Should I replace central heating pipework.

[JoeHill]

Hi

This is my second question and follows on from discoveries made while investigating dropping flow rates where you guys contributed a lot.

I have made an access point to the crawl space and had a look around. Let me say at this time we are a living in a cottage so all is on one level.

A couple of things have been note worthy.

Most of our radiators have 15mm and are mix of copper or plastic (this is an old house with many 'upgrades') but a couple are microbore but once you go below the floor most of the core pipework is microbore.

• I've not noted any inefficiency in our heating but then again, how would I know?
• I've observed some minor dents in the microbore under the floor but the topside pipework has definitely met a hoover, would this restrict flow especially if it runs on to 15mm and then back to microbore?
• What is the insulation on the microbore, it looks like horsehair or something organic?
• I'm going to renovate a bathroom, would you advise to standardise the bore of pipework?

All opinions appreciated folks

 

[Chuck]

I've not noted any inefficiency in our heating but then again, how would I know?

If there were a problem, you'd know because one or more radiators would not get hot in the winter and/or you couldn't keep the house comfortable when it was cold.

With domestic heating systems, I'd say that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." is usually good advice.

Whoever installed the current system may have used microbore because the construction of the cottage would have made alternatives very difficult. This possibility, i.e. you might have a "Chesteron's Fence", should always be considered when planning to change a quirky existing installation.

 

[Ric2013]

The insulation is most likely a so-called "felt lagging". I've heard it deters rodents, but that may be hearsay.