Rumbling noise from boiler/heating

[davy4091]

Hello newbie here looking for some advice please. Last June we had an Ideal Logic 35 boiler fitted to replace our old Vokera 80SL under the govt. warm front scheme. After a few weeks of starting to use the central heating around Oct/Nov we noticed a loud rumbling noise which appears to be in the ceiling of the dining room but circulates throughout upstairs rooms & can be heard in living room next to dining room. We called Ideal engineer out who diagnosed faulty pump which was replaced & noise disappeared. One week later & noise returned. This time diverter valve diagnosed & replaced, again noise disappeared only to return within a week. This has been repeated with the replacement of several parts until it was realised that simply draining the boiler & refilling it has the effect of curing the problem, but again after several days it returns. The Ideal people seem to conclude that the problem is with my existing pipework/radiators, but are unable to say what it might be & I am loathe to have flooring ripped up & pipes replaced without some assurance that this will cure the problem permanently. Has anyone else come across this sort of problem or can anyone offer advice as to how I should proceed. Many thanks.

 

[tamz]

Could be something to do with a trv. Although most are branded as reversible some are not as good as others.
When it starts making the noise go around the rads 1 at a time and close the valves. If it stops when you close one of them that is the problem.

 

[Puddle]

As said,sounds like thermostatic valves,maybe when boiler replaced ,flow and return could have ben swopped round

imho

 

[davy4091]

Sorry should have mentioned, all valves except the one where the room stat is(this one has no trv), are fully open. The noise is constant once it starts & does not vary with temp.

 

[pobsdad]

Unscrew the trv heads and see if it makes a difference.

 

[davy4091]

Thanks for the suggestions but it has been established that the noise is only being transmitted by the pipework after being generated by the boiler. The issue is that after draining & refilling the boiler the noise disappears.

 

[Timbo_UK]

Hi davy, did you get anywhere, I have the same issue. Never had any boiler noise in the past with the Isar that was in before. All plumbing identical. I suspect the air release valve is not working??

 

[davy4091]

Do you mean the valve on the pump housing? That is the only thing that has not been replaced on my boiler & to be honest I also thought that it was something to do with the problem, but actually for the opposite reason ie, because it is bleeding out all the air. Alas I am not expert enough to know why it is there. Is your boiler an Ideal Logic also?

 

[Timbo_UK]

Yes, that valve is supposed to let air out, thats its sole purpose in life!. Is your system cured yet? Our house sounds like theres a Jumbo Jet flying overhead all the time the pumps running on heating.

Mine is the Logic+ 35.

 

[davy4091]

No our problem has still not been rectified because the Ideal people had almost convinced me that there was nothing wrong with the boiler & it had to be our system, we too have the Logic 35. Now that I have learned from you that I am not alone in having this problem I will get them out again. Have you had the Ideal engineers out to yours? Have you gone through the same process of replacing parts to no avail? Could I ask what area of the country you are in? If I send a PM with my e-mail address could we liase directly. Many thanks

 

[Timbo_UK]

I am just starting on the process really. The boiler has been fitted for 3 weeks only.

Basicially I had an Ideal Isar fitted 8 years ago and its been nothing but trouble. Its been on contract with ideal all the time and had 15 circuit boards, 2 divertor valves, heat exchanger, fan, operator panel sensors etc fitted over this period. I got that fed up with it breaking down all the time I wrote a letter to ideal listing all the problems. They actually got back to me and offered me a new boiler at a reduced rate (although I had to pay for fitting).

I chose the Logic plus with the 5 year warranty. I never had the rumble noise at all with the original isar and no pipework has been changed. All you could (hardly) hear before round the rest of the house was the water flow.

I am still waiting for the original installer to get back and double check it.

Unfortunately (??!!??) the weather is good at the moment so the heating is off. I am sure this is either pump cavitation or air infiltration causing this. One thing I have noticed now with the heating off is that the hot water sounds noisier too; and it sounds like if the heatings off the divertor valve just stays in the same position and constantly recirculates the same bit of water, until the heatings fired again. After this the hot water is quieter again for a bit.

Ideal insisted that the installer came back first the check; I've been away and been working odd shifts (and now its Easter) so not had chance for him to get back to me yet.

 

[Mattyc]

Just wondering if anyone had this noise rectified? I have a logic plus recently installed in a upstairs bedroom. The noise downstairs is so loud we have to turn the TV up! Upstairs it has woke us up every morning when it has come on.
Our previous boiler was a biasi I think, it got really loud and the plumber said we needed a new pump, he installed it and it was silent but advised to get a new boiler as it was old and inefficient. The new one is noisier than the old one was with a faulty pump. What rights do I have as a consumer as really want my old one refitting now.

