Anyone know anything about central heating?

boogieman

If the water was literally “pissing down the bedroom  wall” then it sounds like a burst pipe or a split tank in the loft rather than anything to do with the leaking radiator: that’ll be a separate issue. But to be honest we’re all just guessing as we can’t actually see the layout or the problems, it needs a plumber in to sort them out. Best of luck 

Nitefly

RedRabbit said:

Nitefly said:

Don't forget to bleed the radiators once the water is back on...

Thank you.  I doubt this would have occurred to me.

LOL, you're welcome! 

Rocker

The OP and others ought to consider installing frost protection for their heating system and water storage tanks.

The heating boiler & pipes is protected with a frost stat.  External boilers often have this fitted as standard, the idea is that frost will damage water pipes but by switching on the boiler [outside the hours of your time switch] the heating system pipes and hardware is protected. 

Storage tanks are usually protected with another frost stat switching one or more infra red lamps or standard incandescent bulbs or a combination of both.  LED bulbs are useless in this application.  The bulbs are positioned around the water tanks and the pipes, the frost stat located in the area of the tanks but not in the direct line of heat from the bulbs.  A quick and dirty system can be rigged up using an extension cable with lamps plugged in to it, lamps located close to the tank and the cable plugged in to a convenient socket [which might not be in the attic].  This can be left plugged in (and lights on) for the duration of the frost.

After any extreme weather situation, it is as well to take stock and see what steps need to be taken to prevent a repeat of any problems encountered.  Our solid fuel stove has water heating jackets so my big project for this year is to devise a system of battery powered circulating pumps to allow us to keep the stove running in the event of a power outage.  The circulating pumps are mains voltage, a 12 volt to 240 volt inverter powered from a car jump start unit could be rigged up to keep the pump running.  A trip to Maplins is on the cards.  Soon.

RedRabbit

Plumber has been around and has hopefully sorted everything out.  A few radiators are being slow to warm up despite repeated bleeding.  Doesn't seem to be any air in them but he did say that it might be elsewhere in the system though that should clear itself.

The mystery with the connection between the water and the central heating was solved at least.  It was the heating pipes that had burst - one just behind the boiler and another in the loft above the bedroom.

boogieman

Yay glad you got it sorted. 

If you can’t get the upstairs rads hot because there’s air still in them, first shut off all the downstairs rads. (Make a note of how many turns it took to shut each rad valves, you’ll need to put them back to the same position when you’re finished). Then shut down all but one of the upstairs rads and bleed it. Repeat the process with all the other upstairs rads till the air is all bled out. Lastly open all the rad valves and put them back to their previous positions. I’ve had to do this a couple of times in our place, there’s one bit of badly run pipework that gets air stuck in it and it’s the only way to shift it. 

RedRabbit

Only one upstairs radiator - I'm in a bungalow.  That one's red hot.

Anyway, the radiators are getting hot now.  After basically living in the bedroom for the past two weeks it's nice just to sit in my armchair with a glass of whiskey.

The plumber said that the heating system leaves a little to be desired - mainly 10mm pipes and no lagging and the boiler is a getting on a bit (apparently not a reliability issue as old kero burners are built like tanks but it's not particularly efficient).  It's a rented property which I plan to buy in a couple of years so I think I'll try and get it all sorted before I mention to my landlord that I'm interested in buying.

cj73

If you are in rented property do you need a cp12 cert for kerosene boilers?  I know you do for natural gas.  

Might be a pathway to getting the system sorted before you buy?

Phil_aka_Pip

RedRabbit said:

Only one upstairs radiator - I'm in a bungalow.  That one's red hot.

Anyway, the radiators are getting hot now.  After basically living in the bedroom for the past two weeks it's nice just to sit in my armchair with a glass of whiskey.

The plumber said that the heating system leaves a little to be desired - mainly 10mm pipes and no lagging and the boiler is a getting on a bit (apparently not a reliability issue as old kero burners are built like tanks but it's not particularly efficient).  It's a rented property which I plan to buy in a couple of years so I think I'll try and get it all sorted before I mention to my landlord that I'm interested in buying.

I think you'll buy cheaper if there's no upgrade. As soon as it's yours you then upgrade how you like