problem with pump

[littlesaur]

Hi,

Hoping for some help again. `Central heating and hot water working fine -the problem is that whenever anyone runs any water, flushes toilet etc, we can hear the pump kick in, it pushes the water back up to pressure but as soon as it is back up (between 2 and 3 ) on the dial, it falls back down again and the pump pushes it back up again with the result that it is constantly clicking on and off every 10 seconds or so. So, the pump is running and then cutting out, running and then cutting out. etc etc Until this week, it only clicked on once the water had finished running.

Please be kind.... I don't know anything about pumps but if it is a simple matter of bleeding something, we could do that if given instructions.

Thanks

Littlesaur

 

[shaneo]

so the heating and hot water works fine and does get up tempreture?

what boiler do u have, make and model

 

[littlesaur]

yes, the heating and temp of hot water are fine. We have an Ideal Minimiser SE which was serviced a couple of weeks ago. The problem is only when we are running water.

 

[shaneo]

im a bit confused, u said when u flush the toilet, does that mean is doing it when your running cold water and not hot water?

 

[littlesaur]

doing it for both hot and cold water but dial on pump doesn't move for hot water only

 

[shaneo]

well the cold water being run should not effect the boiler in any way whats so ever, its really not possible

 

[kevplumb]

what dial dont move

 

[ChrisR]

Common problem. You have air in your pipes somewhere. The air is at max mains pressure, say 3 bar. When you draw water, the pressure drops to say 1 bar where the bubble is so the water moves away from it. When you turn your tap off the water moves the other way to pressurise the bubble again. If the movements are going through the boiler it sees water flow so switches on, and you hear the pump run.

Usually it's a dead-leg, thats an unused length of pipe with more or less stagnant water in it. It can be a tap in a far-off bedroom which doesn't get used, so air can collect. Alternatives are corrosion - various causes like dissimilar metals, or flux left behind, or microbes, which again can lurk in dead-legs.

Done any plumbing work recently?

 

[littlesaur]

We bled the radiator in our spare bedroom (upstairs) a week or so ago but thats it. We are in a chalet bungalow with one bathroom upstairs but another one downstairs as well as kitchen. Is there anything we can do without getting anyone out?

 

[kevplumb]

try running the hot taps one at a time

 

[littlesaur]

OK, done that and can hear pump cutting in and out all the time. Very loud clunky noise which until about a week ago, we only heard once the water had finished running and it only did it once.

 

[brumylad]

I think the Ideal Minimiser SE is a condensing conventional boiler NOT a combi (but I'm not 100% on that), if its conected to a sealed system then disconnect the filling loop (silver flexible pipe used to fill the system with water), see if that makes any difference.

Also is this pump part of the central heating or is it a pumped hot water set up.

 

[kevplumb]

only real answer is to trace and remove the dead leg

 

[littlesaur]

Part of pumped water system.

 

[brumylad]

Does the pump, pump your cold water then?

Are you rural with your water coming from a bore hole or something ?