Noisy Heating System

[Mischief]

Hi

I have a combi system with a Worcester Bosch boiler which is 12 years old. Lately it has become noisy with banging or popping and I understand this could be either air bubbles or scale (I live in a hard water area) hitting the heat exchanger. It is now waking me up in a morning when the heating comes on and I want to do something about it.

Last winter I had the system flushed twice as some radiators didn't work and an inhibitor put in.

When the noise occurs it happens for about 7 minutes then there is no noise for about 10 minutes, and I imagine the bubbles or scale going round the system until it comes up against the heat exchanger again. I may be wrong about this but that's how it seems.

I would like to know what the best way of stopping the noises would be. New heat exchanger, new boiler, flushing the system again? I don't know what to do.

Can someone help please. Thank you.

 

[midlands based]

Get a plumber to descale or replace the heat exchanger. Powerflushing the whole system will not concentrate enough to clean it.

 

[Mischief]

Get a plumber to descale or replace the heat exchanger. Powerflushing the whole system will not concentrate enough to clean it.

Hi Thanks for the advice. I will contact my boiler engineer tomorrow and see what he says.

 

[learnplum]

Hi midlands based, then you in a hard water area.
I think you should install a water softener?

 

[midlands based]

Hi midlands based, then you in a hard water area.
I think you should install a water softener?

What ? Has someones 2 year old just started pressing buttons on daddys computer.

 

[learnplum]

Hi say it again in english.
Midlands fit a water softener,:tounge_smile:

 

[midlands based]

That could help in future but I would say it now needs descaling and a good quality inhibitor used.

 

[learnplum]

OH damm sorry family party sorry.:blush5:

 

[Snowman21]

The noises you describe could be happening for a few reasons: the circulation pump may not be working and it could be the boiler just overheating and then switching off for several minutes. Check the pump by changing the speed setting to high so you can hear the louder noise and vibration. If the pump is working OK then it could be a blockage or airlock. Try adding Sentinel 200 which can be left in the system indefinitely to help de-scale the boiler. Isolate and drain enough water from a radiator which is working best and add the Sentinel 200, then bleed and fully open both valves on the radiator so the fluid will circulate through the system. The other thing to check is that the system is being topped up OK. Not sure about your combi-boiler but I had a problem very similar to yours which turned out to be a total blockage where the header tank supply connected to the main heating pipe (T connection) which meant no water was being added over a long period of time. You can check this by draining a radiator with the ballcock in the header tank kept elevated. If the level in the header tank doesn't drop then the pipe just above the T junction is probably blocked. I had to drain the whole system and cut the pipe just above the T junction and found it totally blocked. I removed all the deposit with a flat headed screwdriver until it dropped into the main pile (22mm) and used a length of tubing to suck out as much of the crud as possible. I then used compression joints to replace the lower section of the pipe and then refilled the whole system and re-bled all the rads.