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Heating on yesterday - no hot water today ?

11 replies

HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 22/10/2018 18:22

Yesterday I put the heating on as was cold ... today the morning blast to heat the hot water didn't work - we have had the afternoon blast - so I have hot water now ... but now I'm worried to put the heating on ( so am sitting here in my coat !)

When I tried to give the hot water a boost mid morning - the radiators warmed up - not the water ???

Have a three way valve system that was replaced last winter, I wonder if it's that ( hope not it was £90 !) or if it's the Drayton LO522 electronic thingumy that sets the heating and hot water to come on at various times.

Has this ever happened to anyone else ?

Who should I call ?

TIA ! 

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 22/10/2018 19:50

it's more likely the 3-port valve. If you had a new one (was it an entire new valve, or just the top box?) it might be that you have sediment in the water clogging the mechanism.

Does your boiler have a pressure gauge?

How often do the radiators need venting?

What did you do to "boost" the HW? Why isn't the timer enough?

It's a local heating engineer you need. Preferably one you know and trust, or a personal recommendation. Advertising websites are not a good source.

PigletJohn · 22/10/2018 19:52

p.s.

It's a LP522, and quite old now.

If the "HW on" indicator on the left showed, it's probably working.

HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 22/10/2018 20:39

Hi - third time lucky ( keep writing this then my phone rings and I lose it !)
Thank you for responding ! Adding photo of the valve FYI .
Not sure how I can clean it out as it looks sealed - but I'll go have a better look with a torch. If this is a common problem it must be fixable I hope . The LP box thing appears to work - but set the radiators off this morning when I hit boost on the hot water side.

I'll put out a shout on FB for recommendations for a heating engineer - thanks for pointing me in the right direction !

Heating on yesterday - no hot water today ?
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HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 22/10/2018 20:42

Boiler is ancient (oil fired ) no pressure thingumy on it . The water tank is pressurised - that's in line with where it should be.
I haven't bled the rads yet this year - they seem to warm up ok .

Sorry I forgot to answer that in earlier post .

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PigletJohn · 22/10/2018 21:06

A very old boiler that's open-vented (not pressurised) is likely to have quite a lot of black sediment in it from the steel radiators, unless it has been cleaned and had a filter fitted.

If not, I'd strongly consider having a Magnaclean or similar fitted - it will cost about £100 plus fitting - and a cleaning chemical circulated to loosen the sludge, which the filter will then trap. Ask the installer to show you how to empty out the dirt from the filter, it's as necessary and as easy as emptying your hoover bag.

Sediment will clog the circulation, radiators and boiler, and will wear out moving parts such as the pump. Sediment in a radiator displays by the middle, or the bottom rail, being cold.

X400 can be circulated for about 4 weeks before it loses it's cleansing power, it's supposed to be drained out with the loosened dirt, but if you've trapped most of it in the filter, it will not actually do any damage if you leave it in for longer. To drain it you'd need to access the small feed and expansion tank l in the loft, and the drain cock that will be downstairs, possibly close to your boiler or the radiator nearest the door.

Other more aggressive cleaners can work faster but have to be drained and rinsed out quickly. They may be acidic.

The installer can do it but will charge for her time, so if you can manage it, it's a worthwhile DIY job. It's less effective than a powerflush, but hundreds of pounds cheaper. Often it will prevent a blockage occurring and a powerflush won't be needed. If you wait until there's a blockage, it's too late.

Oil boilers are usually very durable and last a long time with reasonable care.

PigletJohn · 22/10/2018 21:15

p.s.

if the ball in the valve is sticking, it isn't worthwhile to clean it, as you'd have to pay the installer to remove and refit it. It's a wet part so the pipes have to be drained or bunged. S/he can see first if it seems to be moving freely from the outside, though, you can access the actuator. There might be some other cause but it seems a fair guess to me.

The chemical clean might do the trick.

It looks like your valve is a Honeywell, which is one of the good brands. It looks like a 28mm, which is expensive.

HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 23/10/2018 04:12

Thanks again ! We haven't had a clean in the radiators since we move in about 16 years ago - seem to remember getting a fernox flush about a month after buying the place - the boiler was about 16 years old then !!!

We don't have any expansion tanks - so not sure how we could do the flush - I have the boiler serviced every June - phoned to speak with the chap about this problem and he said he doesn't do plumbing or electrics so he can't help ( which doesn't help much ) he just does oil boilers .
No luck yet on the FB shout ...

Fingers crossed !

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HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 27/10/2018 10:02

Heating engineer came around yesterday and agreed it was probably grit in the system mucking up the diverting thingumy - so is going to come back to do a flush a week Monday. He's quoted £500 ... as will take two chaps one whole day ?! I'm a little shocked it's that much, and will take that long ? But will bite the bullet to be warm this winter ...

He didn't issue a written quote or any paperwork at all. Ie nothing with my rights to cancel on etc. Should I be wary of this ? As I thought all trades had to give paperwork as part of the consumer protection act? He didn't take my email address, only has my phone number and address, so maybe something will come in the post before then ? Who knows !
I'm just looking forward to having the heating on !!

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 27/10/2018 13:18

That's not an unusual price.

Try to get hold of him and ask how much it would cost to have a Magnaclean added at the same time.

Because that's a filter which captures sediment and sludge, it will reduce the risk of the same thing happening again, and the chance of needing another professional clean in future.

HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 28/10/2018 06:56

Thank you for the reassurance in price - I'll ask him about addingva filter too - he's doing the flush with air rather than liquid ! So should be interesting - is prefer to have it in writing that he'll fix any leaks it causes !

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HumptyNumptyNooNoo · 07/11/2018 13:28

It's working again now - 500 for the flush then 200 for the magnetic cleaner thingumy ( bit flipping expensive - I questioned this as the same one looks like it's only 80 online . He says it's higher because of 28mm pipes ?) . So all in with other bits came to over £750 ! Bit of a shock ! But needed doing I suppose !

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