Help, Header tank.

[Jono]

Should it be hot, or is my boiler on the blink?

 

[derek kelly]

Could be your thermostat, get yourself a combi boiler & get rid of the header tank.

 

[Jono]

Thought about it, but if yer combi goes t**s up you lose all hot water. And they are quite expensive aren't they? :dunno:

 

[derek kelly]

Before I got mine I heard all sorts of horror stories about losing all hot water & heating, I have had mine for two years now all that's wrong is the pressure gauge has jammed but I've got a mate coming to sort that for me the beauty is you are only heating the water you are using so after a while they pay for themselves specially nowadays where they are more energy efficient.
When we first moved into this house it had a copper cylinder [which went tits up after a couple of months of us moving in] there were four of us living here at the time and the hot water was always running out.

 

[Oldbull]

Is there water comming out the U shaped overflow pipe into the header Jono ?

two things that can do this ..thermostat stuck on boiler , some of them can be reset simply by turning the power off to them like a cold reboot with the puter.. try that anyway..
or the other one is the hot water cylinder has gone inside and the domestic hot water leaks into heating system, over fills it and eventually comes out the overflow into the header..therefore putting hot water into the header tank..

sorry to say mate my guess would be the latter and you will need a new cylinder.. check for external leaks around your hot water cylinder but 9 out of 10 times they go on the seam inside

Is the header tank over filling and running out the external overflow pipe, the one that goes outside ?? if it is it will defo be cylinder

hope that helps a little mate

 

[Jono]

Yeah it is overflowing but only occasionally? Would that be the cylinder still? :bang:

 

[XXscraper]

or the other one is the hot water cylinder has gone inside and the domestic hot water leaks into heating system, over fills it and eventually comes out the overflow into the header..therefore putting hot water into the header tank..

But isnt the header tank higher than the domestic water tank meaning it has more pressure than any other water in the system (unless he has no domestic tank and just uses mains pressure)! If this is the case water couldnt be leaking into it and causing the problem!

The header tops up the water that goes round the radiators and the heater coil in the hot water tank and is driven round by the water pump. My guess is you have a dodgy diverter valve....do you ever hear any strange noises from inside your airing cupboard like a clicking noise as this could be the problem.

maybe you should get a plumber as i dont know what i'm talking about...lol c7u8 Good luck btw

 

[Oldbull]

I hear what your saying scraper.. depending what system he has it could be the diverter valve ie for a 'Y' plan system .. doubt it tho because the water in the header is getting hot mate and this should never happen.. the hot water cylinder is not presurised it has an open outlet ie U bend pipe back into header tank acts as a safety valve for situations such as these...

its overflowing occasionally Jono because you will be running some hot water off ..ie sink/ bath etc and using some of the water out of the header tank..

Any signs of leaks around the cylinder mate...

fyi.. average plumbers price around here for a new cylinder is around ?250 as a guidline.. brok3

 

[Jono]

Thanks for the help, no leaks apparent around the cylinder, though it is lagged. I have mostly noticed the overflow in the morning first thing, then it stops when we are all up and about, obviously drawing off water. the header has been so hot at one point the water was steaming, and it being plastic was distorting. That'll be a plumber getting a call soon then. Some of the rads are'nt particularly hot after a few days even though I've bled them. Whatever was wrong with a coal fire and lots of jumpers! :bang:

 

[Oldbull]

no probs mate.. sorry to be the bearer of bad news but from what you describe and without seeing it, Id definatley say cylinder .. do it sooner rather than later mate else you will need a new header tank as well

 

[XXscraper]

You'll have to let us know what the problem was once its fixed!

I am a little confused though what you are calling the header tank, it should be the smaller one out of the two! The header shouldnt lose or use water as it acts as a resevoir for the rads and does not supply the actual water that comes out of your taps!

 

[Coggy]

The other advantage of a combi-boiler is that you gain the space where the hot water tank was.

In my old house this was used to make the bathroom bigger and so we could fit a shower
:bow: