What heating system have I

eddiej

In the attic I have one tank with the mains coming in and a float valve. Pispes dissapear off down through hot press bringing cold water to house there is also one pipe returning to top of tank i.e. an expansion pipe I suppose.

I presume I have an open circuit type system and iff I want to install thermostats on the rads all I have to do is bleed the system there is a drain valve at boiler (keeping the float valve turned up and switch the rad controllers is it this easy. Obviously will have to bleed the system of any air on completeion is this correct.

Cheers
Eddie

JamesM

That's it Tie up the ball valve, drain the system, change the valves and then fill up again. There can be problems with removing the old valves and leaks at new joints etc., but go for it.

rooferPete

Hi,

Are you referring to one large tank or a large and a small tank ?

If you have just one large tank then keep looking for the red ball (pressure vessel), sorry Jim it looks to me like he described the main storage tank not a header tank ?

.

JamesM

rooferPete wrote:

Hi,

Are you referring to one large tank or a large and a small tank ?

If you have just one large tank then keep looking for the red ball (pressure vessel), sorry Jim it looks to me like he described the main storage tank not a header tank ?

.

Whoops - Hi Pete,
You are probably right !
I shouldn't answer queries at 23.46. How did you spot it at 01.10
Yes if there is only the main tank in the attic, there should be a red (usually) pressure vessel somewhere, and a valve, which fills the system and can be shut off for draining.
Jim.

eddiej

hi lads where could this pressure vessel be it definitely is not in
the hotpress so where else. yes there is only one large tank in the attic also surely i wouldn't have a pipe returned to attic tank in a pressurised system

thanks eddie

rooferPete

Hi eddieJ,

Easy on now me and JamesM are working on this late into the night

The pipe returned to the attic is most likely the expansion pipe from your hot water cylinder, a safety device just in case the water in your cylinder should boil it can vent into the main storage tank.

The red pressure vessel can be in many places including the attic but usually the now ruled out hot press.

Some are beside the boiler or in almost any discreet location that can hide a football size object, I would expect to find a pipe that could be from the main tank or the mains water supply used to top up the system, the pressure vessel is usually close to that pipe.

.

JamesM

eddiej wrote:

hi lads where could this pressure vessel be it definitely is not in
the hotpress so where else. yes there is only one large tank in the attic also surely i wouldn't have a pipe returned to attic tank in a pressurised system

thanks eddie

I'm even later tonight
The main tank will have an expansion pipe over it, in case the water in the cylinder boils or gets airlocks (or some reason like that) . It has nothing to do with the heating system.
If there is not a small tank, either sitting above the main tank or sitting somewhere beside it, then you have a sealed system. If the expansion vessel is not in the hotpress, it is most likely beside the boiler or fairly close to it. The feed pipe to the heating system can also sometimes be near the boiler, but it is most likely in the hotpress. This pipe may come from the cold water mains, but very often comes from the hot water feed to the cylinder in the hotpress. It usually connects (in my experience), to the heating system close to the coil which heats the water. This valve is often already in the closed position. On this pipe as well as the on off valve there may be a non return valve and sometimes a pressure reducing valve.
Maybe Pete can make that clearer - I'm getting too old for these late nights :eek:
Jim.
P.S. I've just seen Pete's post - Great minds ? Or 2 old....... who should be in bed.

Jackz

Its a hot water expansion from the top center of your cylinder .

If you have a boiler house the expansion vessel might be there and the automatic filler valve aswell.

If you don't have one and have a boiler in utility room or somewhere lord knows where they slotted in the expansion vessel.

It would take an extremely dodgy plumber to use your cold water tank for the central heating as heating expansion into the tank would give you some pretty nasty water to wash your teeth with and other reasons it just not done.

I would be very wary when swaping the rad valves (unless you are lucky and also need to shorten the pipes because the thermostatic valve is longer)as using the existing already compressed olive and nut could lead to leaks.

If you are not shortening the pipes and are using the existing olive use some ptfe tape and boss white over the olive to make it water tight.

Im sure you''ll manage just bear in mind it aint lego so be prepared.

Johnny

Sheeks three people writing a reply at once!!!

eddiej

Hello all,

Thanks for all the hints for my treasure hunt, I have a vokera boiler and when I looked up my model the expansion vessel is in the boiler dont you know to save space. So now that I have one of these types of heating systems how do i drain and refill it to fit the rad valves.

Jack z I have qualpex running up to the rads I want to change the valves on so they should be a little more accomodating to me in that resperct presume (dangerous I know) I just fit new qualpex "olives" and shove back in the pipe.

crosstownk

Before you drain the system be sure to locate the filler valve so you can fill it when your finished. There should be a drain valve somewhere - usually low down and hopefully lower than the rad valves. This valve could be any where. I have two - one at the boiler which is located about the same height as the top of the downstairs rads (grand for draining the upstairs rads to replace motorized valves or adding Fernox etc) and another buried behind the fridge which is slightly lower than the downstairs rad valves. You could drain the system by removing a downstairs rad valve but it can be messy - very messy. Once you begin to drain make sure to open some ustairs bleed valves on the rads to allow the water to come out more quickly - don't forget to close them before you refill!

