noisy system

[mart05]

hi

Boiler - Potterton Suprima 50

The problem is when the ch is on the boiler makes loud banging noises.

The same noises go through the pipes up to the cylinder in the airing cupboard.

There is then a sound of rushing water that causes the cylinder to shake.

The cylinder is an Albion Mainsflow thermal storage unit.

I've been told that the boiler is kettling and the system needs flushing.

any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[Agile]

It sounds more likely to me that there is not enough water in the system!

Does the store have a header tank built into the top? If so is it full of water.

Or is there a header tank elsewhere to check?

Could also be a blocked feed pipe.

Just possible the pump is not working properly but that would not account for the rushing water noise so I would not expect that to be the problem.

Unless you are a very keen DIYer you may need a professional.

Tony

 

[mart05]

Thanks for the quick reply

The header tank is built into the store.

I would say it was about half full

 

[Agile]

Tie up the ball valve and measure the water level.

Let about 5 litres out from a drain cock.

Then see if the level in the feed cistern has gone down.

If so then return the 5 litres to the cistern.

If not then the feed pipe is blocked.

You MAY be able to poke it with a wire coat hangar but they can be quite difficult to clear and require acid which is very messy as well as dangerous.

If the level does go down then are there any manual air vent caps you could use to bleed air out of the system ?

Tony

 

[mart05]

Thanks for the advice.

I will try that later.

 

[mart05]

I emptied about 5 litres of water like you said and the water level in the tank dropped.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for when it comes to manual vent caps

 

[Agile]

Look in this sites FAQ for examples of what they look like.

You have proved that the cold feed is not blocked.

You could bleed the pump in case thats airlocked.

If not then isolate pump and remove pump head and check eye of impeller is not blocked and do finger torque test.

Tony

 

[mart05]

There are two pumps in the airing cupboard

I've bled them both.

One of them trickled black water the other did nothing.

Does the black water suggest sludge?

 

[Agile]

Is the CH pump actually turning?

Most store systems have one pump to circulate the water from the boiler to the store and the second to circulate the water from the store to the rads.

Is your "boiler" pump really turning?

Tony

 

[mart05]

As you can probably tell I'm a complete novice.

I dont know which is the boiler pump.

 

[Agile]

Its the one on a pipe going to the boiler!

Its also the one which is not the heating circuit pump!

It should work on both CH and HW when the store is not up to temperature.

Tony