Problem with central heating

[kRAyZZed]

Hi guys,

I am having a slight problem with my central heating in my house - yesterday I started hearing a loud high pitched noise coming from my airing cupboard - so I investigated.

It seemed like the noise was coming from a switchmaster vavle switch or the pipe just below it. The switch was set to central heating at the time. When I manually turned it to central heating and hot water the noise stopped instantly, however the switch eventually goes full cirle and goes back to central heating, and approx 6hrs later the same happens again. In all this time none of my radiators heat up even slightly. It's almost as if when I open the valve to go through to hot water it relieves pressure?

I will admit I don't know much about central heating systems and the limited knowledge I do have I read online lol.

At first I thought it could be air in my radiators so I went about bleeding them all, however NONE of them started to leak water, they let out air but no water started flowing. I have checked in my airing cupboard but have no pressure gauge anywhere that I can see, so I can only assume I don't have a closed system.
I live in a 1 floor flat btw with a gas boiler/combi heater in the lounge and in the kitchen an airing cupboard with hot water cylinder and what looks like a water tank above it.

Any suggestions? I know I haven't provided much info but I honestly don't know much about my system and none of the documentation I got when I moved in relates to my system lol.

Thanks for taking the time reading this.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I still have hot water, and if I turn the system to hot water only the valve switch turns itself round to hot water, and if I turn the thermostat up on my hot water cylinder, the switch turns itself round to hot water and central heating, so I 'think' the valve switch is ok?

 

[stem]

I was slightly puzzled by your post.

a gas boiler/combi heater in the lounge

It is unusual to have a combi in your lounge, as they are wall mounted they are normally hidden away somewhere.

an airing cupboard with hot water cylinder

Why do you have a hot water cylinder when you have a combi?

If you are trying to bleed the radiators with the pump running, depending on the design of your installation, what you could be hearing is air being sucked in, not expelled. Make sure the pump isn't running first.

What you describe doesn't sound like air, it doesn't normally make a high pitched noise and tends to collect in the highest point usually one radiator in particular and it is manifest by the top of the radiator being cold.

Sorry I can't help you regarding the switchmaster, someone may be along soon that has come across this before and can.

 

[kRAyZZed]

The confusion there was actually my mistake - what I meant by combi in the lounge was it's a gas boiler and a gas fireplace, not a combi boiler.

Also I made sure that the heating was on for a while to ensure radiators were filled, then turned off central heating before bleeding. I did have 1 radiator in the house that was full of air and I seemed to have to bleed almost weekly to get it working, I believe it's the last radiator in the circuit furthest from pump - and that one I haven't been able to bleed water out of for a while - but now it's all of them with zero heat, not even on the bottom.
Initially I thought maybe it was a pressure problem, but not seeing any pressure gauge anywhere I don't think I have a sealed system, and from what I understand it should refill itself if it's not a sealed system?

My knowledge is literally limited to what I have read on various sites lol

 

[xr4x4]

as you have bled air out the system, you need to check that water has been topped up in its place.

fresh water is supplied to the boiler, ethier via mains or tank (the latter in your case most likey)

how old is the boiler?

 

[kRAyZZed]

I sadly don't know the exact age of the boiler, however we have lived here for the past 15years and the only part that I recall ever getting changed was a pump that got changed 4 months ago, as our old one had given up the ghost. It's an old council flat that's now housing association I live in - and they are planning on knocking these buildings down soon, so I doubt upgrades have been in the plannings a while lol. I can get one of their guys out to look at it, however wait time for them during this peak is 2 weeks and I am just trying a few things to see if we can fix it ourselves before then, as we have a 1yr old in the house and no heating really isn't the greatest (got electric heaters in the babys room atm at the very least)

when I get home from work in a bit I'll see if I can figure out how to check my water level

 

[stem]

Thanks for the extra info. Your boiler will be topped up via a small header tank somewhere. I don't know how you flat is arranged, but it could be in the loft maybe with those from other flats, or it could be next to the other cold water tank thay supplies your hot water cylinder.

You don't have to operate the heating to get it full of water it is permanently full and the same water is continually circulated around it. The water in the tank just tops up any water lost via evaporation or any leaks.

Occasionally, because of its sedentary lifestyle the ballcock that fills the header tank from the mains can seize and prevent it topping up (as could frozen pipework, but I imagine the reserve in the tank would well outlast an period of freezing weather even if it lasted all winter!)

The pipe from the tank to where it joins the heating system can also get blocked, this is a bit more difficult to find and may require dismantling some pipework to check.

Is the hot water still heating OK?

 

[kRAyZZed]

Hi thanks for the reply at the moment hot water seems to be working fine, it seems to be just the heating that's not operating. I'll take a look when I get home to see if it's just the header tank that isn't filling up.

Thanks again, will let you know how it goes