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coursemyhorse

Hi all, first post here. I have a problem in our house which I am getting fed up with because the landlord will not fix. I have had electrician and plumber out already and problem 1 they can't/won't fix and do not care for, problem 2 they moved the thermostat and also replaced it to no avail. It's got to the point where I just wantto pay a plumber to get it fixed for me then I will try to make him pay for it if possible.
Any advice massively appricated. I have a friend who is an ex plumber and he said he might be able to take a look for me.

I apologize in advance about knowing nothing much about this kind of thing and if I use the wrong terms I'm sorry.

1: Pipes in the airing cupboard knock/bang/pop/click and make noise only when the hot water is on on it's own.

When the heating is on as well as hot water, or heating on on it's own, the knocking goes away. It sounds to me very much like there is air in the pipes, as the pump does that stalling noise like when it isn't getting a 100% water feed, and then wooshes off and will be quiet for a bit. In fact, I'm almost certain it's air. When the hot water is on first thing in the morning at 6:30 (we have to have it on then to get hot water for morning) it wakes me up which is annoying.
Been like this for over a year. They have tried stuff before like wiring the pump up differently but it hasn't helped. The pump always comes on in the airing cupboard when the HW is on. I turned it down myself from medium to low which partially helped the noise levels (the pump seems noisy to me anyway personally) but it still knocks and clicks away. It does it whenever the HW is on not just in the morning. There is no radiator in the HW loop like the bathroom one to dry towels - I say this based on the fact no radiators come on when the HW is on even if the rad valves are open.
I spoke to a friend who mentioned that it could be the way it has been wired up.
It is NOT water hammer apparently my friend reckons. The taps do NOT splutter/stutter or knock when you turn them off. HW works ok, but does take a while to come through to the tap when we turn it on, but this might be down to the pump I turned down to low.
My mate also said to try wiring it so that it is purely gravity fed rather than relying on a pump. I don't know how to do that, but we have a reservoir thing in the loft and a boiler in the kitchen. We have the standard HW tank cylinder thing in the airing cupboard.

Any ideas to stop the noise? It isn't a loud massive earthwuake like whack, but more a popping knocking clicking constant. Drives me mad.

Agency/landlord is being rubbish at fixing this. They don't want to know really as say it works.

Another clue (this might not be related at all but thought I would say as well) is that the water comes on by itself regardless of settings on the computer every night for about 10 minutes around 11pm. This also wakes me up. I don't know why it comes on like this even though I haven't set it to.



2: Heating hard to control

The thermostat for the heating I have to turn up to like 26/27c for it to even come on when the room temp is clearly below 20c. Say the room temp is 16c, the stat I will still have to turn to 25c for it to click on. So say I go to the airing cupboard and make sure heating is on on the computer thing (or say it was set to come on) the stat must be up high for it to come on.
The heating then will come on but get really hot. Basically where say at most houses you set the stat to say 18c and it just comes on and off when required to get to that temp. Ours we can't do it like that, coz I would have to set it to like 26c ish and then it comes on really hot and we end up just turning it off. Set it lower and it doesn't come on at all.

Again, I have had the plumber out on this, the electrician. I apparently had the stat replaced and also they moved it from downstairs to upstairs in case it made a difference. Still the same. It's an analogue dial thermostat.

Any ideas all?
 
Hi. Post an image of the airing cupboard. This will help in getting the problem solved by people on here.
 
what area do you live in someone on here may come round to look
bob
 
i recon the first problem is just the pipes expanding with the heat when the hot water comes on. the pump only runs to run the water from the boiler through the coil in the tank to heat the water. the pump probably comes on at night because the tank stat is calling for heat to bring the tank temp up to whatever it is set at.
 
The boiler in the kitchen:


IMG_5753.JPG




Thermostat on landing to control heating:

IMG_5754.JPG




Now shots of the airing cupboard to show piping and such:


IMG_5755.JPG



IMG_5756.JPG


IMG_5758.JPG






IMG_5757.JPG




IMG_5759.JPG



IMG_5760.JPG




IMG_5763.JPG



IMG_5761.JPG
 
the taps have nothing to do with the hot water primary circuit mate, so dont eliminate water hammer straight away. i dont like the fact there is an elbow strasight after the pump, the pipes could have been fitted better but probably not the problem but may be a contributing factor. the issue is probably the 3 port if anything at all, i suspect its just the pressure through the shortest circuit and the initial heat up time. does it happen when it first starts or all the time?

i think your messing about with the stat too much. there is a 3/4degree difference in on and off, set it at 22 and leave it, see what happens, it needs to fall below 20 to kick in but will then heat up to about 24

let us know more if u can
 
Thanks for the help. It knocks ALL THE TIME, whenever the hot water is on. If the HW AND CH are on together, it goes away. If just the heating is on and NO HW, then it also goes away. Only when it's just hot water on, which is what we use most. I got told that it could be that the pump has nothing to push against as the HW circuit is so quick/short and that adding a rad to the loop could be a cure, or running the HW gravity fed without the pump. I don't know how involved either of these are or what they mean really. I am also confused when someone above said that the cylinder demanded heat to get back up to temp and so thats why it comes on at 11pm for ten minutes. Based on that, it sounds like it would come on and off when it wants regardless of how I have set it on the programmer? I guess what I am asking, is what is the significance of the 60c water temp dial thing on the front of the cylinder and how does it respond to this?
What does the 3 port valve thing do and where is that in the picture? Is it prone to problems? Is this what switches between HW and Heating or both?

If I leave the stat on 22 but then the heating won't come on at all ever.

You say the piping is a bodge job do you think?
 
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Oh and what does that white box thing do, the thing highest up above the pump but back a but with a black wire going into it.
Cheers all. I'm sorry I'm so not clued up in this kind of thing.
 
is the 15mm ballafix vale open a bit on the by pass, its on the tee below the pump. It should really be a automatic bypass vale and i would have fitted it on the other sisde of the pump

if this ballafix valve is blocked or completely closed you will get banging when your cylinder stat closes the 3way valve once it get to temp

post a pic of the chrome valve if you dont know wot i'm talking about
 
i dont get why there are tees before the pump? does your hot water get hot? the cylinder stat is to control the tem of hot water and should be 1/3rd of the way up, it seems half way up
 
Pipes before the pump must be feed and other must be open vent, explains why one is 15mm and the other is 22mm.

Also I would swap that elbow above the pump and put a tee in there with a automatic air vent on the top, instead of the current position of the manual one on the heating side.
 
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It is not much of a bypass coming off the wrong side of the pump

Agreed, a proper bypass valve, installed in the correct location may sort this issue.

Also, the cylinder stat is too high.
 
It also looks to me like the feed/open vent are the wrong way around before the pump, could be that the pump is sucking air in!
 
Ok thanks for all the responses. I'm now slightly concerned at all the number of suggestions about the piping being bad! Erm...so if I got someone out to sort this what costs would I be looking at? The cylinder stat I will turn down. Yes the HW gets hot, just takes a while to come through to the tap when demanded. And yes, it's been like this since we have rented in this property. I want to fix it though as we like it here and may stay a while as aren't in a position to buy for the next few years.
 
the tee before the pump is the by pass with a ballafix valve, there is no open vent in these pic,
 
have the bypass sorted you will need to get a plumber to do this for you but it is down to your land lord to sort it, at the end of the day thats why you pay RENT

good luck
 
you don't need to turn down the tank stat it must be at 60 degrees to kill bugs. it only needs moving down towards the bottom third of the tank
 
looks like the feed and vent are the wrong way round. swap them over, lower pumo below the bypass(wrong side of pump) and fir auto by pass valve. should fix problem
 
None of this is meaning much to me as I'm not a plumber myself. Is all of the advice given to fix the knocking problem only right? So what would be rough costs to get someone out to move the stat down lower (or can I do this myself?) and to sort out the bypass/valve/vent changes required? Would the work be guaranteed to stop the noise or would I pay anyway and then see if it works kind of thing? Just a rough cost estimate from someone...are we talking ÂŁ50 ÂŁ100 ÂŁ500 ?
 
