Hi,
I've been reading this forum for a while and read lots before having my Evohome installed. Getting it installed was a mission in itself, but that's another story. Anyway, as far as I understand (and my understanding is limited, so please accept my apologies), my system is installed correctly and a quick snapshot is as follows:
S-Plan system - stored hot water, zone valve for UFH and HW. All radiators fitted with HR92 controllers. ABV fitted next to boiler. New boiler and unvented cylinder installed along with one additional radiator. From an Evohome perspective, I think everything is functioning as it should. Zones start/stop and follow the schedule as I expect. There are some minor niggles, but nothing that isn't documented on here already.
My issues are plumbing related. I appreciate this forum is about heating control, but if anyone can offer advice, that would be helpful.
Issue no.1
My system has a fair bit of air in it following installation and so to resolve this, I have been removing the HR92's and ramping the system up for 30 mins odd and then allowing to cool before bleeding. The system still has air in it despite bleeding the radiators many times. Whilst doing this, I noticed that two radiators (porch and study) do not get hot at all. After doing some investigation, I found that a branch situated within a wardrobe went from hot to cold at an elbow. My plumber suggested there may be an airlock and so after refitting the HR92's, I sent heat only to the two affected radiators and they worked as expected.
Last night, I tried firing up all rads again using the aforementioned technique and again the porch and study rads did not get hot at all. Do you think there is an airlock, or is it that the system needs to be better balanced to allow water pressure to reach these two radiators? The fact that a pipe went from hot to cold with no obvious reason I guess would suggest an airlock. Why would this keep happening? In normal usage situations i.e. when heating zonally, this doesn't occur, it only seems to be when ramping up all rads that it is an issue. Surely this is crucial for effectively removing air from the system though?
Issue no.2
My second issue is much more irritating. The pipe entering the HR92 side of one of the landing radiators vibrates intensely for about 2-3 minutes numerous times during the middle of the night (and in the day). My (uneducated) opinion is that when this happens, the boiler is still running and the rest of the HR92's are closed or thereabouts and this build up of pressure causes the vibration. Opening the HR92 on this particular radiator alleviates the issue and last night I ended up leaving it 3/4 open (and red hot) until morning so that we could sleep. This radiator would usually be off overnight. This stop gap solution isn't ideal, as due to aforementioned air in the system, the radiator isn't as discreet as it could be at 3am when warm water is being pumped around.
My understanding is that the ABV should release this additional pressure caused in situations where all valves are closed? I have a Honeywell ABV and set to 0.3/0.4 (as I understand is about right), which makes no difference.
Can anyone offer any advice on these issues? It's tricky to keep hassling my plumber, as he is a family friend and has two kids of his own and I don't want to trouble him. I've already been in contact about lots of smaller niggles. If remedial work is needed, I will of course contact him, I just want to see if it's something I'm doing wrong before bothering him again.
Thanks
I've been reading this forum for a while and read lots before having my Evohome installed. Getting it installed was a mission in itself, but that's another story. Anyway, as far as I understand (and my understanding is limited, so please accept my apologies), my system is installed correctly and a quick snapshot is as follows:
S-Plan system - stored hot water, zone valve for UFH and HW. All radiators fitted with HR92 controllers. ABV fitted next to boiler. New boiler and unvented cylinder installed along with one additional radiator. From an Evohome perspective, I think everything is functioning as it should. Zones start/stop and follow the schedule as I expect. There are some minor niggles, but nothing that isn't documented on here already.
My issues are plumbing related. I appreciate this forum is about heating control, but if anyone can offer advice, that would be helpful.
Issue no.1
My system has a fair bit of air in it following installation and so to resolve this, I have been removing the HR92's and ramping the system up for 30 mins odd and then allowing to cool before bleeding. The system still has air in it despite bleeding the radiators many times. Whilst doing this, I noticed that two radiators (porch and study) do not get hot at all. After doing some investigation, I found that a branch situated within a wardrobe went from hot to cold at an elbow. My plumber suggested there may be an airlock and so after refitting the HR92's, I sent heat only to the two affected radiators and they worked as expected.
Last night, I tried firing up all rads again using the aforementioned technique and again the porch and study rads did not get hot at all. Do you think there is an airlock, or is it that the system needs to be better balanced to allow water pressure to reach these two radiators? The fact that a pipe went from hot to cold with no obvious reason I guess would suggest an airlock. Why would this keep happening? In normal usage situations i.e. when heating zonally, this doesn't occur, it only seems to be when ramping up all rads that it is an issue. Surely this is crucial for effectively removing air from the system though?
Issue no.2
My second issue is much more irritating. The pipe entering the HR92 side of one of the landing radiators vibrates intensely for about 2-3 minutes numerous times during the middle of the night (and in the day). My (uneducated) opinion is that when this happens, the boiler is still running and the rest of the HR92's are closed or thereabouts and this build up of pressure causes the vibration. Opening the HR92 on this particular radiator alleviates the issue and last night I ended up leaving it 3/4 open (and red hot) until morning so that we could sleep. This radiator would usually be off overnight. This stop gap solution isn't ideal, as due to aforementioned air in the system, the radiator isn't as discreet as it could be at 3am when warm water is being pumped around.
My understanding is that the ABV should release this additional pressure caused in situations where all valves are closed? I have a Honeywell ABV and set to 0.3/0.4 (as I understand is about right), which makes no difference.
Can anyone offer any advice on these issues? It's tricky to keep hassling my plumber, as he is a family friend and has two kids of his own and I don't want to trouble him. I've already been in contact about lots of smaller niggles. If remedial work is needed, I will of course contact him, I just want to see if it's something I'm doing wrong before bothering him again.
Thanks
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