BAXI boiler problem.

[TrudyTrudy]

Due to problems with one of my radiators I had to have the 'system flushed' but when I have tried to put the heating on the radiators refuse to warm up. Have been told by the plumber who fitted the BAXI boilder (not combi) to turn off all rads, then turn them on one by one - still no joy. All he says is that they should come on, there's no reason why they shouldn't...but they don't! Also to make matters worse the plumber can't fit me in until next week - has anyone got any suggestions why it's not working, or where I have gone wrong and most importantly how to get it working?

[milliezoe]

Sounds to me the plumber does not really know what he is doing. Is he Gas safe registered ? If not do not let him in and find someone who knows what he is doing it sounds to me as if the pump is not working thereby there is no circulation around the system If you know where the pump is located you could put a screwdriver on to the centre of the pump and put your ear to the and of it and you will be able to tell if the pump is running or not

[TrudyTrudy]

millizoe, thanks for your reply. Perhaps this further information will help...when the boiler is switched on the thermostat quickly reaches its maximum then it shuts down and then continues to repeat this cycle...any ideas where I'm going wrong (by the way, the plumber is corgi registered).

[milliezoe]

The plumber should be Gas Safe registered as Corgi no longer exists it seems to me the pump is not working so what happens is the boiler reaches temperature very quickly and then shuts down due to the fact there is no circulation around the system is the boiler at ground level ? do you get any heat upstairs however slight if so then it is almost certain your pump is not running because heat will rise however slight

[TrudyTrudy]

milliezoe, The boiler is new and is situated in the downstair utility (fitted by the engineer only 2 weeks ago) and when it was first fitted it worked well.
It's just since the system had to be drained down that I have any problems. When I first switched the boiler on following the radiator repair the upstairs rads came on quite strongly but there was nothing at all downstairs. Then on a further attempt the upstairs rads were much weaker but there was still a small amount of heat to them and now there is nothing at all, either upstairs or down.
Don't know if this is relevant or not but the hot water works fine.

[milliezoe]

If your hot water is fine then the problem with no heat to the radiators is the Y valve it as the letter suggests one leg for the hot water and one leg for the heating there is a strong indication that that maybe the problem I still feel though the problem is the pump hope thats of help to you

[gucciman]

millizoe trying getting your facts right before you answer, gas engineers now have to register with gas safe but Corgi still exists, membership is now voluntary and I can assure you they do more to ensure the safety of gas use than Gas Safe do who only exist to take money and offer little in return compared. Did you also know that Corgi was originally a charity set up by British Gas to promote gas safety whereas Gas Safe is run by a private profit making firm.

is your heating system sealed in that there is no header tank in the loft and there is an expansion vessel and pressure guage somewhere or is it a conventional open vented system with a header tank?

sounds to me as though it's a circulation problem i.e. the water in the system is not flowing through the boiler quickly enough and is getting too hot within the boiler and thus cutting off on the safety stats before the rads can get warm.

could be caused by the pump as already said although i would have thought the problem would happen on hot water too ( is the pump set to the right speed ) could also be caused by air in the system, could still be sludge if it wasn't flushed properly, could be a dry header tank if it is an open-vented system or it could be the 3 way valve presuming you have a common y plan system.

as for the turning on the rads one at a time if you have thermostatic rad valves and you turn too many off then this can also cause poor circulation and overheating at the boiler. May also need to check any manual or auto bypass is open.

[TrudyTrudy]

Thank you milliezoe, headwreck and gucciman for your advice, I intend to work my way through your suggestions. I have found that the pump is warmish - so that's a start.

[gucciman]

pumps can get very warm trudy, you have to take the silver cap out from the middle of the pump and gently put a small screwdriver in to see if the impellor is spinning