On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 21:59:45 +0100, "Ed Rear"
wrote:

When my daughter bought her flat a few months ago, the previous owner left
the washing machine. It's a bit old but it was working ok till recently when
it started to leak. Probably not worth trying to fix it so she bought a new
one. When I connected it up today I found that the hot supply to the machine
had been taken from the radiator circuit! I hasten to point out that it's a
gravity fed system, but I can't believe someone would do that. As a
temporary measure I have left the hot valve closed, so it will just use
cold fill, but will this cause problems?
Ed


Yep.

The intention is that the primary (radiator) circuit of the CH should
be filled with water and a corrosion inhibitor added. In normal
operation the feed/expansion tank is there for just that and as a
means of introducing small amounts of water if required to top up.
WHen the system has been freshly filled, there will also be a fair bit
of dissolved air which will come out of the water when heated into the
radiators and may be bled off.

In the scenario that your daughter has, the water is being constantly
replaced with fresh. Lack of corrosion inhibitor and presence of
dissolved air will lead to radiators rusting away.

The system should be drained and the valve for the washing machine hot
removed and taken away. Cap off the pipe. In most cases, there is
little value in having a hot supply for a washing machine anyway since
the fabrics and detergents used today imply a low temperature.
Generally, very little hot will be taken into the machine if any.

The CH should be flushed through and a check made that there is no
sludging at the bottom of the radiators. This can be checked by
feeling the radiators in the centre at the bottom - it will be cool if
there is sludge. If this is the case then do a search in Google
Groups for postings on how to flush and clean.

Finally, add a corrosion inhibitor to the CH.



..andy

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