I hope someone can help...
The previous owner of my house was a builder. Over the years I have had several different plumbers come for various matters, all of whom have said that the way the plumbing had been set out was strange. About 5 years ago I had a garage conversion done, which involved some plumbing work and a new boiler (Optimax HE 18 OV). The plumber was a Polish guy who was Corgi registered. He spent a whole day setting up the plumbing and doing some rewiring so that it was more logical and easier to operate. However he has now gone back to Poland and is not contactable. He did not leave a wiring diagram.
The problem I have is as follows (I have included some pictures here too - see my album):
The heating and hot water are controlled from a single control unit in the kitchen. Several months ago I noticed that the heating was working upstairs but the downstairs radiators remained cold. I worked out that the problem seemed to be with the blue valve (in Pic 2). I have been able to use the manual lever on the left side of the valve unit to turn the downstairs heating on. (The lever is usually 'loose/floppy' when the heating is not on - when I turn the heating on from the control unit in the kitchen I have to wait for a few minutes until I hear a whirring noise from the valve - the manual lever then becomes 'stiffer/rigid' enabling me to turn the valve on manually). To turn the heating off I have to turn the lever off manually as well as turning the control unit off in the kitchen. If the valve is left on the heating remains on even if the control unit is switched off.
Last night I set the control unit in the kitchen to off, and turned the valve off manually as well. However when I woke up this morning all the radiators were still on. I checked the blue valve, and although it was supposed to be off (the manual lever was in the off position, and the light on the valve was not lit) the manual lever was still 'siff/rigid'. I tried turning the heating on and off a few times from the control unit, and eventually the radiators somehow turned off (even though the valve on the lever remained and is still 'stiff'). A few minutes later I heard a dripping noise coming from the cupboard where the boiler is, and noticed water dripping from one of the pipes (circled in Pic 1). I used a couple of towels to soak up the water, which eventually stopped dripping after 10 minutes or so.
Can anyone help me identify what the problem is here, and is it within the ability of a novice to fix? I'm not bad at DIY - though not great with electrical wiring (where there is a risk of electrocuting myself). Apologies for the length of this post. Any help would be much appreciated.
The previous owner of my house was a builder. Over the years I have had several different plumbers come for various matters, all of whom have said that the way the plumbing had been set out was strange. About 5 years ago I had a garage conversion done, which involved some plumbing work and a new boiler (Optimax HE 18 OV). The plumber was a Polish guy who was Corgi registered. He spent a whole day setting up the plumbing and doing some rewiring so that it was more logical and easier to operate. However he has now gone back to Poland and is not contactable. He did not leave a wiring diagram.
The problem I have is as follows (I have included some pictures here too - see my album):
The heating and hot water are controlled from a single control unit in the kitchen. Several months ago I noticed that the heating was working upstairs but the downstairs radiators remained cold. I worked out that the problem seemed to be with the blue valve (in Pic 2). I have been able to use the manual lever on the left side of the valve unit to turn the downstairs heating on. (The lever is usually 'loose/floppy' when the heating is not on - when I turn the heating on from the control unit in the kitchen I have to wait for a few minutes until I hear a whirring noise from the valve - the manual lever then becomes 'stiffer/rigid' enabling me to turn the valve on manually). To turn the heating off I have to turn the lever off manually as well as turning the control unit off in the kitchen. If the valve is left on the heating remains on even if the control unit is switched off.
Last night I set the control unit in the kitchen to off, and turned the valve off manually as well. However when I woke up this morning all the radiators were still on. I checked the blue valve, and although it was supposed to be off (the manual lever was in the off position, and the light on the valve was not lit) the manual lever was still 'siff/rigid'. I tried turning the heating on and off a few times from the control unit, and eventually the radiators somehow turned off (even though the valve on the lever remained and is still 'stiff'). A few minutes later I heard a dripping noise coming from the cupboard where the boiler is, and noticed water dripping from one of the pipes (circled in Pic 1). I used a couple of towels to soak up the water, which eventually stopped dripping after 10 minutes or so.
Can anyone help me identify what the problem is here, and is it within the ability of a novice to fix? I'm not bad at DIY - though not great with electrical wiring (where there is a risk of electrocuting myself). Apologies for the length of this post. Any help would be much appreciated.
