How to clear air from a central heating boiler
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- If your central heating boiler is making air like noises and shutting down after firing for just a few minutes or just not firing up at all. Then air could be your problem air that is stuck in the boiler. This often happens after you have drained down the system.
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OMG I think we fixed it. After a freezing Saturday night and not being able to get an engineer out! Thank you so much!
Glad I could help!
Thanks for the video. I had a new rad fitted and had to drain down. even though I'd bled the rads and pump the clanking from the boiler was horrendous. I've always been scared of boilers since being terrified of those things people had on their kitchen walls in the 60's. This vid gave me the confidence to have a go. It took two goes but it cleared the air and the boiler purrs like a kitten now. A big thank you!
Glad you sorted it OK.
I think this just saved me a whole lot of money! Thank you sooo much for posting this!
No problem Phil.
Great information 👍
Glad it was helpful!
thanks for the video....did not realise there was a drain plug next to boiler...
No problem.
Thanks so much!! now I sorted that terrible banging clonking noise that's been driving me mad! good man!
No problem.
Thanks for the video. I've changed the 3-valve repair kit, so drained the water completely and filled again. Lots of air was running between the boiler and pump and the nearest radiator. There is auto air valve over the pump, most of air gone out from there but the same sound appears again after using hot water. I dont know if I found the right valve that you mentioned, but I drained 1 or 2 liters of water. Now more than half of the gurgling sound disappeared. All radiators are ok except the nearest one, it's like water is dripping to that one although there is no air in it. The maintenance book talks about a "hot water heat exchanger went screw" and I also got it loose but not much longer because its place is terrible, there are cables under the screw goes to main unit. And I gave up :))
Hope you sort it ok.
@@dereton33 I hope so, thank you. I'll look to it again after a week or so.
Mate your a star drained the system got air in and this sorted It!
No problem
Thank you for the video. Very helpful.
No problem.
You sir, are a hero. Very useful videos
No problem
Thanks for the video. I have similar symptoms on my boiler and notice there's a drain valve attached to the flow pipe (going out of boiler). Is that the one to use? Thanks
It should be there for draining the system, but do try it to see if any air is there.
Your a legend mate a big thumbs up
No problem.
THANK YOU FOR THE POSTING.
No problem.
Thanks Al..
I had a problem with air in the central heating system. I found that I had to bleed the radiators every day. Even after bleeding the radiators I could still hear the air in the boiler. It sounded about like a breathing dragon.
Then I noticed that when the boiler ran the header tank overflowed. This indicated to me that air was being drawn into the system.
The heating system had been drained before the summer to add a couple of towel rails and the pump was replaced. The pump was a Grindfos and was installed with the factory default setting of III which is the maximum. I found the user guide online and turned the pump setting down to II which fixed the problem.
The problem of air being drawn into the system only happened for the central heating, not the hot water. I hope this helps if you have a similar problem.
Richard
Thanks for the info Richard it will help others.
Thanks for sharing, Richard! Did you find that the pressure in the system was dropping when the air was being drawn into the system?
@@crunkambassadeur7837 I did not have a way of measuring the pressure in the system directly. The one symptom that I thought was very significant was that the header tank overflowed when the boiler was running. I think the header tank maintains a constant pressure due to the head of water so the pump running too fast drew in air which then displaced water at the header tank. Then after bleeding the radiators I could hear the header tank filling up again. I don't know what would happen in a sealed system without a header tank. Richard
Great vid ,can you make video how to service back boiler thank you
Not allowed to do that one, you have to be gas safe registered.
5* for a simple clear video. Thanks for posting. 👍👍
No problem.
Hello again.
I have looked for a drain cock near the boiler and there isn't one. In my kitchen where the boiler is, I have a radiator with a drain valve on it, which I have used many times to drain the system. Would using this work to remove the airlock?
Thanks for your videos, I have found them useful.
Yes give it a go, leave the boiler running when you try it and only open the valve for about 15 seconds.
I have a Potterton Promax boiler SL but I see no drain pipe ? Thanks
Have a look around the pipes and radiators on the ground floor it will be somewhere, maybe even boxed in.
Dereton33. What tops up the water in the boiler, isn't it in a closed loop? I know the ball cock in the tank tops up the tank, but that water is heated up from the coil inside which in turn is heated up from the boiler. I'm confused and any help would be gratefully appreciated, and thanks for the video.
In a F and E system the little header tank keeps the water in the boiler topped up along with the rads when required. This system is separate from your main 40 gallon header tank which feeds the outer part of the hot water cylinder and possibly the cold taps in the bathroom.
