We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

New house - problems with hot water!!

Hi all, moved into new house and having trouble with hot water - any advice would be much appreciated as I'm a plumbing novice!

I'll give all the details I know - apologies if any of the following is obvious or irrelevant but I really haven't a clue.

Got combi boiler with Horstmann control unit. There's a switch that looks like a light switch to turn the combi boiler on. When I first moved in all I had to do was flip the switch to get hot water - no problems. Since then I have removed 4 radiators (3 downstairs and 1 upstairs) whilst decorating and while I was having a DPC installed. Just put the radiators back on and when I flipped the switch - no hot water.

Not got a clue where to go next so any suggestions would be most welcome!

Thanks!!

Comments

  • jennifernil
    jennifernil Posts: 5,655 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Some boilers have to be "reset" after the power to them has been off (I assume your "light switch" does that). On the one in our Guide Hall we have to turn the knob on the boiler itself round to the "off" position then back to the "hot water only" or "heating and hot water" position as appropriate.

    Worth a try!

    Also, if you had radiators off, did you refill / top up the system after refitting them?
    If the pressure in the system is too low the boiler may not start up.
  • 1399steve
    1399steve Posts: 139 Forumite
    Thanks jennifernil for your advice - got some more information........

    Tried the switch again this morning and after a short while heard some odd noises coming from the combi boiler in the loft, when I switched it off the noises stopped.

    I went up and had a look at the boiler. Its a Baxi Combi Instant HE boiler. On the bottom right corner there is a dial for system pressure (not sure if this means water pressure or gas pressure?). It said that the syatem pressure should be between 1 bar and 2.5 bar but this dial was showing pressure as 0 bar.

    What could be causing the pressure to have gone from the system? How ca I fix this?

    Thanks all!
  • Canucklehead
    Canucklehead Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    Good afternoon: See here

    HTH

    Canucklehead
    Ask to see CIPHE (Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering)
  • darkcloudi
    darkcloudi Posts: 571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    1399steve wrote: »
    Thanks jennifernil for your advice - got some more information........

    Tried the switch again this morning and after a short while heard some odd noises coming from the combi boiler in the loft, when I switched it off the noises stopped.

    I went up and had a look at the boiler. Its a Baxi Combi Instant HE boiler. On the bottom right corner there is a dial for system pressure (not sure if this means water pressure or gas pressure?). It said that the syatem pressure should be between 1 bar and 2.5 bar but this dial was showing pressure as 0 bar.

    What could be causing the pressure to have gone from the system? How ca I fix this?

    Thanks all!

    You must have drained the radiators for the pressure to go to zero. They should be some turning valve under the the boiler to fill the radiators back up and re-pressurise it. Don't you have a manual?
  • 1399steve
    1399steve Posts: 139 Forumite
    Thanks for all your help. Just watched the video and I did try something similar, which didn't seem to work but I'll follow the process properly. If this doesn't work is there anything else that it could be?

    Darkcloudi - previous owners didn't leave a manual - I'll see if I can download one now.

    When I removed the radiators I tipped all the water out of them.
  • Canucklehead
    Canucklehead Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    Good evening: You can view a manual here ...click on 'Search the Technical Library', then 'continue', followed by 'click here' and go from there....it is a convoluted route but you'll get there in the end.;)

    HTH

    Canucklehead
    Ask to see CIPHE (Chartered Institute of Plumbing & Heating Engineering)
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 346.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 238.7K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 614K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 174.7K Life & Family
  • 251.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.