Help with Gas Boiler

[skilly1]

I have just moved into a house and fired up the gas boiler. When the boiler lights there is a lot of clicking, and a loud sound of gurgling water. The gas then goes back to standby. I have video this so you can hear the sound ! Some of the rads did warm a a very small amount, but I do not want to leave the boiler on as it fires up, clicks then shuts down every 5 mins or so. Any suggestions - the bailer has been left for around 2 months unused.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UcV61JU4bU

Pics of the bits above the boiler in the airing cupboard:





In the atic (both tanks have water in and the small one was heating up.

[GarryA]

Is the pump spinning and circulating the water?

[skilly1]

GarryA said:

Is the pump spinning and circulating the water?

Sounds like it is.

[cjs]

I would suggest checking the pump as well. You can unscrew the silver 'screw' on the top of the pump and then insert a screw driver into the hole, this will pick up on a slot which will allow you to spin the pump manually to free it up, worth a try.

[Ferg]

The noise would suggest that the water is circulating so the pump should be moving at least a little. I'd suspect an air-lock in that pipework. Try releasing it by venting from the vent above that motorised valve.

Edited by Ferg on Saturday 13th November 12:17

[mrsxllifts]

It may be that the pump is sludged up causing it to spin a little then give up. We suffer a lot with chalk build up round here, do you have any water issues?

[skilly1]

Thank yo for the replies, since worked out that the previous owner had tuned off both vales at every rad - I had only turned back on the RH temp one. I guess no water could circulate and that was causing the problem.

Seems like the system has some air in it as well as it is still making some noises so will bleed it out tomorrow from the vent suggested.

[essexplumber]

Ferg said:

The noise would suggest that the water is circulating so the pump should be moving at least a little. I'd suspect an air-lock in that pipework. Try releasing it by venting from the vent above that motorised valve.

Edited by Ferg on Saturday 13th November 12:17

Sounds like it could be an air lock in the H/E causing the boiler to overheat then lock out? Or am I stating the bleeding obvious Ferg?

[skilly1]

essexplumber said:

Ferg said:

The noise would suggest that the water is circulating so the pump should be moving at least a little. I'd suspect an air-lock in that pipework. Try releasing it by venting from the vent above that motorised valve.

Edited by Ferg on Saturday 13th November 12:17

Sounds like it could be an air lock in the H/E causing the boiler to overheat then lock out? Or am I stating the bleeding obvious Ferg?

With my minimal technical knowledge this sound like the issue. Will releasing the valve mentioned earlier stop the problem?

[m3jappa]

essexplumber said:

Ferg said:

The noise would suggest that the water is circulating so the pump should be moving at least a little. I'd suspect an air-lock in that pipework. Try releasing it by venting from the vent above that motorised valve.

Edited by Ferg on Saturday 13th November 12:17

Sounds like it could be an air lock in the H/E causing the boiler to overheat then lock out? Or am I stating the bleeding obvious Ferg?

Sorry to hijack but i,m having similar problems in that my boiler cuts off every so often, i know its air 100% , apart from bleeding the valve shown in the pic above where else can i bleed from. Sometimes i turn the boiler off at the spur for a min, let the air do whatever it does, switch back on, i hear a load of air then it fires back up.
Its been doing it since a new extra rad went on and we just cant seem to bleed the air out, drianed it down 3 times, fitted a better pump which fixed it to the degree of about 80% but occasionally turns off still.

[Ferg]

If you can hear air in a system it's an idea to take a look at the bits you can see and try to figure out where it's gathering it. A good installation will have bleed points where necessary. Often there is hidden pipework which can cause you problems and it's a good idea to then close every radiator but one, make sure 'CH' is selected on the programmer, not 'HW' and then run it to push the air into the open radiator where you can bleed it.
Air bottles like the one in the pic are all very good, but often the pump will circulate it too fast to allow the air's natural buoyancy to send it up to the vent, so frequent stopping is an idea. You can normally stall the pump by holding the speed selector between settings, although it's best to have the boiler stat turned down to minimum to avoid tripping the overheat thermostat.

[Ricky_M]

Looking at your pictures, someone has stuck a handle on the valve above the pump, have you checked to see if both pump valves are open?

[skilly1]

Thanks everyone, bled the air valve and all working as it should