JamesM

eddiej wrote:

So now that I have one of these types of heating systems how do i drain and refill it to fit the rad valves.

Look at our posts above about identifying the filler pipe and valve.
Jim.

rubberduckey

Guys, Hope Im not being rude by hijacking this thread, but you seem experts on these systems, I'm looking for a 'Central Heating person' to give my central heating system a once over.

Also hired a plumber to do the job previously, who refused to go to the attic and 'bled' one rad and was gone!!

Only 2 out of 8 rads are heating up, even then only slightly.
I'm not au fait with Central Heating but I've done the basics such as bleeding rads, ensuring that both tanks in the attic have water etc.

if you know of anyone who offers such a service I'd be most obliged.

JamesM

rubberduckey wrote:

Guys, Hope Im not being rude by hijacking this thread, but you seem experts on these systems, I'm looking for a 'Central Heating person' to give my central heating system a once over.

Also hired a plumber to do the job previously, who refused to go to the attic and 'bled' one rad and was gone!!

Only 2 out of 8 rads are heating up, even then only slightly.
I'm not au fait with Central Heating but I've done the basics such as bleeding rads, ensuring that both tanks in the attic have water etc.

if you know of anyone who offers such a service I'd be most obliged.

Sometimes it is difficult to get someone who is an expert on the boiler/burner and also the rest of the system. Many plumbers know very little about boiler/burners.
If you are in South Dublin and have gas, James Brereton Jr. of James Brereton & Co., is very good with all aspects of a heating system.
Jim

eddiej

Hi James (and everyone else)

Have located the drain valve and the filler valve alright as you had previously described the bit I was wondering about was how do I refill the system how will I know when I have enough water back in the system. There is a pressure gauge on the boiler do I work off of this and how.

Eddie

JamesM

eddiej wrote:

Hi James (and everyone else)

Have located the drain valve and the filler valve alright as you had previously described the bit I was wondering about was how do I refill the system how will I know when I have enough water back in the system. There is a pressure gauge on the boiler do I work off of this and how.

Eddie

The pressure gauge on the boiler goes up to about 3. Bring it up to somewhere between 1 and 1.5. That should be OK. Sometimes, if it is not fed from the mains, it only goes up to about 1. If everything works OK at that, then it is fine.
Jim.

eddiej

Hi lads thanks for all the help,

While researching my boiler, what excitement!!!!, it mentions that the temperature valve on the boiler control panels regulates the temp of the water in the rads. The builder has ours set at full blast now the question came to me is this the cheapest setting. I presume the hotter the water the quicker the room heats up and the shorter the boiler will be on for or is it better to lower the rad water temp level. I am not too concerned about rad temp in house no children in house etc and we have managed since last November no probs but really am interested from an energy saving point of view as the old gas aint gettin any cheaper. So should I be lowering the water temp or leave well enough alone.

Eddie

JamesM

eddiej wrote:

Hi lads thanks for all the help,

While researching my boiler, what excitement!!!!, it mentions that the temperature valve on the boiler control panels regulates the temp of the water in the rads. The builder has ours set at full blast now the question came to me is this the cheapest setting. I presume the hotter the water the quicker the room heats up and the shorter the boiler will be on for or is it better to lower the rad water temp level. I am not too concerned about rad temp in house no children in house etc and we have managed since last November no probs but really am interested from an energy saving point of view as the old gas aint gettin any cheaper. So should I be lowering the water temp or leave well enough alone.

Eddie

It depends on what room controls you have - thermostats etc. Basically the lower you keep the temp, the less gas you use. I would turn it way back, while it may be bringing the room up to temp quickly at the moment, I would think that the room will then get too hot. If the temp is marked on the dial at the boiler, 60 would be a good place to start - then turning it up when the weather gets colder. If there are just marks on the dial, then start low and see how you go. If you are getting enough hot water and the rads are at a temp that you can just touch them for a second and then have to take your hand away - thats a good place to start - turning it up as the weather gets colder.
Jim.

ircoha

JamesM wrote:

It depends on what room controls you have - thermostats etc. Basically the lower you keep the temp, the less gas you use. I would turn it way back, while it may be bringing the room up to temp quickly at the moment, I would think that the room will then get too hot. If the temp is marked on the dial at the boiler, 60 would be a good place to start - then turning it up when the weather gets colder. If there are just marks on the dial, then start low and see how you go. If you are getting enough hot water and the rads are at a temp that you can just touch them for a second and then have to take your hand away - thats a good place to start - turning it up as the weather gets colder.
Jim.

Good advice Jim.

OP dont go below 60 because of the very small risk of LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE http://www.healthandsafety.co.uk/infolegionn.html

Also OP, have not read all this post buit dont put TRV's on all ur rads, unless u have an intelligent circ pump