A Y plan (your system, with a mid position valve) does not under most circumstances, need a bypass.

IMG_5758.JPG

As they have fitted one to the wrong side of the pump it is causing the water to short circuit with most of the water following the red line where it should follow the pink line back to the boiler. When on for CH only the bypass is cut out of the circuit and if on for HW and CH it won't effect it as much.

Close the bypass by turning the screw on the silver valve so that it is across the pipe.
You can leave the tank stat where it is. Turn it to 65 deg.
Your room stat sited upstairs is in the worst position (heat rises), and should really be downstairs. It doesn't matter what temp it reads or what your neighbours and friends set theirs at. Set it at what you feel comfortable at (and it won't be 18 unless you like wearing a jacket to watch the telly).
 
tamz has pretty much described the problems there for you. you can shut off the bypass which should sort the issue or better still resite it. yes in most cases it doesnt need a bypass as there is always a route for the water unlike an s but it is recommended
 
Thankyou! I 100% understand what you guys mean now having seen the above diagram. OK, so the chrome valve on the bypass...which way should I turn it to close it? I assume clockwise? It was at horizontal i.e. 9 and 3 O clock, and I turned it a quarter of a turn clockwise to 6 and 12 O clock and it started dripping as I turned it. It got stiff after a quarter turn clockwise so I stopped, but I think I could turn it more. Should I force it till it won't go any further or is a quarter turn enough? I don't think it is closed but not sure. Thanks all for the help so far. Also, I noticed with HW and CH on, I still think it knocks a bit. It is quietest when just CH on which would fit with info above as bypass not used then. It is def air in the pipes. Can tell by the way the pump sounds and behaves.
 
if the line on the top is in line with the water flowing its on. if its adjacent it is off, just use a slottede screwdriver to turn it the correct way
 
EDIT:

In that case then, it was already off as it was going accross the pipe before I adjusted it :(
 
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I just turned it 180 degrees the other way to the off position to see if it made a difference. Not sure why it leaks when I turn it. Anyway, I turned the HW on on its own and so far it has not knocked. However, I think the knocking usually occurs only when the HW first starts up having been off for a while. First thing in the morning does seem worst (6:30am), however, it does do it in the afternoon when it comes on again around 3pm sometimes. I will test it tomorrow morning and see if anything has changed. Thanks for all your help.
 
is your cold water inlet the first pipe on the flow before the pump? the second one being 22mm and going over the cistern?
 
is your cold water inlet the first pipe on the flow before the pump? the second one being 22mm and going over the cistern?

Probably is Fuzzy, in which case the neutral point being the feed will mean it will draw air.
Easiest fix is change it to a feed expansion.

Whoever fitted this lot has never even slept with a plumber but is about the usual quality for landlord accommodation. Surprised at the Worcs boiler tho. That is a first. Usually a Ravenheap :D
 
you mean link them ?? yeh seen that doen before and does fix the problem but not ideal. bit more difficult to change to a VIP
 
Hey guys, I think I need another few morning to monitor this to be sure this is not a fluke, but this morning it didn't knock. It was quiet as anything. Well...just the pump noise with no air knocks. Maybe when I turned the bypass valve the other way this time it shut it off properly and it wasn't fully closed last time? Maybe to do with it leaking when I turn it not sealing properly? I will let you know what tomorrow is like :)
If this does turn out to fix it, I don't know how to thank you all. Seriously thanks so much.

The thermostat thing I can live with since the heating does work I guess.

Someone earlier said that the plumber didn't like clips (or did can't remember), what does that refer to in the pics? I know the work looks shoddy you say, would this have been done when the house was first built or recently? Is the Worcs boiler a goodun then? Thanks again all. Really appreciate it.
 
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