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Get the pump changed to rule it out.
 
Hi knight just read your thread. I had a similar issue with a Potterton Performa 24 boiler. All rads downstairs but 1 cold upstairs were ok, it turned out to be a clogged filter in the boiler return valve. I'm sure your boiler still uses the same return valve as the Performa. If so there is a gauze filter inside the return valve under the boiler. It is inside the valve body behind the blanking cap/filling loop connection and sure it is not mentioned in the manual. It would be worth getting another engineer in for a second opinion and check if the filter is blocked.
 
@smokey - my wife and I were just having that discussion - yes, we're going to cancel him tomorrow and start looking for another plumber for that 2nd opinion - whoever we get I'll pass on you message re the filter!
 
Simon - I now wish I'd taken pictures when the boards were up. The main feeds from/to the boiler were all 22mm. Where they then T off to the rads they used 10mm pipes, and they T off, also 10mm, to all rads.
 
So just to confirm that there is 10mm pipe that has been teed into to feed other rads?
 
UPDATE: the plumber came round, he checked the pump which he said was working fine. His opinion is we need a new boiler (ours is only 4 years old!). So we're now looking to get second/ third opinions, but any more advice is extremely appreciated!

SimonG sorry for not replying to your last post sooner. There is one 10mm pipe that has been teed into to feed another rad from one upstairs bedroom to another - they copied the flow of the old pipework when they replaced it with the new pipework.
 
How did he check the pump? I have never been able to say for certain a pump that appears otherwise in perfect working condition is faulty or not, without replacing it.
 
UPDATE: the plumber came round, he checked the pump which he said was working fine. His opinion is we need a new boiler (ours is only 4 years old!). So we're now looking to get second/ third opinions, but any more advice is extremely appreciated!

SimonG sorry for not replying to your last post sooner. There is one 10mm pipe that has been teed into to feed another rad from one upstairs bedroom to another - they copied the flow of the old pipework when they replaced it with the new pipework.
What is his reasoning for new boiler??? On one hand he says the pumps fine and on the other the boilers shot??
 
Shouldnt tee off 10mm its too small and cant carry enough heat. If its plastic as well it will be even more restricted.
 
Do the pump & filter B4 anything else, simple to do on your boiler, Then if that fails to solve the problem ! its time to look at pipe-work
 
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Just a quick update - we've got a different plumber coming to us on Thursday, but in the meantime the rad in our bedroom is now not receiving any heat, and the rads upstairs are barely warm - it's now 9.36pm and the central heating has been on since 4.30pm! I'll pass on the message re the pump and filter and will update. @Riley - yep, we thought the same thing! There's clearly no flow at all, although the boiler is putting out hot water (the flow pipe to downstairs is scalding hot!) I need to keep documenting this for anyone in the future who experiences the same issues. Really appreciate all the advice given to us so far!
 
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Sounds like a circulation problem and i would have thought an air lock would be the problem.
I would check the pipework to the boiler and see of the flow is red hot and the return cool, if so definate circulation problem or blockage
 
*UPDATE* The central heating system has now failed - no heat in any if the rads...
 
This should make it easy for your next engineer to diagnose. Keep us posted
 
I know its been said already but defo get the filter checked, I've normally found however that if that's blocked you get a bit of banging coming from the boiler. Good luck with it
 
Cheers Dave - I'll get the plumber to check the filter too. You know you normally get that central heating 'sound' when it's on (water flowing through pipes sound), well that isn't there anymore - will keep you all posted!
 
*UPDATE*

Ok, so a new plumber came in, replaced the pump and checked the filter on the return valve (which was clear of blockages).

Whilst it initially appeared that the new pump was working (and in fact it is working - it's firing away once it drops temperature, which it wasn't doing before), the rads upstairs and downstairs aren't working as they should be.

