be highly likely the problem?.

Janey x

 

[JohnD]

If you find that some rads are hotter than others, turn down the valves on the hotter ones. This will force more of the hot water to flow through the cooler ones.

Try setting to half way for a start, this should make a significant difference.

Then you can tinker with them until they're all equally hot. If you feel the pipe at the end where the circulating water leaves each rad (the cooler end) this is where you will notice the difference most. You can hire special thermometers to do it, but if you feel it with your hand you can probably get it close enough to be OK.

To do it properly, read the posts on "radiator balancing" ( http://www.diydata.com/projects/centralheating/balancing/balancing.htm ) and use the lockshield valves, so that no-one comes along and fiddles with the setting after you've got it right.

Have you got thermostatic radiator valves on some/all of your rads?


If you have bled all the rads and there is no air then I don't believe it is a gas or air prob. When you bleed them, does water squirt out well from every rad, and what colour is it?


Is the pump a very old one?

 

[Janeybaby]

Hi John D,

Yes water squirts out and its a clear/blackish colour. The pump is 8 years old but was working ok before.

I will do what you have suggested, if i have another pump fitted anyway, should i be able to run this on setting 3 or could it still sound like a lion roaring, seems strange it's nice and quite on settign 2.

Janey xx

 

[JohnD]

Blackish water is a sign of internal corrosion.

When you next speak to your plumber, ask if he did any flushing, and if he added any inhibitor to the system. If he says no but offers to do it at extra cost, let us know how much.

If he didn't add an inhibitor, it is very easy to do yourself. See if there are any labels saying an inhibitor has been used before. If so it is most likely Fernox or Sentinel brand. You can buy a gallon of whichever has been used before at your plumbers merchant or DIY shed and add it to the circulating water very easily. If none has been used before I now prefer Sentinel as it seems better for the 3-way valve rubber components, and does not leave sticky toffee deposits.

I don't know about this roaring lion noise. You could try holding the various pipes near the pump and see if any of them are vibrating.

8 years is not especially old for a pump, but if your plumber assures you it will solve the problem you could give it a try. Ask him what he'll do if it doesn't cure it (i.e, will he expect you to pay for no fix) in case he is just guessing. However if balancing the rads fixes the cold rads at speed 2 then you won't have a prob anyway.

 

[Janeybaby]

I will try all that.

You all nice people

thank-you.


xxxx