Radiators not filling

[Anesthaesia]

Hi all,

I recently had a plumber out to repair a leak on a radiator - the joint required soldering and the system had to be drained before this could happen. The plumber did warn me that it could result in a blockage when refilling the system so I was aware of this.

As luck would have it, after the repair was done and the mains turned back on, the rads did not fill up. Plumber left and I now have no heating or hot water - he's advised that a power flush is required.

I have read a number of forums and posts of people having similar issues and have checked the following:

1. Header tank does not appear to have emptied when the system was drained - the plumber did not check this while the system was draining, only after mains went back on. There was a slight film on the water when I checked it after he had left and the water itself was clear - the sludge could be seen in the bottom. My reasoning is that if it had drained, when it filled this would have stirred up the sludge and it would not have settled again in a couple hours. Is it therefore possible that the system was blocked to begin with?

2. I have followed tips to try unblock it, which includes opening bleed valves and rad valves, bleeding pump and checking inlet pipe in header tank. Nothing worked so far.

3. I have read that reverse filling the system may help - could this cause any damage, and is there a chance it could unblock the system? Obviously taking care that header does not overflow...

The rads use microbore (sp?) piping if this makes any difference. Posts I have read also suggest the blockage could be at the T where the header feed joins the expansion pipe.

I'm not overly familiar with UK HW/CH systems as only been here a few years from SA, but am able to follow instructions and have done my own research as to how they generally work.

Any help and/or tips would be appreciated. I can post pics if that would help.

Don

 

[gassafe]

Sounds like a blocked cold feed... Not sure why the plumber left without completing the job, I hope you didn't pay him!

If you have a magnet you could test the pipework where the cold feed tees into the system, it's likely to be blocked there!

 

[Anesthaesia]

Hi Gassafe,

Thanks for the reply - yes I did pay the plumber and I won't even begin to go through the issues I had with this company. £260 to solder a couple of joints and leave me with empty radiators...they were supposed to call to quote for a flush but as expected have heard nothing. I refuse to use them again....their "cover our arse" clause would be that they explained before emptying the system that it could cause a blockage.

The cold feed blockage is what was suggested on other forums - the plumber did run a magnet over the pipes and banged about a bit in case it was an air blockage, but it had no effect.

I've also read about cutting into the T to try free the blockage but am concerned I don't have the tools to reconnect the pipes. From what I can see, the T is in the airing cupboard just above the pump (inlet comes down from loft and joins expansion pipe just above the pump - I'm assuming this is the "cold feed" joint?). Would it make sense to remove the pump so I can feed something through the pipes to clear any blockage?

 

[gassafe]

You don't need a powerflush, a powerflush would not even clear a blocked cold feed.

I would say call a separate plumber & explain the situation. It should be a relatively simple fix.

How can the company test there work of they did not fill it up? Obviously on a tank fed system there may be a chance of this happening, but iv never heard of a company using that as a get out clause... I would send the invoice to the plumbing firm for re-imbursment, but good luck with that lol!

 

[Anesthaesia]

"How can the company test there work of they did not fill it up? " Exactly - I made sure to ask the plumber whether their warranty covers the repair if we find out it is still leaking after the system is filled. "My repairs don't leak" was the reply I got....needless to say at the moment I view plumbers in a rather negative light - no offense to anyone on this forum. This is the 5th I have tried in the last couple of years - and each tried to rip me off from the start.

Sounds like I'm going to have to get someone in then - thanks for pointing out that a powerflush is not necessarily needed though!

When you say "relatively simple fix", could you briefly explain what may be required so I can make sure I'm not being misled? I assume this is either going to be an air or solid blockage...

The system does have an AAV fitted near the pump in the airing cupboard if that makes any difference.

 

[turnpin]

Why not pop a post in the"I'm looking for a plumber" section on here and maybe someone on here will be able to sort your problem out without ripping you off......regards Turnpin:biggrin:

 

[Old Account]

Hello, did you try closing a radiator both sites empty the rad and afterwards take a wet vac or bin bag in front of the valve and open it up. It helped me few times in such situations to clear it out. You also could take the wet vac and try to suck it on the valve it may help too.

I've done it few times and helped me a lot.

If you have got microbore it's highly likely as mentioned before you got a blockage sitting in the spider.


i live in East London if you need a help let me know

 

[Anesthaesia]

Thanks all,

I did post in the "looking for a plumber" section, but no replies yet. I had to go ahead and arrange for a another visit with a different company - process of elimination I guess...

As much as I would like to resolve this myself, I'm lacking the tools and even something simple like a wet vac.

With regards to the "spider", I assume this is the manifold for the CH piping? Where are these normally located? I'm more curious than anything as I have identified the majority of components in the HW/CH system (self-education for future use but have not come across this yet...