one pipe

[gaspastemania]

Friend of mine has asked me to do boiler change on a system that sounds very much like a one pipe ,New boiler + rads and trvs to go on , when i asked what system was in he said they are old rads with lockshield one side and standard elbow the other .House is 50 years old ish and pipework to stay,but if this is a one pipe system then putting new boiler on and rads wont work will it if it is one pipe as wont run round system properly, am i right in thinking this ?? sounds more like a full rip out to me?

 

[Barry98]

depends what your mate wants , after all its his house . obviously though theres extra costs if you rip all out.

imho id advise to have it done though , trvs etc

 

[gaspastemania]

Its through a builder on property where they are away so doing a bit of work on it . have been told circuit pipework stays and everything else upgraded but not sure if combi goes on and it working with the circuit properly if it is one pipe .Will it pump around correctly ? I'm not so sure .

 

[mfgs]

If it worked before, it will work now. One pipe systems arent as good but they still work. The only issue with condensing boilers is they wont condense as much with a one pipe system, therefor making them not as efficient. The rads will still work as they did before. You need to be careful with TRV's though as some rads may be piped as a loop in the circuit so you cannot shut them off or the system wont work.

 

[mylesy]

id run a return along. One pipe will work but the nearest rad gets all the heat then the last rad has whats left. you have to balance it a lot. even this doesnt get the last rad piping hot, espesh in winter. anyway will work but id upgrade. hope this helps mate

 

[diamondgas]

One pipe system's require special TRV's Gaspastemania, as mentioned. They also take some cleaning, usually incorporates removing the rads and flushing manually! You also got to consider the increase in system pressure and the potential issues that'll throw up on old rads and pipework! If this is a close friend I'd be dead honest with them, working for friends and family can cause some grief matey! I'd say be sure to give them best advice and if you think it'd be better replacing the whole system stick by it!:thinking:

 

[AWheating]

if you dont change the system then get it in writing that you have advised of the problems and will not take responsability for any issues.

 

[royston]

As above as you will probably have lots of call backs.

 

[WHPES]

Too much of a hot potato to leave as 1 pipe system - even if it works it will probably need rebalancing again to do so and for 1 pipe systems this can take ages and loads of visits. Personally I wouldnt touch it.

 

[gaspastemania]

Just wanted second opinions basically stated prefer full rip out or not interested just wait and see if i get a call now .

 

[Blackcatgas]

I did one recently, it had pressuised system boiler fitted for the last 17 yrs,I replacedc this with a Viessmann 100 system boiler, the customer didnt want the disruption or expense of 2 piping it, it worked reasonably well.

 

[erj]

fitted a combi to a one pipe this year, worked quite well but did not fit TRV,s got cust to sign why. I was woried my self but it worked. yes new rads ,trv and two pipes butt, but if cust has not got the money what do you do?

 

[diamondgas]

One pipe systems have been around a long time and they have proven they work. Nothing wrong with fitting a modern heat source to any existing system. I've said no to every one I've been asked to quote because of personal past experience whilst working for someone else and not myself! The call back rate is much more likely to be higher, something I don't want being self employed! For me a one-pipe system backs up a lot of potential issues that'll have me back at my expense and a potentialy less than happy customer!!!

 

[boblydon]

Well said diamond, it's not worth the hassle, let some bugger else do it if they want........i would'nt put my name on a job that i would'nt be 100% happy with.......anyway i am to old to be installing new central heating systems.

Bob

 

[jumpin']

I removed an old oil boiler and replaced with a gas boiler about a year back. Worked very well until a month ago. The customer wanted a new rad so I replaced it. The thing now doesn't get any heat whatsoever. I fitted normal valves not a trv, Ive flushed it through etc not a bean. It's also affected another rad intermittently. The pipes are also buried beneath the screed. Has anyone had a similar problem/solution? Cheers

 

[Heating-eng]

I have fitted a few boilers onto 1 pipe systems and I have never had any problems. Best advice is to fit full new system, hope this helps.