Jake Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I think there's something wrong with our Comb boiler. When I turn the hot tap on the water is cold to begin with (as normal) it then slowly gets hot for like 30 secs and then goes stone cold and stays cold. Sometimes it doesn't get warm at all. What could the problem be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Also, there was no pressure showing on the gauge but the label next to the gauge says it should be between 1.0 and 2.5 bar. So I opened the stop valve thing that is on a flexible hose linking two pipes going into the bottom of the boiler and the pressure stated rising. I turned it off again when the pressure was showing 2 bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I know a little having had similar issues with mine. The boiler will cut itself off if the pressure is too low, hence the heat/no heat thing. It's a safety feature. Filling the system back to the correct pressure will probably cure it. Question is why it falls. Have you bled the radiators? Had the system drained down recently? Changed boilers/rads? Mine does seem to loose pressure and need a top up once a year. Possible leak - put any photo frames up recently? I did that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Jake - Was your system cold when you pressurised it? If it was you will probably blow the safety valve when it heats up. Not a big problem. Set it to 1 bar when cold. You probably have either a small leak, it depends on how often you pressurise it, you will lose water from leaks on radiator valves without noticing as the water evaporates before you see it! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Sounds like what happened to our last year... I think it was something in the boiler clogged up with limescale... heat exchange? The plumber who sorted it is coming round tomorrow to fit a new towel rail so I'll ask him what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIJ8631 Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Jake, has pressurising the central heating (ch) system cured your hot water problem ?? If it has then thats great - if it hasnt then turn the boiler to hot water only mode, turn on the hot water tap and see if the boiler fires up in this mode. You may have a problem with the divertor valve if it doesnt fire up. What is the make and model cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 It could also be something as simple as a dodgy thermostat on the boiler. The pressure wont help the issue and that needed topping up which you have done. If the problem still persists check or get checked the thermostats or as they are pennies, there are 2 one is set to 88 degrees to prevent overboiling the other feeds a signal to the water temp selector on your boiler if it has that feature. The 88 degree one went on my boiler twice as they are pennies get 2 new ones and just replace them, its an easy job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Thanks everyone. Strangely it's been ok ever since I posted on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 The re-pressureising has fixed it then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Thanks everyone. Strangely it's been ok ever since I posted on here. Thats the great thing about this forum, we have the ability to fix things by complete coincidence!!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 I, too, managed to fix my boiler thanks to this forum. Very nice indeed:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Thats the great thing about this forum, we have the ability to fix things by complete coincidence!!! H. Can we fix mine as well then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Whats the symptoms?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 Can we fix mine as well then? Yeah, tell us the problem and we'll remote fix it!! H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIJ8631 Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 it does help if anyone needing advice quotes the make and model, it does help to perhaps give more accurate advice. cheers ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fargo Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 seems like all is well, im a british gas eng for furture ref.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIJ8631 Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 seems like all is well, im a british gas eng for furture ref.. We have a TOFFO in our midst (lol) cheers ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Whats the symptoms?? Yeah, tell us the problem and we'll remote fix it!! Like I said it's this thread: http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=93341 I'm hoping to put curtains up this weekend, and try and get some insulation of some kind for the larder door (need to replace it though really). Other than that I think my boiler was serviced about 9 months ago before we moved in. Could probably do with taking all the rads off and flushing them, then replacing/bleeding etc the whole lot! Don't I then need to balance the system though? So I need 2 thermometers? How do I know which is the first radiator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Like I said it's this thread: http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=93341 I'm hoping to put curtains up this weekend, and try and get some insulation of some kind for the larder door (need to replace it though really). Other than that I think my boiler was serviced about 9 months ago before we moved in. Could probably do with taking all the rads off and flushing them, then replacing/bleeding etc the whole lot! Don't I then need to balance the system though? So I need 2 thermometers? How do I know which is the first radiator? I'm sorry mate I don't know anyone down your neck of the woods. Has they system ever heated the house properly whilst you've lived there? There could be so many things that it could be, poor insulation, draughts, radiators too small, boiler not big enough.!!! Is it a one or two pipe system? H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Well we bought the house in June, and have only needed the heating on in the last month so I don't know if it worked before. No idea how many pipes it is!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Like I said it's this thread: http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=93341 I'm hoping to put curtains up this weekend, and try and get some insulation of some kind for the larder door (need to replace it though really). Other than that I think my boiler was serviced about 9 months ago before we moved in. Could probably do with taking all the rads off and flushing them, then replacing/bleeding etc the whole lot! Don't I then need to balance the system though? So I need 2 thermometers? How do I know which is the first radiator? OK first things first here. What kind of boiler is it? I am assuming that its a combi boiler but it may of course not be. What kind of knobs has it got on it? It may be something as simple as the radiator water temperature selector on the boiler itself is left low if it has that facility (the guy that bought my house didn't figure that out so no laughing it does happen). Next (without burning your hands) temp test all the rads in your house top and botom and see if there are temp differences from top to botom of the rads and if there are significant differences in different rooms. If there is a temp difference from top to bottom you have air in that radiator. I cant remember what it means if the rad temps drop along the systems length (I think its because the boiler isn't man enough for the system but I stand to be corrected here). So a couple of things to do before you pay for an engineer (be a remortgage your house bill for a callout in the next couple of weeks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 This is always the problem when people move in the summer. I bought my first house during May a few years ago. We got whacked by an enormous gas bill in the winter because the boiler and the radiators where too small for the house and subsequently the boiler never switched off because the house did not get warm enough. There are sooooooo many things it could be.. Can you give us a bit of a description of the problems ie does the boiler run, are the pipes nearby hot? Do you have a thermostat on the wall somewhere? H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIJ8631 Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 This is always the problem when people move in the summer. H. A wee bit of hindsight but !! its always a good idea (and money well spent) that when buying a house that you get the boiler and heating system professionally checked within the first 7 days. This can save you a fortune when you get around to switching on the heating and then finding out that it isnt working properly. We are finding that it is becoming a more common practice when buying a house that the solicitors/estate agents are insisting on getting the dhw/ch system checked within the statutory time limit for notification of problems, ie 7 days in Scotland. But give us more info and we may manage to help cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 The new looking Baxi boiler in the kitchen doesn't seem to have any controls on it. There's a thermostat on the landing, that clicks when the timer control is on - the timer control is one of these (but an older looking one): So that's set to come on at say 4 in the morning, and the radiators are hardly hot by the time I get up at 6!!! they do get hot - the upstairs ones taking the longest - and they all have equal temps top and bottom. One thing is we took the lounge radiator off to decorate, and bled it when we put it back on, but I later heard they need to be balanced???? A 12 degree difference from one side to the other???? There's also an emersion tank in the same cupboard as the timer control, the setting on it seems to adjust the temperature of the hot water from the taps, but the switch labelled 'water heater' that wires to the top of it has always been off! Is this just a hot water 'store'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fargo Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 We have a TOFFO in our midst (lol) cheers ian call me stupid but errr whats a TOFFO apart from them chewy sweets that come in a red packet. like others hav said there could be many reasons for you troubles, pump, diverter valve, sludged pipes. the switch labelled water heater on you hot water tank is the immersion switch, think of it as your emergency back up HW switch. as for balancing, i wouldnt really worry about this 12 deg differnece, generally you want all the rads to heat up at approx the same time at the same temp. make a note of the ones that currently get hottest first, then second etc. go back round and shut the inlet valve (flow) side of all the rads, then open up approx 1/2 to 1 turn. see how this works, you may then still have to open/close to fine adjust. its a bit of a black art sometimes.lol also if you want a powerflush done then i can hook you up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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