Help needed! Central heating question

[Jack Lawless]

Hi everyone!

I i have a problem, I recently created a downstairs toilet for a customer. They wanted to have a towel radiator in the room that was run off the central heating. Just above the area where the new bathroom has been made is the existing bathroom, which has a towel radiator also, so for my feeds for the new one, I just tee'd off the pipes upstairs. Once everything was plastered and about to fit the new radiator, the customer informed me that the guys who did there recent extension had told her that there was only enough power to run the two new radiators!

My problem is that the new towel radiator isn't getting any heat. The flow pipe is getting hot but doesn't seem to be getting round the radiator. I have tried everything I know to try and solve this, balancing all the radiators, ran chemicals through to see if it was any blockages, taken the radiator off to check to check the valves are ok, drained and bled the system numerous times.

the only solution I can think of is to try and change the pump from a 5m to a 6m to give it that bit extra circulation? Any advice would be great!

its a conventional boiler with feed tanks and is on 10mm microbore for the most part, the towel radiator in the existing bathroom is 15mm and my new feeds are 15mm

 

[walterwhite]

Have you tried turning all the other rads off just to see if you can get some heat in to the new one?

 

[walterwhite]

...and are the valves reverse flow/ bi directional?

 

[SimonG]

Have you balanced the system?

 

[Jack Lawless]

Hi Walterwhite, they are bi directional valves, and yes have tried shutting all others off and still no heat?

 

[Jack Lawless]

Hi SimonG, yes done that also

 

[SimonG]

Systems microbore, but existing towel rail was in 15mm?

Towel rail on gravity from primaries?

What sort of controls is it? Fully pumped? Gravity hot water? Y plan? S plan?

 

[stratplus]

Sure you havent got 2 flows or 2 returns to the new towel rail instead of one of each!

 

[Jack Lawless]

Yes the existing system is done in 10mm microbore, whoever put the towel radiator in the existing bathroom has then tapped into the system with 10mm-15mm tees and run that radiator off 15mm, the 15mm is what I have tee'd off for the new rad

 

[Jack Lawless]

Hi stratplus, one of pipes I've put in are getting hot and the other isn't, so I'm presuming that the one getting hot is the flow

 

[Jack Lawless]

It's a y-plan system with a Honeywell 3 port valve

 

[SimonG]

Right. So the towel rail upstairs has been teed of the 10mm and run in 15mm and then you have teed off the 15mm to feed downstairs?

If so its wrong. Needs redoing from the manifold or from the 22mm flow and returns.

 

[Jack Lawless]

so, fitting a 6m pump will do diddly squat? i can quite easily get to the flow and return in the boiler cupboard from where id tee'd into the 15mm pipe, do you think this will solve my problem?

 

[stratplus]

Hi stratplus, one of pipes I've put in are getting hot and the other isn't, so I'm presuming that the one getting hot is the flow

Seen it before, the one pipe will get hot but has no circuit to continue the flow if the other pipe is of the same. (thinking about it the pipe only got hot when I ran a hose off the other pipe).

 

[Jack Lawless]

Seen it before, the one pipe will get hot but has no circuit to continue the flow if the other pipe is of the same. (thinking about it the pipe only got hot when I ran a hose off the other pipe).

If this is the case then would the existing towel rail not work? as i teed off the two seperate pipes.

 

[Jack Lawless]

Right. So the towel rail upstairs has been teed of the 10mm and run in 15mm and then you have teed off the 15mm to feed downstairs?

If so its wrong. Needs redoing from the manifold or from the 22mm flow and returns.

So can i tap directly into the 22mm? just 22-15mm tee from the flow staight to my new rad and straight back to the return with 22-15mm tee?

 

[SimonG]

As long as its after the pump and 3 port valve.

 

[Jack Lawless]

As long as its after the pump and 3 port valve.

Great, i presume this wont effect the other radiators in any way? (sorry for all the questions)

also, does it matter which 15mm pipe goes into which 22mm pipe as the valves are bi directional?

