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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
Hi,
I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter to avoid water in pipes freezing. The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. Thanks Rockydell |
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
Rockydell wrote:
Hi, I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter to avoid water in pipes freezing. The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. Thanks Rockydell You might find that the pump is siezed - unscrew the cover in the centre of it and turn the rotor with a screwdriver to free it. before you fire it up. regards Phil |
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 17:30:19 +0000, Rockydell wrote:
Hi, I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter to avoid water in pipes freezing. Obviously check that. Presumably this is an open vented system, so go up into the loft and check the small header tank. There should be about 50mm or so of water in the bottom. check that the float valve works. Go to a drain point and drain off some water from the system, or take some from a radiator vent. If it is really black, then you may need to do a thorough flush of the system. The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. That is only true if the system is not properly looked after and inhibitor has not been used. I would assume that the previous occupier has not take care of the system and assume that there has been no inhibitor. If there is a sign of sludging - black brown particles in the water, then a drain and flush is in order. I have posted a method of doing a thorough job of this by removing and flushing radiators one by one. Careful because sludge is an indellible dye. An alternative is to rent a power flushing machine. Don't pay someone to do a power flush because it is a real rip-off. If there water is relatively clean, you can use a chemical flushing agent in the system, run hot for the period recommended - normally up to a week. This won't work for badly silted systems. Check that the pump isn't siezed by removing the small cap and turning the screw underneath with a large screwdriver. Check that motorised valve(s) are free by operating the manual lever on the side. If there is no record of a boiler service, I would be inclined to get an independent CORGI fitter to come and do one and include a flue gas test to make sure all is OK with the boiler. Then you can fire it all up and run the system. Obviously check for leaks especially at radiaotr valves. Make sure you add inhibitor !! The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. Thanks Rockydell ..andy To email, substitute .nospam with .gl |
#4
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
Andy Hall wrote:
On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 17:30:19 +0000, Rockydell wrote: Hi, I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter to avoid water in pipes freezing. Obviously check that. Presumably this is an open vented system, so go up into the loft and check the small header tank. There should be about 50mm or so of water in the bottom. check that the float valve works. Go to a drain point and drain off some water from the system, or take some from a radiator vent. If it is really black, then you may need to do a thorough flush of the system. The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. That is only true if the system is not properly looked after and inhibitor has not been used. I would assume that the previous occupier has not take care of the system and assume that there has been no inhibitor. If there is a sign of sludging - black brown particles in the water, then a drain and flush is in order. I have posted a method of doing a thorough job of this by removing and flushing radiators one by one. Careful because sludge is an indellible dye. An alternative is to rent a power flushing machine. Don't pay someone to do a power flush because it is a real rip-off. If there water is relatively clean, you can use a chemical flushing agent in the system, run hot for the period recommended - normally up to a week. This won't work for badly silted systems. Check that the pump isn't siezed by removing the small cap and turning the screw underneath with a large screwdriver. Check that motorised valve(s) are free by operating the manual lever on the side. If there is no record of a boiler service, I would be inclined to get an independent CORGI fitter to come and do one and include a flue gas test to make sure all is OK with the boiler. Then you can fire it all up and run the system. Obviously check for leaks especially at radiaotr valves. Make sure you add inhibitor !! The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. Thanks Rockydell ..andy To email, substitute .nospam with .gl Thanks, just what I was looking for. Rockdell |
#5
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
Rockydell wrote:
: Hi, : I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months : and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic : checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it : up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The : house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. : I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter : to avoid water in pipes freezing. : The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is : prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. : The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. : Thanks : Rockydell You may be interested in our experience when my wife and I bought our present house. It had been empty over a very cold winter. We were assured that the water systems had all been drained. The estate agent (spit) would not let us in the house at all until completion, except for one occasion when, under extreme pressure, he did accompany us for one visit. The house was left unoccupied for about 8-9 weeks. At the end of that period the weather got seriously cold and the temperature inside the house was around -4C. Actually, it had condensation on the outside of the windows when the weather warmed up a bit. The day we took possession, the weather warmed up and the house started to thaw out. That day, I repaired 17 burst pipes and removed two split radiators. The split in the boiler heat exchanger was not to serious and it only dripped slowly. The estate agent subsequently claimed that the house had in fact been drained properly and that *we* had insisted that he should turn the water back on sometime prior to completion. We never did manage to recover anything from that. Even with threats of legal action, the EA (double spit) firmly stuck to his (lying) story. The house itself was full of dead-legs that could not be drained without removing pipework. The drain point for the boiler was at the top of the heat exchanger. The whole system was appalling and it took three weeks of constant 24 hour per day heating to get the house up to 55F inside. Most of the hot water system was so furred up from years of that sort of running that the bath water ran at about a large cupfull per minute. The moral of this story is that estate agents don't always tell the truth! ------------------------------------------------------------- The opinions expressed are personal. They do not necessarily represent those of my employer. Bob Walker, BBC Research and Development Department. Kingswood Warren, Tadworth, Surrey, UK. bobdotwalkeratrddotbbcdotcodotuk |
#6
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Central Heating checks - unoccupied house
Bob Walker wrote:
Rockydell wrote: : Hi, : I'm soon to move into a house that has been unoccupied for last 6 months : and left in the hands of an estate agent. Just wondering what basic : checks I should be doing to the central heating system before firing it : up for the first time, then what servicing I should be thinking of. The : house was built about 1987 and this is the original installation. : I don't know if the system will have been drained down over the winter : to avoid water in pipes freezing. : The plumbing is all 10mm dia copper pipe. I have heard that this is : prone to fouling up and will need flushing through from time to time. : The boiler is gas fired. I think it's a Myson Apollo. : Thanks : Rockydell You may be interested in our experience when my wife and I bought our present house. It had been empty over a very cold winter. We were assured that the water systems had all been drained. The estate agent (spit) would not let us in the house at all until completion, except for one occasion when, under extreme pressure, he did accompany us for one visit. The house was left unoccupied for about 8-9 weeks. At the end of that period the weather got seriously cold and the temperature inside the house was around -4C. Actually, it had condensation on the outside of the windows when the weather warmed up a bit. The day we took possession, the weather warmed up and the house started to thaw out. That day, I repaired 17 burst pipes and removed two split radiators. The split in the boiler heat exchanger was not to serious and it only dripped slowly. The estate agent subsequently claimed that the house had in fact been drained properly and that *we* had insisted that he should turn the water back on sometime prior to completion. We never did manage to recover anything from that. Even with threats of legal action, the EA (double spit) firmly stuck to his (lying) story. The house itself was full of dead-legs that could not be drained without removing pipework. The drain point for the boiler was at the top of the heat exchanger. The whole system was appalling and it took three weeks of constant 24 hour per day heating to get the house up to 55F inside. Most of the hot water system was so furred up from years of that sort of running that the bath water ran at about a large cupfull per minute. The moral of this story is that estate agents don't always tell the truth! ------------------------------------------------------------- The opinions expressed are personal. They do not necessarily represent those of my employer. Bob Walker, BBC Research and Development Department. Kingswood Warren, Tadworth, Surrey, UK. bobdotwalkeratrddotbbcdotcodotuk The sort of experience one could well do without on moving day! Rockydell |
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