Hi all,
Since moving home I've discovered a few problems with the central heating system. I'm having someone around to take a look and advise but would appreciate any thoughts from people on here, as the choice is likely to be between making a number of smaller individual repairs or replacing the boiler completely. It would be good to get any views on likely costs of the individual repairs vs getting all done at once etc.
Problem 1:
Boiler pressure falls to zero. This usually occurs within 24 hours of being re-filled. I have identified two main suspects for this - one of the pressure components within the boiler as water leaks from there, and also one of the smaller radiators that has a small leak (so unlikely to be main cause but would need replaced). Boiler is an Ideal, but cannot identify model (no lower flap).
Problem 2:
The hot water system will often fail to switch off even when boiler turned off. Also upstairs radiators warm up when hot water is on. I think that this is due to a faulty 2-way valve (Sunvic SZ203) that gets stuck in the on position. When this happens I have to take off the cover and 'unstick' the valve turning mechanism.
Problem 3:
Sometimes noisy boiler when operating. When I first moved in I had the boiler serviced and was told that the xxxxxx (insert component I can't remember) was wearing out as the boiler was working too hard, as the house has had an extension and more radiators put in than the boiler can handle. It's tolerable now but obviously concerned it will just give up at some point.
Problem 4:
Through the winter I noticed that a couple of the upstairs room (especially the third floor attic conversion) remained quite cold and I think that ideally they should be double radiators rather than the singles in place. Obviously am concerned if the boiler is already overloaded whether these could be replaced.
So all in all a few problems there. I'd appreciate any comments about whether I'm on the right tracks with my thoughts (as most gained purely by net research/forums etc), plus any ideas on whether it's worth doing the fixes individually or whether getting everything done at once (inc the few radiator replacements) would be most cost effective. Plus of course any ideas of ball park costs would be good.
As I said I can't identify the model of boiler but it's an Ideal System, feeding hot water and heating, hooked to a Lifestyle thermostat and programe controls.
Many thanks in advance.
Andy
