Hi I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is but just wonder if somebody could advise. The central heating system is 25+ years old with pumps, valves etc being replaced at intervals. The system has a boiler with indirect hot water & pumped CH with a header tank in the loft. I have a water softener which has been in for 20+ years
The symptoms are as follows:-
1) The cold water tank overflows even though the ball valve is working properly.
2) The CH header tank seems to often have a drip fill from the ball valve.
3) After 3 weeks holiday with no domestic water use the domestic hot water & cold water was brown. (the boiler went out but I think that is a different problem as its stayed alight for the past 3 weeks)
4) When the heating / hot water is turned off (pump off) the water stops flowing from the overflow.
Without item 4) I'd say that there is a pinhole in the HW heating coil. With item 4) I wonder if a pinhole could only be operating when the pump is running, with no back flow which would fill the CH header tank when the system is off? How likely is that?
Could the brown colour be from the CH water contaminating the domestic or would it be some bug growth
Hope somebody can help
Jeff
The symptoms are as follows:-
1) The cold water tank overflows even though the ball valve is working properly.
2) The CH header tank seems to often have a drip fill from the ball valve.
3) After 3 weeks holiday with no domestic water use the domestic hot water & cold water was brown. (the boiler went out but I think that is a different problem as its stayed alight for the past 3 weeks)
4) When the heating / hot water is turned off (pump off) the water stops flowing from the overflow.
Without item 4) I'd say that there is a pinhole in the HW heating coil. With item 4) I wonder if a pinhole could only be operating when the pump is running, with no back flow which would fill the CH header tank when the system is off? How likely is that?
Could the brown colour be from the CH water contaminating the domestic or would it be some bug growth
Hope somebody can help
Jeff