@@dereton33 .Thank you for your kind reply and help. But help is what I need! I just cannot seem to be able to get the air out of the boiler after fitting a new motorised 3 port mid position valve. I have drained the boiler for hours but have no means of draining anything by the mid position valve, no drain cocks. I have tried bleeding the pump, I am only getting water from it , no air. I think the air is trapped in one of the pipes . Is there any other way of getting the air out? I would be most grateful for your advice.
Just crack the one nut in turn on the three way valve to let the air out, when you see water then it is clear.
@@dereton33 . Thanks again for your reply and advice . Tried that and everything else I can think of.......nothing works! Hopeless case , I'm afraid.
Try running the boiler, attach a hose to the draw off cock and open the cock wait until the pipe it is on gets hot, then turn it off. If you still get nothing, try running the valve in manual open mode, if it works then you have a faulty valve or it is wired up wrong.
Dereton I need help, I have a Baxi Combi 25 and my boiler makes banging noises and my pipes all rattle after 3 hours of heating on, how do I solve this? Thanks
Thanks man! You are doing great job 👍👍
Thank you too!
I have had a new 3-port valve fitted by a plumber, but the heating system is noisy now, like a rushing of water in the pipes near where the hot water tank is ! also had a loud bang from the airing cupboard and a loud rumbling/creaking sound ( a bit like a large tree being felled) immediately following the bang ! but the heating system is now much noisier than before ! The airing cupboard is immediately above my living room ! so very noticable ! just to add that the heating works ok as does the hot water ! the 3-way port valve fitted is an ESi ESZV223P model, I have been told they are made by Honeywell , is that correct ? Thanks.
The valve is a honeywell one.The noise you have is air in your system, it will need getting out before the noise will stop.
@@dereton33 Thank you for your reply, How do I get rid of the air in the system please ? I can send you my email address if you need me to send a photo of the pipes in the airing cupboard ! Thanks.
Al, how about fitting an automatic air vent to the top pipe? Maybe do a video on it :)
Mark Davies Yes that`s a good idea, ill see what I can do. Thanks Mark.
Thanks for the video not tried it yet. are boiler make the noise when it comes on and off sounds like the noise goes back up the pipe is that normal please
Yes that is normal, get some boiler silencer in there to quieten things down.
Hi Mate,
Really useful vid, I drained down the system and replaced two rads on an F&E system. One of the rads is getting flow but no return the other is fine but the boiler keeps locking out due to air. I don't have a drain off in the airing cupboard or one near the boiler so I'm struggling to get it out. I've bled everything including the pump. Is there another way?
Put the hose back on the drain valve run the heating when hot let some water go from the drain valve until the air is sucked out.
@@dereton33 Tried this, boiler works fine when the drain off is open, when i go to close it, the boiler clunks and locks out...
Hi, hoping you can help.
My combi valiant is banging with hot water on, the pressure gauge goes mental, 3-2-3-1-4-0-3bar
Hot water is lovely when the tap is just cracked open, but opening more it'll run cold
I've got 2 radiators which are cold at middle/bottom but hot at the top
piping is 8mm micropipe all around so guessing rust/sludge/limescale has blocked pipes, boiler overheats and locks out?
In the winter months spotty heating that turns off and water that goes hot/cold isn't the nicest thing :(
Any ideas I can try as a home DIYer as money is tight after Christmas?
Cheers!
Try adding some system cleaner then a flush out followed by fresh inhibitor.
@@dereton33 I did add some system flush and drained it out after a week with fresh ibhib but it hasn't helped
I checked the magnet and it was absolutely CAKED in whatever so that got replaced too
I'm out of ideas, other than removing all rads and back flushing them. If there's that much rust I guess on the filter, I think stronger flush will end up breaking the rads down and causing a leak
Hi. I have air in my combi . I recently redid my bathroom and put a heated rad above the boiler . The boiler is downstairs and the towel rad us in the bathroom directly upstairs. Ive been having pressure loss problems so was going to change the expansion vessel but prior to that i changed the pressure guage as i suspected it was faulty. Now it seems to be drawing air into the boiler and keeps locking out. I tighten the bleed screw on the towel rad as this is the highest point and i thought that had solved the issue but after a day im losing system pressure again. I have a feeling the diverter valve is holed. Do you think this could cause the system pressure loss after a few hours?
Most times it is a leak that causes a pressure loss. Rarely the expansion vessel. That fact you are drawing air in also makes me suspect a leak. Give the system a go with fernox leak sealer.
@dereton33 thanks derek.
When I drain the boiler via the drain valve do I open the filling loops
No.
