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Hi, I've have a problem with my CH system for around 18 months now and it's time to get it sorted. Here's a diagram showing our current heating system:
The house is 21 years old and the loft extension was performed around 15 years ago. As you can see they simply extended the existing 15mm pipes up into the loft and then split them. The Vaillant equipment is 8 years old and still going well. We had the UFH installed 5 years ago as part of a kitchen extension.
Only one of the radiators in the loft gets a little warm, never hot and the other radiator and towel rail are always cold, so there's clearly a blockage or two. I have accessed the 15mm flow and return pipes to the loft at the point they are connected under the bathroom floor and the flow pipe gets very hot, the return pipe is barely warm. I have tried closing all valves to force the water into the loft pipes but it makes no difference.
I have been considering replacing the existing 15mm pipes into the loft with 22m pipes and connect them up earlier as is shown in the following diagram:
Obviously I'll have to resolve the existing blockages in the loft pipework.
My diagram may not be accurate for the Ground floor radiators. It currently shows the flow going into the final toilet radiator and then back out into the return. Is this how you would expect the pipes to be connected at the end of a run or would the flow become the return? The 1st Floor to loft connections shown in the first diagram are exactly as they are plumbed. So, if all the loft radiators were turned off, there's no way for the flow to return to the boiler (I think!). In fact, in my diagram the only way for the flow to become the return is through a radiator. Not sure how accurate this is.
A couple of concerns:
1. Will the boiler pump be able to handle the additional 22mm pipes running into the loft?
2. Should I consider re-routing (new) pipes around the loft as the "star" connection currently used looks to be a limitation to my untrained eye.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
The house is 21 years old and the loft extension was performed around 15 years ago. As you can see they simply extended the existing 15mm pipes up into the loft and then split them. The Vaillant equipment is 8 years old and still going well. We had the UFH installed 5 years ago as part of a kitchen extension.
Only one of the radiators in the loft gets a little warm, never hot and the other radiator and towel rail are always cold, so there's clearly a blockage or two. I have accessed the 15mm flow and return pipes to the loft at the point they are connected under the bathroom floor and the flow pipe gets very hot, the return pipe is barely warm. I have tried closing all valves to force the water into the loft pipes but it makes no difference.
I have been considering replacing the existing 15mm pipes into the loft with 22m pipes and connect them up earlier as is shown in the following diagram:
Obviously I'll have to resolve the existing blockages in the loft pipework.
My diagram may not be accurate for the Ground floor radiators. It currently shows the flow going into the final toilet radiator and then back out into the return. Is this how you would expect the pipes to be connected at the end of a run or would the flow become the return? The 1st Floor to loft connections shown in the first diagram are exactly as they are plumbed. So, if all the loft radiators were turned off, there's no way for the flow to return to the boiler (I think!). In fact, in my diagram the only way for the flow to become the return is through a radiator. Not sure how accurate this is.
A couple of concerns:
1. Will the boiler pump be able to handle the additional 22mm pipes running into the loft?
2. Should I consider re-routing (new) pipes around the loft as the "star" connection currently used looks to be a limitation to my untrained eye.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.