 

[SimonG]

Matters to me, flow on right, return to left but thats just they way I was taught

 

[Jack Lawless]

Matters to me, flow on right, return to left but thats just they way I was taught

haha goodo will try what youve suggested and will let you know how i get on! thanks alot for your suggestions!

p.s if this doesnt work, am i buggared? lol

 

[Chalked]

Best to repipe both towel rails back to the main heating flow and return.

 

[Jack Lawless]

Best to repipe both towel rails back to the main heating flow and return.

Hi Chalked, would it make any differance? would rather not have to re-route pipes i didnt put in if i didnt need to? thanks

 

[Best]

Obviously you have cocked up by joining into the wrong & inadequate pipes, but also wondering where did you join to the towel rail - diagonally, or to the bottom only, or to the top only?

 

[Jack Lawless]

Obviously you have cocked up by joining into the wrong & inadequate pipes, but also wondering where did you join to the towel rail - diagonally, or to the bottom only, or to the top only?

haha very true! Unsure on what you mean by where did i join the towel rail, i just droped two legs down a stud wall with angles valves into the bottom of the rad?

 

[Best]

haha very true! Unsure on what you mean by where did i join the towel rail, i just droped two legs down a stud wall with angles valves into the bottom of the rad?

Fair enough, - that's okay & would work fine if the pipes had good flow. Looks like you have to get those pipes joined to the bigger pipes somewhere.

 

[Jack Lawless]

Fair enough, - that's okay & would work fine if the pipes had good flow. Looks like you have to get those pipes joined to the bigger pipes somewhere.

Will be a fairly easy job getting these pipes to the main 22's in the boiler cupboard as its only about 2m away and the joists run parallel. just out of curiosity, would a 6m head pump as opposed to a 5m head pump make any differance?

 

[dancinplumba]

You charging for this work ? Sounds right diy bodge

 

[Jack Lawless]

You charging for this work ? Sounds right diy bodge

In what way is this helpful to me?
Just looking above in the 'quick reply' box, 'Just be nice and helpful (even to new members) or don't reply at all please'

'if your reply can't help the original poster, it may be seen as pointless'

 

[Best]

If it doesn't work with a 5m pump on pipe drops, then 6m pump probably won't make a lot of difference. Should be 6m imo though

 

[Jack Lawless]

If it doesn't work with a 5m pump on pipe drops, then 6m pump probably won't make a lot of difference. Should be 6m imo though

Thanks Best, its a wsp Gold pump, which i believe is a 5m pump, i think they had the Gold star which was the 6m version. When i get the radiator working would it be advisable to put a 6m pump on at all?

 

[Best]

In what way is this helpful to me?
Just looking above in the 'quick reply' box, 'Just be nice and helpful (even to new members) or don't reply at all please'

'if your reply can't help the original poster, it may be seen as pointless'

Not advisable to say that. Everyone has been helpful so far to your mistake.
After all, it is free advice & people's time.

 

[Jack Lawless]

Not advisable to say that. Everyone has been helpful so far to your mistake.
After all, it is free advice & people's time.

I understand that and i thank everyone, including you, for the advice, i just felt this was an unneccesary comment thats all

 

[Best]

Thanks Best, its a wsp Gold pump, which i believe is a 5m pump, i think they had the Gold star which was the 6m version. When i get the radiator working would it be advisable to put a 6m pump on at all?

10mm pipes connected to 15mm & then tees off that 15mm to another rad (your towel rail) - just means 10mm is doing everything & it won't work. 10mm only usually does one rad & with short runs.
6m pump will be better, but really only for it if it were piped reasonably

 

[dancinplumba]

In what way is this helpful to me?
Just looking above in the 'quick reply' box, 'Just be nice and helpful (even to new members) or don't reply at all please'

'if your reply can't help the original poster, it may be seen as pointless'

Asked if you are charging for this work ? I feel sorry for your client if you are, this is my opinion which I am entitled to, it is an open public forum after all. Think you need to get a professional in, you IMO don't know what you are doing.

 

[WaterTight]

It's all just so incredibly boring.

Life, I mean.