 

[Rickster123]

Hi Matty, welcome to the forum. Contact ideal directly. It will be under warrenty. When you look at the bottom of the boiler is the pressure gauge shuddering? Common fault on the older logics.

 

[Mattyc]

My plumber has contacted ideal, I'm waiting to see what he says. We have never used him before and I don't know if I trust him! I just looked at the pressure gauge and it is juddering around. Have I got a faulty boiler? The noise can be heard clearer by putting ear to the wall or radiators etc! It's sounds similar to a very distant aeroplane flying in the sky.

 

[Timbo_UK]

My plumber has contacted ideal, I'm waiting to see what he says. We have never used him before and I don't know if I trust him! I just looked at the pressure gauge and it is juddering around. Have I got a faulty boiler? The noise can be heard clearer by putting ear to the wall or radiators etc! It's sounds similar to a very distant aeroplane flying in the sky.

Ideal will replace the Pressure guage to one with a smaller hole on the connection to the boiler. You wont get rid of the noise, sorry. Had Ideal round servicing mine the other day. They say that the smaller and more efficient heat exchanger causes this noise. Not present in all systems as it depends upon the plumbing etc. Its a shame really as the boiler has been great for us over the last 2 years.

 

[BuilderMCR]

My monza boiler did it when I had mine put it, it was the trvs

 

[Mattyc]

I had a ideal rep down on Friday who swapped my pump as it was buckled/warped. It had made it better for a short time but now its just as noisey again. Had a few people round to my house this weekend and they all think its far too noisy. The ideal rep said he was going out to quite a few jobs where people were complaining about noise from this boiler but not much they could do. He said I really needed a pump I could turn down as the water was running round my system too fast but there wasn't one that fitted this specific boiler. He has recommended I get a automatic bypass fitted. He called another ideal engineer and was told he had fitted 3 of these automatic bypasses for the exact same issue and it had solved there problems. I mentioned this to my plumber and he said he doesn't think it will make any difference. One thing I have noticed and the ideal rep also did as I heard him mention it a few times is the pipes coming out of the boiler underneath are all vibration/resonating. This vibration/resonating can be felt in all the radiators and can be heard very clearly in some of the walls in my house. I am hoping ideal will help me out with this problem as it is really stressing me out. At present I wish I had stayed with my old boiler as it was much quieter! Don't get me wrong, my heating is much better, it seems a very good boiler but far to noisey. I cannot live with this noise, it is interfering with watching TV etc and I'm finding the TV is now much louder to hide the sound! It has also started my pipes rattling under my floor boards now which never use to happen! I think something in the boiler is making my pipes vibrate as it starts at the boiler but then it gets louder as it moves around the house. I have just ordered £30 of sound absorbing foam but not sure it will make a difference? I was planning on laying in under the boiler where the pipes run under the floor boards to see if it makes a difference? The boiler is installed in a very large cupboard but there is no carpet etc below it, just bare floor boards.
if I had taken any insurance product I would have had 30 days cancellation rights, if I had taken a loan or credit I would have 14 days cancellation rights. Do I have any legal protection like this for a new boiler as would rather have my money back and my older less efficient but much quiter boiler back!

 

[cicco01]

Hi. I registered on to this forum, as a google search for my fault lead me here.

I had a new boiler fitted last January 2015. My previous boiler worked well, but 10 years later I decided an upgrade was necessary.

A short time later, I got the rumbling noise. It was as if there was a Bus or truck parked outside the house, more so I one room. However, when this does start to happen, the boiler also gets notably noisier.

After many part had been replaced, it became apparent that simply draining the boiler & refilling it has the effect of curing the problem, but again after several days it returns.

One year later, the manufacturers scratching its head, and the easy way out, is to conclude that the problem is with my system.

As this thread is now a few years old, I was hoping somebody might have found the issue.

Did anybody try the air release valve?

 

[newcastle phill]

I suspect they will all have had a new boiler fitted by now

 

[Unregistered]

I suspect they will all have had a new boiler fitted by now

I was hoping for something a little less costly

Thanks Phil (HEH)

 

[cicco01]

Hi I’ve been meaning to update you all for a while. The boiler was a KD Navien. The issue was the Honeywell straight auto bypass valve. I’ve now removed this, and the system is now perfect.