Bungs and automatic vents

[fuzzy]

not many open vented systems have aav's mate as they should be designed out

 

[WaterTight]

yes I did!!

well i suppose if your system over heated you'd at least have gotten some lunch out of it

 

[nijjy]

did not turn on the central heating while bunged. However, the boiler was used to heat water for showering. Does the expansion pipe, [the one that drops over the F&E tank] act for the hot water also [in addition to the central heating]? I also have an expansion pipe dropping over my cold water feed tank, and this expansion pipe appears to come into the loft from a ceiling hole in the area of the bathroom.

 

[TerryH]

Thanks again.....
Nijjy, well, my mind boggles! 😀 Thanks for the advice. I'm using a 22mm speedfit end-stop on the vent pipe and have a choice of conical bung or expanding bung on the F&E tank, I'll see what the connector looks like. The sealant top could be good in an emergency, provided it isn't one of those with a pre-drilled end !
Fuzzy, thanks. I know what you mean but being a great pessimist I'm going to have a quick check. You're right, the vent to the F&E SHOULD be the highest point and therefore any AAV's should not be needed in an open vented system.

I have NO intention of leaving bungs in for a week 😀
Thanks, gents,
TerryH

 

[dontknowitall]

By the time you lot have decided which size bung to use and whether to use a carrot, potato, piece of beetroot or whatever wouldn't it have been quicker to have drained the system?
:ninja:

 

[nijjy]

might have been, but the government are asking us not to waste water! I am also thinking , if you close valves on all rads that you are not working on, then the only water u lose is that in the pipe work, in the F&E tank, and in the rad that you ARE working on, right? so prbably , what 6 - 9 buckest full??

 

[WaterTight]

i'd leave the valves alone unless they are new'ish. turn off a bunch of valves and i bet one of them leaks on re-filling.

 

[nijjy]

watertight, thanks for that, will bear it in mind for any future work. on a different matter, I noticed that my cold water tank [in loft] is not covered. No lid or any type of cover. I did put some clean cardboard over it actually. are cold water tanks meant to remian uncovered? Look at the dust that could fall in over time. Lofts are dusty areas. [In fact my [much smaller] F&E tank has a polystyrene cover. any comments on this?

 

[jase158]

watertight, thanks for that, will bear it in mind for any future work. on a different matter, I noticed that my cold water tank [in loft] is not covered. No lid or any type of cover. I did put some clean cardboard over it actually. are cold water tanks meant to remian uncovered? Look at the dust that could fall in over time. Lofts are dusty areas. [In fact my [much smaller] F&E tank has a polystyrene cover. any comments on this?

Tank should be covered, to protect from birds, bugs and I believe diseases (not sure about diseases).
me and my brother made one out of wood. but don't use mdf or ply woiod as these deteriate over time, obviously plastic is better with a hole for vent to slot into.

 

[Dannypipe]

Well I've found (and posted up on here a photo of) a very dead rat in a CWST. So my advice would be to make a better job of a lid than a bit of cardboard!!!

PS - the rat was like sludge, and when I syphoned the water off, I hoovered it up.....hope no ones eating while reading this!!

Oh and yes Jase it should really have a vent too.

 

[jase158]

I go to quite a few polystyrene, cardboard and blanket covered tanks, the cleanest ones are alway the ones covered in plastic. It sits straight on and can even have insulation round it. Loads better

 

[WaterTight]

it's amazing how many tanks are installed without lids. a tank lid is not exactly pricey.

 

[TerryH]

Finally, I got around to The Great Bunging!
Thanks to all the help here, everything went very well. I had both rad. valves off and despite a constant small leak which I soaked up with towels, there was no problem at all. I initially had a hose on the doc and let that do its thing. Once it had stopped I prepared the rad. and valves and dropped it back into place.
As I mentioned earlier, the boiler is an old Potterton Flamingo that 'doesn't always re-light.' Draining it down and then creating another problem trying to persuade the old b****r to light up was not something I really wanted to do, it takes so much time anyway!
So I just took my time and about 2 hours later it was finished, the boiler was running and I was a happy chappie.
Thanks again for all your help and advice, bunging is something I will certainly try again,
TerryH

 

[PlumbBobBob]

glad it all went well terry

 

[WHPES]

Tip - if you can't close off the auto air vent using the top screw, stretch a balloon (or a condom) over the body of the bottle air vent and then wrap with lots of tight rubber bands.

 

[nijjy]

well done with the bunging, Terry!!

please could you telle me what you meant when youn said:

"I initially had a hose on the doc..."

a plumber would proabbly know what you mean, but I am complete beginner!! I am just curious.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

doc-drain off cock

 

[TerryH]

Bunging really is magic.
I understand the concept behind it but, like watching a jumbo take-off, it looks impossible.
I had to move a rad yesterday and this time the pipe-run was horizontal, which if you think about it seems even more improbable, surely the water just runs back along the pipe?
As usual I was all prepared with towels and a couple of push-fit stops. :sweatdrop: The replacement pipework was ready to go on. Hose attached to the original valves to drain off any water.... virtually none. So I went to Phase Two and cut the pipe. Still no water. Fan- b****y-tastic:wink_smile:. Same for the other side.
Bunging.... it's brilliant!
TerryH.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

Bunging really is magic.
I understand the concept behind it but, like watching a jumbo take-off, it looks impossible.
I had to move a rad yesterday and this time the pipe-run was horizontal, which if you think about it seems even more improbable, surely the water just runs back along the pipe?
As usual I was all prepared with towels and a couple of push-fit stops. :sweatdrop: The replacement pipework was ready to go on. Hose attached to the original valves to drain off any water.... virtually none. So I went to Phase Two and cut the pipe. Still no water. Fan- b****y-tastic:wink_smile:. Same for the other side.
Bunging.... it's brilliant!
TerryH.

lol welcome to the bungers club