Central heating system started gushing!

[BustPipes]

Help please!

WAH today when I hear a bang, and the sound of running water. Central heating pipe had started gushing...

We've turned off the water (DP luckily WAH too) and turned off the heating. DP turned the screwy thing at the end of the pipe, and the water stopped. Collected a couple of pans full of brown water before that.

What next? Do we turn boiler off off? Do we turn water and heating back on to see what happens? Do we call emergency plumber?

Very much hoping PigletJohn is around! But other advice gratefully received!

Where is the pipe? At the boiler or elsewhere? Do you have pictures?

Hi dementedpixie. Can't see an option to add photos - and a Google says that new users (I've just joined) can't add for 48 hours...

Pipe is under floorboards - comes out from wall. Has sort of bolt screw thing on it (which DP tightened) and then what we believe is a drain off valve. The pipe is underneath a down stairs radiator, so probably lowest point of system.

The water was gushing from the drain off valve...

DP thinks it blew because he turned the heating right up, in an effort to blast the house (we've been overheating and keeping windows open to try and dry it out a bit - old and hasn't been well cared for).

Water and heating are going back on - fingers crossed!

I don't suppose it will be because it was turned up.

Does your boiler have a pressure gauge on it?

If it is a drain cock, the old rubber washer might have perished, jammed and given way.

example cock pic

If you are not fond of plumbing, ask around locals for a wrinkly plumber. Replacing a drain cock does not require a gas engineer.

Advertising websites, where the trader pays to be listed and can manage customer reviews, are not a good source, even if they are disguised as recommendation sites.

Definitely a drain cock - looks the same as the one you linked to, although somewhat less shiny and new.

Boiler has a pressure gauge, which went down when the leak happened, but DP doesn't think it was leaping around beforehand (although to be fair, neither of us were looking at the boiler when it happened).

DP says the cock had fully unscrewed, but was easy to rescrew.

Going to get in touch with the plumber who did our bathroom - not sure he'll think it worth getting out of bed for though.

Thanks for responding - and the cock pic!

You will probably have to top up the boiler pressure. It will stop working if pressure is too low. This may happen when it cools overnight.

As you have a pressurised system it will not have emptied out much water. Maybe a bucketful or less.

Advertising websites, where the trader pays to be listed and can manage customer reviews, are not a good source, even if they are disguised as recommendation sites.

Yes! This! I'm in the industry and no one we would work with, recommend or use as a sub contractor would use these sites.

Hope you find someone to fix it soon OP!

And are you wrinkly?

DP here: thanks @PigletJohn, appreciate the response, and BustPipes is very excited to have a thread with you on it! (What am I saying, so am I).

What I really don't understand is the thing went from nothing to gushing in a moment, but once we'd ripped up two floorboards to get at it I could just tighten it up and it stopped. I've since refilled the system and its been back on at a lower boiler temp for several hours with no trouble.

So... how does something on a thread go boom but happily tighten up afterwards? That may be a question to the universe rather than you! I'm thinking remove rather than replace as I don't want to have to destroy more floorboards if it happens again and we have multiple drain valves above the floor (although I can't swear there aren't more underneath)...

If yours has a compression fitting, it fits by gripping. So maybe it was not done up tight originally. Or maybe the pipe under the floor froze and the ice plug pushed it almost off.

The variety in my pic screws in, so should be impossible for it to come loose.

Put the floorboard back with countersink screws so it is easy to take up next time. If it is carpeted, paint "drain cock under" on the floorboard.

You will need the drain cock when you flush out that nasty brown water with a cleaning chemical, and use a corrosion inhibitor on final fill.

The boss is far from wrinkly! But just prides himself on quality over quantity!!