Stelrad Ideal W2000 "Boiling over??"

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Shortly after the timer switches on the boiler I get this noise in the pipes like a train is running through the house, it sounds a bit like possibly steam escaping into the vent/overflow which goes into the CH header tank. I thought it was the cylinder stat so I replaced it, it was pretty old so £7 was no big deal.

However, a couple of days later it did it again :evil: The boiler stat looks physically sound but that's no proof that it is working. It looks a pig of a job to replace too. before I call in a qualified tech has anyone any clues as to what this problem might be? I have also noticed that the radiator in the bathroom directly above the boiler appears to be empty and when I try to bleed it no air or water escapes.

Any clues??
 
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Not a lot else it could be on one of these wonderful old boilers, it is a job for a registered gas Engineer though as you have to remove the combustion box cover (outer case) to gain access to the thermostat capilary and Phial, the case seal will need to be carefully checked and replaced if necessary before re-fitting the outer case cost of the job parts & labour depending on your location somewhere around £100 +Vat ;)
 
The system may be low on water too, does air/water come from any of the other upstairs rads? Need to check the F&E (small) tank in loft has water in it, and if so, the cold feed to the system isnt blocked.
 
The system may be low on water too, does air/water come from any of the other upstairs rads? Need to check the F&E (small) tank in loft has water in it, and if so, the cold feed to the system isnt blocked.
No checked that, it is full and ball valve works. Going to run the heating tomorrow for a spell then go round all the bleed valves and rads. see if that shakes anything up.
I did think the boiler was low on water so the stat wouldn't necessarily work as it is in the top right of the boiler, is there a bleed valve on the boiler?

Thanks for quick responses folks, appreciated.
B.T.W. It's a W2000 40 RC
 
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I have also noticed that the radiator in the bathroom directly above the boiler appears to be empty and when I try to bleed it no air or water escapes.
Then you have a blocked feed pipe - very common.
See the FAQs ;)
 
Check the cold feed and plan with a magnet. What ever it sticks to is blocked or at least partially blocked.
This might prove difficult as a lot of the pipe is under floor/carpet/tiled bathroom floor :(

Thinking of getting some flushing agent to run through it. God! I hope that works, I don't fancy ripping up the floor :cry:

Just going to peruse the FAQ's as suggested earlier. Thanks everyone for your help. As you can see from the time of this post it's causing me to lose sleep.
 
I have also noticed that the radiator in the bathroom directly above the boiler appears to be empty and when I try to bleed it no air or water escapes.
Then you have a blocked feed pipe - very common.
See the FAQs ;)

8 ) Pumping Over

This is the term used when water comes out of the Vent Pipe into the Feed and Expansion Cistern. The water then goes down the Feed Pipe and round the system.

It's a very BAD THING, because it oxygenates the water which causes rapid corrosion in the system.
It can be caused by poor pipe layout. The normal flow of water causes the pressure in the circuit where the Vent Pipe joins, to be slightly higher than that where the Feed Pipe joins. The water levels start equal, so it takes very little resistance in the circuit to make the water come out of the Vent Pipe.

It can be alleviated by increasing the height of the inverted "U" of the vent pipe, though if the Vent and Feed pipes join within about 150mm of each other this should not be necessary.
In a typical flat with a concrete ceiling, there often isn't much room for the vent pipe. The level of the water in the f&e tank should only be about 100mm - at about the level of Freddie fish's mouth. So the top of the curve of the vent pipe can be at least 250mm, say, above the resting water level. That should be anough.

Another very common cause for Pumping Over, in older systems, is a build-up of a hard scale, made of iron, calcium and other extracts from the system water. This causes a hard blockage of the pipe, nearly always at the point where the Feed Pipe joins the system. Often this can only be cleared by cutting out and replacing the pipe.
Powerflushing may well not be enough.

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Thanks for that. Hope I can flush it out
 
It does sound as if your system is short of water caused by a blocked feed pipe.

But I dont see anything about the pump being checked!

Plenty on them in the FAQ.

Tony
 
Flushing it with chemicals won't touch a blocked cold feed, it'll need cutting out. Do you know where it is and what to look for?
 
Flushing it with chemicals won't touch a blocked cold feed, it'll need cutting out. Do you know where it is and what to look for?

Tried the magnet trick nothing came of it. Had already started flushing with x400. Also adjusted the ball valve arm to make header tank water depth deeper (read somewhere it should be 100mm???)

Pump is working and I'm sweating coz all the rads are on at moment. :LOL:
If this helps go here:-
Looks messy but it was professionally installed nearly 20 years ago.

Still getting thundering sound when system has been on for around 30-40 minutes both stats appear to work.

Is it worth me re doing the bits in the video i.e. cold feed to system and expansion pipe. Would it be better as 22mm not 15mm or will this be a fools errand on my part?

FYI
When I set the cylinder stat to below 60C and the boiler to 2-3 on the knob we still get plenty of hot water but the steam train still arrives.
 
Can you drain about 5 litres out of a drain cock whilst the ball valve in the F&E is tied up.

Then see if the level in the F&E has fallen.

Needs about 80-100 mm in the F&E when cold. This will expand and increase by 30-90mm when rads are hot.

Tony
 
Can you drain about 5 litres out of a drain cock whilst the ball valve in the F&E is tied up.

Then see if the level in the F&E has fallen.

Needs about 80-100 mm in the F&E when cold. This will expand and increase by 30-90mm when rads are hot.

Tony
Did that before putting flushing agent in, it did drain and at a reasonable speed but not scintilatingly fast.
 
Is the main burner shutting tdown completely when switched off?
 

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