Some simple questions... if you know the answers?

[Riverside]

Hello all, I've searched the threads and can't find the exact answers to my questions but I may be asking the wrong questions. My pal is having some heating issues.

1. Bottle type air vent.
Should the black knurled nut on the top of the vent body be left cracked open or shut tight after manual bleed of air.
The vent is sited vertically on a 200mm leg of pipe.

2. pump placement.
Is it permissible to place a pump on the return line of a open vented system, the last fitting before the pump is the hot cylinder return. The system is 10 years old.

3. System blockage.
Two rads on their own leg of system, fully bled and pump on high speed hot on top but cold on bottom. I suspect sludge from iron system piping and no history of inhibitor according to my pal.

4. Oil boiler on kitchen floor.
Is it legal to place a oil fired boiler in a domestic kitchen flue exits through old chimney.

Many thanks to anyone who takes the time to help.

 

[diamondgas]

1) Leave open - Allows the auto vent to continue to work.

2) Yes - The pump can go on the primary flow or return

3) Sounds like a ballancing issue. Is the flow to the rad hot and return cold, or a lot cooler?

4) Oile boilers I do not do I'd suspect that it will need a flue liner though.

I hope that helps you out

 

[dontknowitall]

4. Yes - definitely! (Or all those Agas would be against the regulations ...)

Requires ventilation, flue liner for chimney and flue terminal. You can fit a balanced flue boiler which might be a much easier installation. Oil tank can be a good menace to fit within the regulations but no problem with an oil boiler in the kitchen.

 

[Best]

Yes, as said you need a flue liner, even if the chimney has clay liners in perfect order. The liner has to be proper type for boiler. Some condensing oil boilers have their own liners made of a sort of plastic! Others use smooth s.steel liners. Standard efficiency boilers can have ordinary liner made of s.steel.

 

[Riverside]

Thanks very much for the answers chaps!

1. Bottle Type Air Vent.
I fitted this onto a high point on a tee in the return line on a 200mm tall pipe at the high side of a long flat run and made sure that it was vertical.
I bled by hand and then left it closed. My pal Ryan whoses attic it is in decide to crack it open a little and it leaked a good dribble.

2. Pump Placement.
Cheers thought so it just that loads of the system drawing I have seen are pump allways on flow.

3. Rad cold on bottom hot on top.
I'm going to take a test rad off and just see the sludge if any as the water in the problem rads are on their own line and at the end of one corner of the house. If notig I'll rebalance them.

4. Oil Boiler Placement.
cheers again I thought so but Ryan is an akward bugger whenhe thinks hes right. lol.


One last question for you all as you have been so helpful.

Should I really need the pump on speed 3 to feed 9 rads in a normal sized bungalow if the pipes arent reduced by sludge?

 

[Best]

Speed of pump would depend on lots of things - pipe sizes & length of runs, types of rads, etc. Basically, system design. Normally, for what you describe, pump on medium speed usually fine.

 

[diamondgas]

Try it on one and see if all is as usual? IMO

 

[Riverside]

I've tried it on one and its not enough, speed two is ok for 7 of the rads nice hot and balanced and three does help force it down the last couple of rads that I think are blocked. but they stay cold on top and warm on bottom.

the pump makes lots of noise at speed three but its just a nice low hum at speed two.

I've love if he let me resite the whole set up outside in its own lean too and I'd build him a set of shelves or cupboard for the corner or something.

Thanks for the sugggestions, I'll post my results tomorrow evening and tell you how I get on.

 

[diamondgas]

Just a thought Riverside, Do the troublesome two work with the other rads off? How old is the system?

 

[Riverside]

Hello All, Thanks so much for all your answers.

Victory woo hooo!

It turns out another vent was needed where an old job had be done and the tee blanked at one end of a long flat run it was under a layer of wrapped insul. This really will help.

Why so much air you ask?
Well Ryan has been a bold boy and went bleeding the line with the pump running. where did he bleed it? on the return line that has a little bleed nipple threaded into it. His missus also had a little fiddle with the valves I had set last year in and out of his clylinder (no zones or anything in this old house) and she only made me aware of it today. She kindly replaced the cable tie I had across the valve when I set it last year with a new one when she cut it. She thought it was important!

Well I laughed my bum off.

The blancing that I thought was in place so wasn't, the cly was robbing all the water on a short loop and thats why it was so long to heat up.

I removed one of the dodgy rads (big cast iron bugger) and flushed outside with a hose, a good deal of black removed but no major sludge blocking the valves or pipes so...
Happy days for my mate Ryan as his system is in better nick than I thought.