New pipe work for central heating system

Crooky_2

I have just moved into a house and the idiot who did it up plumbed in the rads with 8mm microbore plastic pipes. After having no end of problems I think it is time to bite the bullet and replumb the system.

I live in a little one bed terraced cottage, there is 4 rads upstairs and one downstairs. One of the upstairs rads would not need replumbing as I want it ripping out as there is no need to have two rads on the landing.

I just wandered if anyone could advise me roughly on what sort of price I would be looking at to replumb the heating system with proper copper pipework.

Am I correct in assuming that some of the old pipes can just be sleaed off and buried in the walls/under the floor? Or will I need to dig the pipes out from under the floor - this seems a bit excessive to me....... but my knowledge of the matter in question is at best limited.

The boiler engineer recomended powerflushing the system first to see if it made a difference but my research suggests that powerflushing a micorbore system is at best a bit risky and at worst a disaster waiting to happen - is this correct?

Canucklehead

Hi
I would circulate some Sentinal x100 round the system for a week or two before trying to flush.All systems will have an element of risk.

Apart from flushing did your boiler engineer suggest any other reason why the system (presumably ) doesn't work?
Did he /she give you a price for the re pipe? I would have thought they would be best placed for that as they have seen and know the job.

GSR

Crooky_2

Many thanks for your advice, someone else did mention adding some chemicals to the system for a bit to see it that helps.

The chap was from home serve and was out on a repair for the boiler, I didn't get a quote for the pipework form him as I was going to speak to a few local firms as everything Home Serve quote for seems vastly overpriced.

Basically the system is working to a degree. The upsairs rads heat up, 3 of them very well and one reasonably well - the one downstairs gets slightly warm at the top and stays cold at the bottom - even this takes a long time to happen. It is no better if I shut the top four rads off and try and send all the heat to the down stairs radiator.

The system currently when it heats up is causing some valve to go off due to the heat not being able to get away from the boiler - which he told me suggests a blockage.

I have had the rads off and they are all running clean and the in and out valve on the downstairs rad both work fine as well. I have been told that taking the down stairs one off again and forcing it through with a hose and hitting it with a rubber mallet might help matters??

Canucklehead

Hi


What boiler do you have?
By the sound of it your boilers pressure relief valve is operating, so I guess you have to keep topping up the pressure regularly ?
You won't be doing the system any favours by keep filling it with fresh water ,It will hasten corrosion.


GSR.

gas4you

Are you sure it's not 10mm plastic?

Never had any problems with this to date.

inmypocketnottheirs

gas4you wrote: »

Are you sure it's not 10mm plastic?

Never had any problems with this to date.

Yes the majority of the problems the OP is describing is relevant to 8mm copper microbore.

Generally 10mm plastic doesn't have the same problems. In fact some insurance compnaies prefer plastic over copper.

ormus

afaik its the 8mm copper microbore that has the problems.
ive not seen any special problems with 10m plastic.