Downstairs radiators.

madon

Need some help please! We've been in our house for 5 years and our heating has never worked properly.
The problem is that the downstairs radiators don't work or work on/off- there is three in particular that are the main problem. We have had three different plumbers out that have all done the same thing- switched off the top radiators and so (I presuming) forces water to the three that work on/off. This solves the problem maybe for a few weeks- Last year I didn't bother get a plumber I could do it myself! But I really want to solve whats going on and why these three rads just go after a while. If we try bleed the rads water comes out straight away.
I don't know technical terms but sometimes when we switch to heat the rads and water (instead of water only) we have to force a knife to switch the bolt right over (I hope that makes sense) what I think is happening is that what blocks the water from going to the rads dosn't fully switch over, I don't know if this has anything to do with whats going on. I apologise if that makes no sense!
I am going to ring another plumber this week but i would love to hear opinions on what people think is happening. Or even some advice on what we ask a plumber to do? I know that forcing the water to the bottom rads is a temporary solution but the plumbers that came here after the first only did this if we get another plumber and he does the same as the other three, what do I say/do?

lucky-colm

how old is the house??
is the house zoned??
how big is the house??
how many rads are in it?
howmany circulating pumps have you?

also that thing that you are forcing with a knife:eek: that just dosn't sound right, you should probably look at getting a new one of those

madon

lucky-colm wrote: »

how old is the house??
is the house zoned??
how big is the house??
how many rads are in it?
howmany circulating pumps have you?

also that thing that you are forcing with a knife:eek: that just dosn't sound right, you should probably look at getting a new one of those

House is 5 years old, we moved in from new- 3 bed semi. 12 rads in it.
I think there is only one circulating pump.

We were told to get a new 'thing' with a ball rather than a flap thats why we have to force it to close but I don't know if this is causing the problem- we were told it would cost a grand to replace the flap with a ball and another 700 to replace the electric box that does what I do with the knife. So I don't want to go spending that if its not going to solve our problem, As it is I'll have to look for a loan for this. The last plumber that told us all this didn't really know if this would solve whats happening.

DoneDL

I'm intrigued to know what this super expensive valve is? Is the system sealed or open vent, is it oil fired or gas. Heating systems are normally separated from the hot water using valves of different types, two port and three port are the most common but there are different manufacturers of these valves. I don't know any that are that expensive, if the rads are working occasionally its usually down to air or a partial blockage in the system. That said you would be very unlucky to get three plumbers in a row that didn't have a clue as to the source of what sounds like an intermittent problem. What need to be determined first is the layout of the system and the controls that are in place to see if they're functioning properly. Can you take some photos of your valves and pipework especially in the cylinder cupboard or failing that state where you are and there may be someone on the forum who may be local enough to have a look. Most seem to be well trained and capable ieven f they don't always agree with each other.

madon

Thanks for the replies- I have put three pics in my album The middle pic is the one that we have to turn to change from water only to water and heating. That is the pipe that holds the valve that we were told to replace and you can see the corner of the blue box that should switch.
Its a gas system we have a boiler downstairs- I think it is closed system. I'm in the Meath Louth area if anyone does want to have a look I would be eternally gratefull:D
We put the heating on today after the summer and we have very little heat upstairs (well its perfect really but I think it should be a lot warmer for the fact that we have nothing downstairs?) and nothing at all downstairs.

Sparkpea

to me that looks like a motorised valve. im not familiar with the look of that one but perhaps its a horstmann. the brass body is the valve and the blue box is the motorised control. basically when u press HW on your timer it fires the boiler and pump and starts heating your water, only when you press the CH button does it open the motorised valve and allows heat to the radiators. you probably cant have CH on without HW as you need the HW button pressed to fire the boiler/pump (depending on how its wired).

anyway im not familiar with a 'flap' valve but how a myson or danfoss valve would work is inside the brass body theres like a D shape ball and when its up and down verticle like so D the water can flow through it but when you turn it a quarter turn e.g. 12 o'clock > 3 o'clock or 12 o'clock to 9 o'clock the valve will close and stop water flowing through.

obviously because the head is not on the valve this will not work which is why you are doing it manually.

what it sounds like to me and ive come across it time and time again is that when you are opening the valve its not opening properly and is sticking thus only letting a tiny amount of water/heat through.

I had this problem in 1 particular job when they thought a pipe was blocked and I tried to find the problem/blockage for a day and couldnt so powerflushed it the next day, 3 of the 4 upstairs radiators that didnt heat properly worked no problem while powerflushing but once the flushing machine was disconnected it didnt work anymore. it turned out the next day the woman then remembered there was a valve under the floor board at the base of her bed (a motorised valve) that we never knew about and it wasnt opening properly so once I changed this it worked no problem..

hope this info helps u a little

Sparkpea

oh and you could pay about £50+vat for a myson or danfoss motorised valve..

madon

Sparkpea wrote: »

oh and you could pay about £50+vat for a myson or danfoss motorised valve..

A tad cheaper than what we were quoted- thanks for that!

Are we allowed to ask here for recommendations for plumbers in the Louth area?