when the power is off the lever below the solenoid on my central heating has tension i e when you pull it toward manual there is resistance it will then return to auto.but as soon as the power is turned on the lever is free swinging ; problem i have is the pump doesnt seem to be circulating the water. both the pump and the solenoid are only a few months old

peter, December 2006

I will give that a try after the holiday thanks; will i have to use the cold tap to hot tap hosepipe method to stop hot water pipes knocking and banging; i put hot water on 5.15pm and by 5.35pm the pump was red hot and noisy pipes ?

peter, December 2006

you can buy some fernox system restorer, all you do is drain the system so your header tank is empty and pour contents in tank refill system and use system as normal for a few weeks. and heat and circulation will work the chemical and clean system. after a few weeks drain complete system and it will flush all the muck out, allow to refill and drain again flushing chemical out. is system is to badly sludged a powerflush is required which is same idea but done by pump and not gravity. dearer but works 100%.

hi-spec plumbing, December 2006

checked tank in loft;water is cloudy but not really full of silt. this is probably because i have been bleeding system it is the plastic type about 16yrs old; when i put hot water on on its own the pipes started banging? rads are sometimes hot at top and cold at bottom or vice versa, some rads are constant. if its sludge what is the remedy and if its an air lock how do i deal with it ; original pump was set to 3 so when i changed pump i set new one to 3 thanks

peter, December 2006

in your header tank what is it like in bottom is there a lot of silt or quite thick, ? and no your tank should not be hot thats a sign your system is pumping over vent pipe. try your pump on 2 , 3 may be to high. air should find its way to rads or your vent pipe. if your system is to sludged up it will lay in pipe work and rads and can go hard making a 15mm pipe very restricted so if your boiler is running and can't push water down restricted pipes it will go the easy way which is the vent pipe which give you pump over not a good sign. do you find your rads are warm/hot - but cold in the middle /bottom another sign of sludge.

hi-spec plumbing, December 2006

removed centre screw on pump turned slotted head inside ;working ok; checked to see what was happening in loft at header tank water warm? re checked rad bleeder valves, some quite hot couple cool, no water or air from any of them;if there is air in the system how do i remove;i have drain valves on 4 rads downstairs thanks 17.05pm 30/12/06

peter, December 2006

can i remove the centre screw from the middle of the pump and check if pump is working or will it release water (as you were describing on another problem) thanks

peter, December 2006

p s reading another problem you have been helping on;when i checked the header tank the water was hot ? is this right

peter, December 2006

checked header tank this was full and ballcock working okay; i then bled my upstairs rads and got air and water ? if i have an airlock what is the best way to get rid thanks

peter, December 2006

my old pump was very noisy so its hard to tell with the new one although it does vibrate slightly ; pump is already on three. since your last message i tried putting the hot water and c.heating on together .this put the tension back in the solenoid lever;i have pulled it onto manual and locked it.is that right? i will inspect header tank later and let you know. thanks

peter, December 2006

also check your little tank in loft to see its not empty.

hi-spec, December 2006

i would check the pump turn up to 3 on speed see if you can feel a slight vibration where it is running. it don't seem like a valve prob if its getting past valve.

hi-spec, December 2006

its a 3 port and yes i have hot water and also heating but nothing seems to be circulating round ; every so often i will get a little bit of water or air or sometimes like a wheezing sound when bleeding the upstairs rads ; ,no pressure and also pipes have been knocking,similar to an air lock ;the downstairs rads seem fine ;before i changed the solenoid i had to pull lever across to manual and hold it in position to get heating to fire up thanks

peter, December 2006

is it a 3 port or 2 port? they will have resistance if that valve say heating is not required it will be shut.if its 3 port have you no heating or water /pipes hot on other side of valve but hot going to valve from pump.

hi-spec, December 2006

how do i check for that? do i need to remove solenoid and start again dont remember disturbing any cogs as i am normally very careful how come when mains electric is turned off valve lever has resistance
thanks

peter, December 2006

you didn't disturb the brass cogs in the bottom did you. if you disturb them by accident you only need to get them a couple of teeth out so when you pull your lever across the valve inside is fully open before the lever gets to manual. which makes it inposs to lock in man mode.

hi-spec, December 2006

YES JUST TOOK CASE OFF DISCONNECTED WIRES FITTED NEW SOLENOID RECONNECTED WIRES AND CASE EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL NOW
THANKS

peter, December 2006

is it a honeywell valve? did you just change the motor in it?

hi-spec plumbing, December 2006

P S. HOW CAN I CHECK IF PUMP IS WORKING NOW. WHEN IT WAS FITTED COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO EVERYTHING WAS FINE

peter, December 2006

lever doesnt seem to want to lock into manual position;before i changed the solenoid you could pull the lever across to manual and hear the pump firing up now there is no resistance and no sound out of pump; pump and pipes are quite hot i turned power off took off solenoid cover and everything appeared to be working i e resistance on the lever power on and nothing?;any other suggestions please hi spec

peter, December 2006

your valve seems to be working ok. if you pull your lever across you should be able to lock it in man position. you sure your pump is working.

hi-spec plumbing, December 2006