Home DIY

@soul have you got an external drain tap? Ive got one on the side of the house to drain the CH

Check the pressure valve- exit of which will be on an external wall.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest it's the pipe which I posted here recently as having green sludge dripping from it.

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I’m not a boiler expert, but I recently had a condensate trap leak, which caused similar symptoms to what you can see. The part cost me about £10, but I paid a plumber to fit it. No idea what your actual issue is, but may be worth asking a plumber to take a look if you think there’s excessive dripping from that pipe (plus it’s bad for your wall anyway).

I've got someone on the way out. Should be here by 10.

I'm supposed to be on a flight to Austria this evening so can't leave the wife at home for 5 days without heating.

Personally, I’d just keep topping it up unless a leak was found in the meantime.

Has it frozen at all?

Really? Where's it all going?

Not that I'm aware of

Good luck with that, unless you want to preserve the existing walls it sounds like a case for skimming or completely re-plastering. You can paint the Gardz on before filling and after. Full instructions are on the tin. Cases like this you have to assess as you go along unless you just decide to hack it all out and start again. I usually end up lining walls like this after filling them as the substrate is so difficult to repair and likes to crack up quite quickly after painting.

That little pipe is the outlet from the pressure relief valve, may have been stuck or broken for some time, could also be failed expansion vessel causing over pressure, or both. I hope your guy has got it sorted by now or at least is getting the parts to fix it.

Thanks.

Unfortunately I'm still waiting for him to arrive. 10-2pm estimate.

Hot water still works so at least I was able to have a shower. Now just sitting on the kitchen floor doing work emails because of the electric underfloor heating.

@Aldersbrook has your "plumber" told you that the flash combi will also stop working below 1 bar mains pressure and it needs 1.7 bar for maximum performance? Unless you live in an area with known mains pressure problems then you shouldn't worry about the low risk of a pressure drop. In my opinion a combi is always a second best solution which should only be considered when there is absolutely no space for a more reliable set up.

Yes he did mention that, but his point is that a storage cost thousand of pounds less...the all reason he is so against it is because the water pressure drop happened to his dad’s house in waltham forest. I agree probability is low though and I also agree unvented system is a much better system, but it does come at an expense...

Fixed. No air in the bladder meant the PRV was dumping all the water. Pumped back up and holding with a repressure.

Obviously the render is fucked by the valve exit. Guess I'll be fixing that when I've got a free weekend.

Mine was blocked with sludge which buggered it (after 3 years from new), so not dissimilar to me.

This switch on one of our radiators has just died. It’s just kind of halfway between off and on, and not moving. Radiator is still on. That won’t be a problem today but in the medium-term I need to sort it.

Do I just have to replace the whole thing? Any tips?

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Yep I say that you are right.

The testing of the expansion vessel is a pain unless you press the valve and water comes out. If you need to add air to the vessel the system needs to be drained and open for the expansion vessel to be up to the right pressure.

Keep an eye on the preasure. The over flow will be a scrape the green off and let it dry.

Switch looks on the me. Like changing a plug socket.

Buy a 13amp fused spur, disconnect the power to that spur, remove the faceplate, check that the power is disconnected, remove connection to the radiator and connection to the mains, replace with new 13amp fused spur, tighten connections, attach faceplate, switch on at consumer unit.

There are a couple of other things you can do if you have the testing equipment that ensures proper connections etc. but mostly that's overkill in this situation.

It's quite possible the switch just needs taking apart and putting back together properly. You could replace it with a timer.

One like this?

Bulk Hardware BH05741 13 Amp Fused Spur Switch - White https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0721FSVH5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_NnSMAbFCENXQT

If I just turn off the whole fuse box before switching them over that’ll be safe, won’t it?

Yes, switching off the whole fuse box isn't necessary just the circuit that fused spur switch is on.

More boiler shenanigans:

Mine has started making a slurp/gurgle/bubble noise every 15-20 or so minutes. Everything is working as it should.