Central Heating only Heating upstairs

MrsMondragon

For some reason when I put my C/H on today only the upstairs radiators were heating up. Help!!!

uncle_buck_3

what type of boiler do you have & is it up or downstairs?

davidfree007

Could be that the pump has packed up. Have it tested and, if necessary, replaced.

MrsMondragon

I have a Vokera Maxin. My water temperature is fine, so I dont think its the pump. Could the problem be because I need to put more water into the system?
My boiler is downstairs.

Cagey

Was your downstairs rads OK one day then cold the next or have they gradually got cooler over a period of time.

MrsMondragon

I put my central heating on for the first time a few days ago and thats when I realised the downstairs radiators werent heating up.

Cagey

Downstairs rads may be sludged up with black tar like substance. Hell to get rid off or there may be zone valves for both up & downstairs & the downstairs one may be faulty.

uncle_buck_3

Have you tried bleeding the air from the upstairs radiators?

If it is air in the upstairs rads only bleed 1 at a time, check that the pressure gauge on the boiler is at about 1 before you start to bleed your first upstairs rad…Ideally you want someone watching the gauge on the boiler, as it will drop as you bleed the rads. When the gauge gets down to approx ½ top the water back up to 1 then carry on bleeding the rads….continue doing this until all of the air is out of your upstairs rads.

When you are finished you want the pressure gauge on the boiler to be at 1 with the system cold.

Most combi boilers have a safety cut out which operates when the pressure drops below a set level…this is normally about ½ bar….when bleeding radiators it is common for this to happen.
Normally low pressure is indicated by a warning light illuminating & the boiler going to lockout ….use the reset button on the boiler to return to normal operation once you have toped up the water to the correct pressure. This will be explained in the boiler instructions.

uncle_buck_3

Sorry I should have said above:

Switch off the heating & allow it to cool down before bleeding.

***** EDIT ****

Doh!
I've read your first post wrong....I thought your Downstairs rads were heating up & your Upstairs were cold!

Sorry

moneysavingplumber

Hopefully you have thermostatic radiator valves upstairs. If you do, try turning all the upstairs radiator valves off (clockwise, ensuring the downstairs ones are open fully) and then turn the heating on. It may be a simple airlock/suction problem in the 'drop'. You can still do this if you have traditional valves but beware, they may weep from the gland nut if they have not been turned in a while. Once you have re-established the downstairs circuit, re-open the upstairs valves.