Let me clarify - the downstairs rads aren't heating up at all, even though the flow pipe from upstairs to downstairs is scalding hot! Non of the flow pipes to those rads have any heat in them. Upstairs, all the flow pipes to the rads are burning hot. However, whilst the batchroom radiator and the one in our bedroom are 'warmish' (thermostats and lockshields are fully open), the rads in both the boys rooms are cool to the touch i.e. little to no heat at all.

I've told my plumber that I'll be monitoring it over today and tomorrow, but to be honest, that fact that the downstairs rads are stone cold (they've all been bled and are full of water), clearly a new pump has only solved a part of the problem.

Incidentally, I checked the two 22mm copper pipes coming out of the boiler (flow/return) - one of them is scalding, the other is very hot. The return pipe from downstairs back to the boiler is cold.

If anyone has anything they'd like to add to this thread, something I can relay back to the plumber for him to investigate on his next visit, please let me know and I'll pass the message on to him.

Cheers!
 
Look for a manual bypass valve that maybe fully open
If there is one it should be near boiler/airing cupboard
 
I still think there is a pjping issue. Is it or some parts an old 1 pipe converted into a 2 pipe system or setious air lock. How old is the system. Sorry havent looked through all posts as been busy ?
 
Rads need balancing if return pipe at boiler is very hot and some rads are cool
 
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*UPDATE*

The plumber came round today and removed the Spirotrap MB3 that had been fitted to the return pipe as he wanted to elimintae it from the equation. Unfortunately it didn't work. He's ruled out any issues with the boiler and believes that there must be an issue with the pipework that was done.

His reasoning is that both the flow and return pipes connected to the boiler are both scalding hot - in particular the return, which is much hotter than the flow! He thinks there must be a piping 'loop' issue, and the flow is just returning without circulating. The only thing he can't get his head around (and neither can I), is why the central heating worked for one day.

He will be coming back on 8th April to begin pipework connection diagnosis. I'll be taking pictures and assisting him, and will continue to update this post.

Cheers!
 
**UPDATE**

So, 2 months now without central heating...

The plumber is coming around again tomorrow to take a look at the pipework, but I've noticed something weird that I want to know if anyone can help with...

So I took up the floorboards in the bathroom and identified the flow and return pipes the original plumbers cut into. These of course lead from the boiler to service the central heating.

This morning I turned the central heating on and left it to run for an hour. The flow and return pipes that are directly connected to the boiler were both scalding hot. I went upstairs and identified the flow pipe, which was also scalding hot. But the return pipe was cold!!! How is this possible? If, as the plumber suspects, there's some issue with the original pipework and the flow is leading straight back to the boiler via the return and isn't circulating properly, how can the return pipe directly attached to the boiler be hot, but the return pipe upstairs in the bathroom be cold???

When I spoke to him just now he seemed as baffled by this as I was. Can anyone shed any light as to what might be going on? Once again the boiler is a Potterton Main Combi 30 Eco. The plumber asked me to look in the manual for an automatic bypass section but I couldn't see anything in there about that. The boiler isn't making any strange noises when the central heating is on and the pump has already been changed.

Cheers!
 
I would be chopping the flow and return and make a loop, add one rad at the end of the loop just to verify circulation. I'm still thinking it's a pipework issue.
 
The plumber believes that the pipe with the green paint is the flow as the other pipe had a Spirotrap on (which he removed last visit).

Both pipes are scalding when the heating is on.

20160408_101313.jpg
 
Here's the main flow an return upstairs in the bathroom.

The lower pipe (furthest away from the sink) is the flow as it gets scalding hot within 3 minutes of the central heating being on. The pipe above it is the return, which remains cold during the test I mentioned in the previous post.

20160408_101130.jpg
 
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Can't see the pic, can you get to the pipe work directly above the boiler and show a pic?
 
Hiya Tony - the original plumbers couldn't access the pipework directly above the boiler as the bath is in the way - they had to cut the flow and return which came out from the boiler just in from of the sink, then used push connectors to join them to the new plastic pipework.
 
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