Hi thanks for the video, I can hear my pump pumping air, it's like there is an air pocket which travels around the system so every few minutes it will get to the pump and cause the pump to labour whilst being able to hear the air whooshing through the pump! Should I try bleeding boiler or somewhere else? Thanks mate
Just the pump.
dereton33 thanks mate, I have bled the pump this morning and only the slightest of air came out followed by black crap. I bled it til water ran clear. Seems to be a lot more quiet. Thanks 🍺
I drained my whole system a few days ago and it was working, there was some odd noises though :) Today I noticed the pressure was a bit high so let some water out , the needle didn't move, the thing is drained but it still says 1.5 bar... when I open the bleed nipple in the rad next to me water comes out so it's not emptied, i tried opening all of them when draining it the first time and it went to 0 no problem, any ideas what might be up Mr Dereton ? Cheers :)
Hey thanks for the reply. All my bleed nipples are open on every rad, no air coming out they been open overnight, no water in them as far as I can tell pressure dropped slowly to 1 overnight so something is leaking pressure out somewhere. Am thinking it might be trapped actually in my boiler or something. Going to call Ravenheat out tomorrow it's still under warranty :)
Yes needs a look at by a pro.
Thanks for the tips. Would you need to replace any of the inhibitor in the system or would it be ok as you're not draining too much out?
ric999tiger No it would be OK, as not much is drained out.
The batteries died on my controller and when I replaced them the system started gurgling-kettling loudly, then shut off. Freezing now and no heating. Tried bleeding radiators and running taps but no resolution. I haven't got anything that looks like your system. I can hear the air bubbling inside the boiler when i turn it on.
The system sounds like it is clogged with sludge .
Jesus! Nice museum peace not many people still have that crap in their house these days...time for an upgrade
Thanks for your very kind comments.
Drained a radiator yesterday, obviously I didn't fill it enough and now it sounds like I have this exact problem.
The boiler fires up then once you hear the ware inside it boiling it just locks out, unfortunately there are no vales on the 2 pipes which I can see immediately near the boiler (theres only about a foot of pipe until it disappears into the kitchen celling)
All my rads downstairs are free from air and upstairs, I spent a lot of yesterday running the system for 30 seconds at a time and knocking it off before the bolder locked out, I got a lot of air out through the towel rad in the bathroom, I topped it up with water and tried the system again. After around 30 seconds I get a bang from the boiler, it locks out and then theres a gradually reducing noise coming from the boiler, so I'm almost certain the air is locked be the boiler, but with no drains near the boiler what do you suggest?
One friend suggested I crack the nut on the lower pipe on my cylinder that runs to/from the 3 port valve, if I'm certain the air lock is at the boiler, is this the best place to try to release the air? I'm going to try this after work (in the hope that you have replied by then)
Thanks so much, your videos are great.
Yes it is worth cracking the joint there to get any air out.
I drained my system down to replace a radiator, refilled the system and turned the programmer back on.
I've realised my boiler is flashing red behind the reset button, I reset the boiler, boiler fan starts, ignition flame lights, runs for 30seconds then a slight clanging noise happens boiler cuts out and aav valves above boiler hiss, is this the reason, trapped air in boiler? Any help would be great
Air in the system. Bleed all radiators and released any trapped air for air valves.
i have friend experiancing low pressure in how water, cold water i fine, this happens in both the bathroom and kitchen, there is an Manual Air Vent fitted to the one of the pipes attached to the hot water cylinder, we did remove air and no joy, what else can you suggest. it i a gravity F+E system. All the taps are mixer type also
You will need a pump, those mixer taps will also slow down water pressure.
dereton33 thanks for your reply, the property has a lead pipe going to kitchen cold water main tap, and I have discovered a lead pipe connected to cold water tank in loft also. The previous house Owners did install a pump under the bath, but even that is not very effective,. Would a power need to be installed in the closet on the main hot water output from cylinder? Many thanks and keep up your video posts
Yes a pump on the hot outlet from the cylinder would pressurise all the taps, I recommend a Salamander pump they are the best.
dereton33 what is the exact name of the pump type so I know what to ask for from plumber merchants and recommended bar
Are you draining from the flow or return or does it not matter?
The return.
i think my combi boiler is kettling, can I release the trapped air?
No it is not air but black sludge.
I connected mine and undone the drain cock and no water or air came out. ??
Washer is stuck.
Condensate trap keeps filling up ... what should be done ??????
The pipe must be blocked check where it enters a drain outside.
In case anyone has same issue as me and thinks it's this. My boiler sounded just like that, but turns out it was the condensate pipe blocked. Might help anyone troubleshooting a similar problem. Thanks for the great video.
Thanks for the info
Can bleeding the rads help??
Use a decent quality brass air key
I have had issues with airlocks in my system for years, with air building up and radiators constantly needing to be bled, any ideas what could cause a constant build up of air?
Sludge in the system.
dereton33 ahhh right. So basically a full clean out?
Yup, that`s it.
dereton33 joy 😂 I hope you have a video showing me how to do that too
I do.
Cheers!