tbourner Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Our house seems to be cold all the time, admittedly the back door could do with replacing, and the door to the larder isn't exactly air tight either (and it's colder than the fidge in there!!!). But anyway, we took a radiator off when we decorated, and put it back on and bled it and stuff, but now I'm hearing that if it's a sealed system I'd need to add water in the tank in the loft!! How do I know it it's a sealed system or not? Preferably without having to climb into the loft!!! System is we have a tank in the spare room, makes noises and such so assume it's in use. There's a control box next to the tank where you can set the CH and HW to come on at different times - this appears to work in conjunction with the thermostat on the wall (ie: with the timer ON and the thermostat high enough the heating comes to life). There's also a boiler in the kitchen, that flicks into life every so often. We seem to have hot water ALL the time regardless of whether the HW timer is on or not - so assume that's the tank storing it (electric shower so we don't use hot water for that) or the boiler in the kitchen is a combi that heats it as and when? Do I need to call someone out to have a look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 i take it all the rads are hot trev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin_a Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 How long have you lived there? sounds like you haven't a clue what you've got and your boiler could probably benefit from a service. Get a few quotes and do it as an arranged visit from a firm / recommended person then you can avoid any call out charges. m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted November 24, 2006 Author Share Posted November 24, 2006 All the radiators get hot I think, some more than others though. Only been there 6 months, never needed the heating until now obviously! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 bleed them all again then trev , feel the tops of the rads , to see if any are only warm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted November 24, 2006 Author Share Posted November 24, 2006 What about this sealed system business then? Is it likely I've got one? I've read that if it's sealed and you bleed a radiator the pressure drops (which is worse than air in the rads) and it'll need 'topping up' with water in the loft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Yeah, bleed them all. If you have two small tanks in your loft and a hot water cylinder cupboard then you have an open vented system. You should not need to top up the water as it should do it automatically by means of a ball float valve in the tank (toilet systern type). There could be lots of explainations to why you feel cold, ie radiators undersized, boiler not big enough or a lack of insulation. If the room never gets warm I would look at the gaps in the doors, they can be a killer for losing heat. If you need any further help PM me. H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter richards Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 if thats the case trev its already screwed if youve had a rad off . how difficult is it go get up into the attick . bleed them first trev its not going to make it any wurse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted November 24, 2006 Author Share Posted November 24, 2006 Havard's saying I may have an open system not sealed, so I'll be alright removing rads and bleeding them and anything! Which is nice. So I'll have a go at bleeding them and see if it helps, then look into insulation if the rads are all getting hot together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 UM sealed systems are usually combi boilers. The fact you have a tank suggests very heavily that you don't have a combi boiler. A sealed system uses a sort of accumulator (tank with air pressure thats compressible on one side and the heating water liquid thats noncompressible on the other side) to take up the expansion of the heating water. This system is topped up from a line directly from the mains (due to the chance that the heating water could feedback into the domestic water supply this feed has to be isolated ie a stop cock thats normally shut). The other system has a feed from a tank in the attic. This is the same as any water tank feed from the attic. The feed tank sits in the attic and gets full until the floating stop cock shuts it off (just like your toilet basically). This tank provides the pressure to fill your radiators or operate your hot water system using the weight of the water higher than the system ie the water in the tank is higher than the whole system so the water in the tank can use its weight to push down on the system if that makes sense. There is no reason why that system should require manually topping up. If its a sealed system the tap to top it up will be somewhere near either your boiler or your mains water inlet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 Oh also if you have a combi boiler it will have a pressure gauge on it somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 The radiators have to be balanced . Click I would bleed them all too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobSoarer2.5TT Posted November 24, 2006 Share Posted November 24, 2006 If the tops of the rads are hot and the bottoms not or luke warm they have sediment in them. Tak each rad off attach a hose pipe and watch the poop come out, when the water runs clear replace. Do this to each and that should help. Poor insulation, drafts, large glazed windows will all cause the house to feel cold. Best bet though is get the boiler serviced, and do the above. You need to maintain the boiler as you would your beloved Supra, if you don't the cost to fix it can be huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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