Replacing central heating pump in awkward position
Discussion
My boiler was originally accessed from outside the house. A full sized door opened on to the boiler.
The previous owner of the house then built an extension, so the boiler is now in the dining room.
The old door was replaced with doors slightly higher than the boiler. A lintel was installed and the area occupied by the top of the old door was bricked up and plastered.
Consequently, it's now impossible to lean over the top of the boiler without demolishing the new bit of wall and removing the lintel.
Which leaves me a gap between the side of the boiler and a wall to get one arm to the pump.
The pump is behind, and to the side of, the boiler.
Is it do-able to change the pump with one hand at full stretch, or will I have to demolish the bloody wall....?
The previous owner of the house used to be a friend...
The previous owner of the house then built an extension, so the boiler is now in the dining room.
The old door was replaced with doors slightly higher than the boiler. A lintel was installed and the area occupied by the top of the old door was bricked up and plastered.
Consequently, it's now impossible to lean over the top of the boiler without demolishing the new bit of wall and removing the lintel.
Which leaves me a gap between the side of the boiler and a wall to get one arm to the pump.
The pump is behind, and to the side of, the boiler.
Is it do-able to change the pump with one hand at full stretch, or will I have to demolish the bloody wall....?
The previous owner of the house used to be a friend...
mybrainhurts said:
My boiler was originally accessed from outside the house. A full sized door opened on to the boiler.
The previous owner of the house then built an extension, so the boiler is now in the dining room.
The old door was replaced with doors slightly higher than the boiler. A lintel was installed and the area occupied by the top of the old door was bricked up and plastered.
Consequently, it's now impossible to lean over the top of the boiler without demolishing the new bit of wall and removing the lintel.
Which leaves me a gap between the side of the boiler and a wall to get one arm to the pump.
The pump is behind, and to the side of, the boiler.
Is it do-able to change the pump with one hand at full stretch, or will I have to demolish the bloody wall....?
The previous owner of the house used to be a friend...
Sounds like you ought to cut a neat hole & then make some kind of removeable maintenance hatch to go over it.The previous owner of the house then built an extension, so the boiler is now in the dining room.
The old door was replaced with doors slightly higher than the boiler. A lintel was installed and the area occupied by the top of the old door was bricked up and plastered.
Consequently, it's now impossible to lean over the top of the boiler without demolishing the new bit of wall and removing the lintel.
Which leaves me a gap between the side of the boiler and a wall to get one arm to the pump.
The pump is behind, and to the side of, the boiler.
Is it do-able to change the pump with one hand at full stretch, or will I have to demolish the bloody wall....?
The previous owner of the house used to be a friend...
A disc cutter would probably cut the neatest hole - but would also make hideous amounts of dust too. Maybe stitch drill it (i.e. lots of small holes)
t creek
GreenV8S said:
mybrainhurts said:
Is it do-able to change the pump with one hand at full stretch
no. 
Thanks, lads, access hatch isn't an option as the other side is the lounge with a gas fire adjoining the wall that sticks out to house the boiler on t'other side. And the dining room is at a lower level than the lounge, so the pump is probably below the lounge floor level.
The pump is on a vertical pipe and has isolation valves on both ends, so I'm going to give it a go. Just hope the valves aren't jammed, but they've been there for 34 years, so probably are...
[BlasterBates]Everything forward and trust in the lord [/BlasterBates].....
On completion, I shall be mostly seeking out the builder who did this, and inserting the old pump up his arrus...
It can't go anywhere. You must avoid obstructing the vent and care should be taken to avoid placing it in a postion where it can pull air down the vent when it starts. There also may be issues with automatic air vents if you have any. I'd advise against leaving a non-running pump in the circuit too...
I hate to say this but it sounds like the system wasn't installed by a proper heating engineer. Anyone who knows anything about plumbing or heating installs will always plan for easy access for future maintenance or repairs. Personally if I planned on staying in the house for a few years, I'd rip the entire lot out and do it properly from scratch with easy access and future proofing in mind.
Yes it would cost a few bob but having been through the torture of a broken boiler and flue in a very awkward position during a cold winter, I'd never put myself through that again. Most of the plumbers that came out told me they could replace the boiler without removing most of a wall and relocating the flue, not something they could do until 3-4 weeks away.
Best of luck if the one armed blind technique doesn't work.
Yes it would cost a few bob but having been through the torture of a broken boiler and flue in a very awkward position during a cold winter, I'd never put myself through that again. Most of the plumbers that came out told me they could replace the boiler without removing most of a wall and relocating the flue, not something they could do until 3-4 weeks away.
Best of luck if the one armed blind technique doesn't work.
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