location of central heating pump - help please?

Prudent

Does anyone know where a central heating pump is located in a 1974 wimpey semi?

My central heating is only working upstairs. I know it has some kind of gravity flow system. I called a local plumbing heating company. They came out and couldn't find the pump. A neighbour said it is located next to the fire in the lounge on the left hand side. There is a small section of wood in the wall that can be lifted out, but the plumbers said the pump wasn't there. The other side which has no panel has a hollow sound. When the room was papered the decorator seperately pappered the one lift out panel. There was no noticible panel on the other side.

vivatifosi

Don't know about your house, but when I had central heating my pump was in the airing cupboard, to the rear of but to one side of the hot water tank. I don't know much about heating, but my heating guy did know to look there when the pump needed replacing, so wouldn't surprise me if that was a common configuration.

Prudent

They did have a quick look there, but couldn't find it. I will double check.

Prudent

No definately not there.

WestonDave

In our previous 1965 house the pump was under the floor in the lounge next to the fire place - might be worth a look under the carpet to see if there are any obviously loose/removeable floor boards. (We only discovered that when we had a leak and had to very quickly find the drain point which was also conveniently under the floor!) (that was a back boiler system). Other than that you are going to have to try to figure out where the pipes go from your boiler because the pump will be somewhere between there and the hot water tank.

ormus

in our 1935 semi, it was under the floorboards in the lounge.
but the access hatch was in the hallway! go figure!
took me ages to find it when i installed the new combi boiler.
(we have a 4ft void under the house).

on a 70s house, installing it behind panelling on the chimney breast was very common.

ariba10

I know it sounds obvious but there will be pipework leading to and from the boiler.

The pump is usuay on the return pipe and near the boiler.

Prudent

I know it isn't under the floor boards because the floors are concrete. This was my first though as the pump in my last house was under the floor. The boiler is behind the fire.

I think I have found what looks like a pump on top of a pipe coming from the gas meter in the under stair cupboard, but still not sure.

latecomer

You central heating pump isn;t going to be on a gas pipe.

Central heating pumps are usually quite large:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/66603/Plumbing/Central-Heating-Pumps/Grundfos-Alpha-2-15-60-Domestic-Circulating-Pump

Something in the region of a medium size melon to give you some idea of scale.

WestonDave

The thing on the gas pipe is probably the gas flow regulator and is definitely not the pump.

OK so if its not under the downstairs floor, have you tried to get under the floor immediately above where the hatch is in the lounge. The hatch presumably has pipes behind it (even if not a pump) and those pipes will be part of the circuit that somewhere will have a pump on it. I know when my parents had heating put in, in about 1980 the gas board tried to put the pump halfway up the lounge wall as normal and my mother wouldn't have it so they ended up putting it under the floor in the bedroom above.

The next thing to do is to work out a logical pipe route from where it would come up from the lounge and check that for any obvious signs of floorboards having been removed.

Prudent

Thanks everyone. Perhaps the most logical thing is the bedroom above then.