Hi, I have been doing a bit of maintenance on the system in a recently purchased property. It has been flushed numerous times for various types of work, from removing existing rads for flushing to fitting new rads, and fixing obvious leaks around the cylinder (all joints PTFE wrapped and compound applied).
I will be having a new unvented system instaled in the next 2/3 years once other works have been completed - until then i want to get the rads and corresponding pipework to a level where it is safe and efficient. As the carpets come up in say 6 months i will be lifting the floor boards and checking the pipework further with a possible view to changing some of the 8mm to 15mm to ensure future reliability (and less chance of blockages). In the interim I have added cleaner after the last lot of works a month ago and am about ready to flush and add 2 bottles of inhibitor to get me through the next 6 months (possibly much longer if i decide not to disturb anymore pipes).
The system is 13 rads with a combination of 8mm and 15mm pipes going to random rads/towel rails. The house is 4 bed with the 20 yr old boiler mounted in the kitchen at the far end of the house, whilst the cylinder, diverter valve and pump is more centrally located on the first floor.
I have refilled the system quite a few times now and after endless tries i can still hear air going through the return pipes into the loft, even now after a month - is this normal that i would be bleeding the system probably once/twice a week? I always start at the bottom working the furthest rad from the pump as opposed to the boiler, i then move upstairs doing the same but attacking the rad above the boiler first as this is the only one that normally needs bleeding and is the first to heat in the circuit (i then do all the 15mm piped rads followed by the 8mm's as all rads are a similar distance from the pump). lastly I release the screw on the pump and let water flow for a few minutes before closing the screw and firing up the central heating circuit until the rads are warm, then the hot water circuit until the water is warm. We don't use the hot water option a lot as we have an electric shower for now and dishwasher - the rads all heat without issues so no blockages and the air from the rad above the boiler doesn't smell eggy so no massive corrosion issues. Since the cleaner went in the rads have been used daily too... there are no leaks on the rads hot or cold (or any other visible parts of the system), i have cleaned the header tank of the brown sludge (which hasn't returned) - my only thoughts are tiny leaks below the floors that i can't yet access (most likely downstairs as no ceiling leaks visible).
Worth also noting that the system hasn't really had more than a month of use before me working on it so this next fill will be the longest time it has gone.
Can anyone offer any help please? :teeth_smile:
I will be having a new unvented system instaled in the next 2/3 years once other works have been completed - until then i want to get the rads and corresponding pipework to a level where it is safe and efficient. As the carpets come up in say 6 months i will be lifting the floor boards and checking the pipework further with a possible view to changing some of the 8mm to 15mm to ensure future reliability (and less chance of blockages). In the interim I have added cleaner after the last lot of works a month ago and am about ready to flush and add 2 bottles of inhibitor to get me through the next 6 months (possibly much longer if i decide not to disturb anymore pipes).
The system is 13 rads with a combination of 8mm and 15mm pipes going to random rads/towel rails. The house is 4 bed with the 20 yr old boiler mounted in the kitchen at the far end of the house, whilst the cylinder, diverter valve and pump is more centrally located on the first floor.
I have refilled the system quite a few times now and after endless tries i can still hear air going through the return pipes into the loft, even now after a month - is this normal that i would be bleeding the system probably once/twice a week? I always start at the bottom working the furthest rad from the pump as opposed to the boiler, i then move upstairs doing the same but attacking the rad above the boiler first as this is the only one that normally needs bleeding and is the first to heat in the circuit (i then do all the 15mm piped rads followed by the 8mm's as all rads are a similar distance from the pump). lastly I release the screw on the pump and let water flow for a few minutes before closing the screw and firing up the central heating circuit until the rads are warm, then the hot water circuit until the water is warm. We don't use the hot water option a lot as we have an electric shower for now and dishwasher - the rads all heat without issues so no blockages and the air from the rad above the boiler doesn't smell eggy so no massive corrosion issues. Since the cleaner went in the rads have been used daily too... there are no leaks on the rads hot or cold (or any other visible parts of the system), i have cleaned the header tank of the brown sludge (which hasn't returned) - my only thoughts are tiny leaks below the floors that i can't yet access (most likely downstairs as no ceiling leaks visible).
Worth also noting that the system hasn't really had more than a month of use before me working on it so this next fill will be the longest time it has gone.
Can anyone offer any help please? :teeth_smile:
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