Plumbing problem

rustynutz

I'm having a few problems with the plumbing in my house,before I get the plumber back to look at it again I'm wondering if anyone might have any idea what the problem might be?

1.Mains shower never very hot,dial always up to max heat setting but the shower is only lukewarm,even after having immersion or central heating on for an hour.It's a power shower btw.It's been like this since I built the house two years ago.

2.Immersion does not seem to get any of the hot water taps etc. really boiling hot like other houses I've been in,no mater how long you leave them on.

3.Stove with back boiler does not heat the rads like it should even with a coal fire on,the rad in the same room as the stove only ever gets luke warm for some reason while the rest get slightly hotter.As a result the house always feels cold.

Like I said I'm hoping someone might recognise the problem so I at least have some info for the plumber,he's not exacly the most helpful but seen as he plumbed the house I'll have to get him back.

PeteHeat

Hi,

All of the problems appear to be related to water temperature, I am presuming the shower is mains pumped not heated ?

What size / type of cylinder do you have ?

Does it feel hot to touch ?

Is the immersion a dual type (sink / bath) it may be worth checking it to make sure it's working.

Unusual without solar but a mixing valve may have been fitted and is set too low ?

Possible that the stove output is not enough to heat the rads, do you have another type of heating linked like oil ?

Does it bring the rads up to temperature ?

Did you ask your plumber what output you needed before buying the stove ?

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rustynutz

PeteHeat wrote: »

Hi,

All of the problems appear to be related to water temperature, I am presuming the shower is mains pumped not heated ?The shower is not electric,not sure if that's what you mean(sorry,my knowledge of plumbing is pretty limited!)The shower is fed from the tank upstairs through a seperate pump to increase the pressure if that helps.

What size / type of cylinder do you have ? I just had a look and I can't seem to find any badge or markings on it to indicate the size etc. but I do remember the plumber saying at the time that we would have to increase the size as the house was 2700 square feet.

Does it feel hot to touch ?Yes,when the oil or stove are on.

Is the immersion a dual type (sink / bath) it may be worth checking it to make sure it's working.It's the dual type,what is the best way to test it?

Unusual without solar but a mixing valve may have been fitted and is set too low ?Not sure,don't have any solar panels.Do have upstairs and downstairs seperated though if that makes a difference.



Possible that the stove output is not enough to heat the rads, do you have another type of heating linked like oil ? The stove is the biggest Stanley you can get with a capacity of 10 rads.I have just downstairs connected to it which is ten rads.I have central heating as well.

Does it bring the rads up to temperature ?Yes,but still not as hot as other houses I've been in.

Did you ask your plumber what output you needed before buying the stove ? Yes,he recommended the one I bought.

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Thanks for taking the time to reply,on a side note I also think the plumber didn't install enough rads in the house,for example he has one 6ft double rad in a 5 meter square room(sitting room),does this seem like enough to you?I think he may have priced for less rads than the others the quoted so his price seemed lower.Either way the house is freezing during the winter.e are keen to get this sorted before this winter as we have our first baby on the way

PeteHeat

Hi,

It would be wrong of me to say if a radiator is the correct size or not based on the information supplied, bad or rushed advice could only make your situation worse.

The size of the house does not really dictate the size of the cylinder, its the number of occupants / amount of hot water needed on a daily basis that is important.

To test the immersion switch it to Bath and check back in say 2 hours, the water should be considerably hotter all the way to within about 200mm of the bottom.

The next day do the same with the immersion on Sink, it should heat up about 1/3 of the cylinder from the top, those tests should tell you if it is a dual immersion and if both elements are working.

It there a thermostat that actvates the pump on the stove ?

The reason I ask is the pump may be cutting in too soon or too cool and causing the cylinder to cool down to the temperature of the flow (top pipe) off the stove.

We don't sell that make of stove so I can't really comment on the output however, what may help is if you bring the temperature of the radiators up using the oil and then let the stove take over.

That way all the stove has to do is maintain the temperature at the level your oil boiler has set, fuel and air play a major part in the output of any stove and they do take time to get used to.

I suggest that you allow your plumber to check over the system, he may be able to make some improvements without resorting to major works.

If you are not getting any satisfaction after giving him the chance to either improve the system or advise you on on how to get the best out of it you may need to consult with another plumber.

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