radiators cold upstairs hot downstairs

bwb45

Hi. I have a problem with my radiators when heating is turned on. Radiators are cold upstairs but warm downstairs.Ive bled the system several times from the furthest radiator away first still no success. Ive tried shutting off radiators downstairs to boost heat upstairs. Yes this works to get it hot in box bedroom and bathroom only.But when i open downstairs slighty the heat goes back to the downstairs radiators leaving upstairs cold again.my bolier is downstairs and every think else is in the loft, Header tank,Expansion tank and the pump. The pump is noisey but it always has been.the pump is a grunfos super selectric.
Please can you give some advice and help because not sure what to do.

thanks alot.

cabbage

Hi

It could be that your boiler is not powerful enough to service all the radiators. Hopefully someone will be along with a suggestion.

We had a similar thing but it only affected one radiator. Had the whole system blasted through and it sorted it.

thechippy

I'd have the pump checked first, they should not be noisy. It may have a damaged impellar and is unable to push enough water around the system to satisfy all rads.

It may also be due to debris in the system and you need to have it power flushed.

Andy_WSM

Make sure the ball valve hasn't got stuck in the header tank and that the system isn't low on water.

When you say you have bled the system several times - does air keep coming out? It shouldn't!

bwb45

Hi Andy_WSM
i bled it several times to see if there would be any excess air coming out but there is none now at all

Kimitatsu

Andy_WSM wrote: »

Make sure the ball valve hasn't got stuck in the header tank and that the system isn't low on water.

When you say you have bled the system several times - does air keep coming out? It shouldn't!

Excellent advice - this was what happened to ours. Freed off the ball valve and the header tank filled again, hey presto warm radiators

Only took a couple of months before we realised :rolleyes:

inmypocketnottheirs

Try giving the copper fittings on the ball valve a series of gentle knocks with a mallett. If there is any debris there that should shift it.

As others have said, get the pump checked, as if that has failed it wont be able to get the hot water circulating properly. A replacement pump shouldn't be anymore than £150 plus an hour max to fit.

Do you know if you have 15mm or microbore (10mm) pipework. If the latter a powerflush isnt recommended, it wont withstand the pressure. If 15mm it should be fine and may well solve the problem. British Gas will charge around £600 for a powerflush, but an independant contractor should do it for less than £200 (max).

Otherwise you could be in for a new system :-(

How old is the boiler?

Is it copnventional or combi?

Condensing?

How many rads?

How old and how big is the house?

bwb45

How old is the boiler?

Is it copnventional or combi?

Condensing?

How many rads?

How old and how big is the house?

hi it is a conventional regular Condensing
boiler, 8 radiators, 3 bedroom semi detached.and boiler could about 12 years old.
the pump is a grunfos super selectric. class H. The header tank has plenty of water in it.tried everything last nite still same probs turned all radiators off dowstairs and upstairs got warm left it like this for 2hours then slightly opened downstairs radiators. after 10minutes or so downstairs got warm and upstairs began to cool down.

albyota

Hot water rises, so rads upstairs will get there heat without the pump working, to get hot water to the rads on the ground floor it needs to be pumped....so as thechippy has said above, the pump is Knackered.

cajef

albyota wrote: »

Hot water rises, so rads upstairs will get there heat without the pump working, to get hot water to the rads on the ground floor it needs to be pumped....so as thechippy has said above, the pump is Knackered.

Erm, suggest you read the OP's posts, the radiators downstairs are getting hot it is the upstairs ones that are cold.:rolleyes:

albyota

cajef wrote: »

Erm, suggest you read the OP's posts, the radiators downstairs are getting hot it is the upstairs ones that are cold.:rolleyes:

Yes yes, cajef, thankyou, I did read it, but it obviously did not connect in me brain...... goes off muttering....why don't I read things properly? ...Tch ...hum....hum.....