Hello,
Around 2 years ago we had a very old, leaky Baxi combi replaced with a newer Baxi.
For background I live in a 3 storey terrace. First floor has 3 rads, second floor has 4 rads and third floor has 2 rads.
We noticed problems with noise and air in the system. One of the rads in the loft made gurgling noises. If the rad was bled, air came out. Also, at this time the pressure gauge was all over the place. Up to 3, back down to 1 and every number in between. The gauge didn’t appear to drop, though.
The installer wasn’t helpful over the phone so I ended up finding a different engineer.
Turns out the installer of the boiler didn’t do a particularly thorough job. He didn’t clean the old system, I found leaks on some of the nuts beneath the boiler, he didn’t fit a soak away outside so water drips out over our path (great in winter when it’s freezing).
He engineer found the expansion vessel was flat. He pumped it up, tightened the pipes, advised on a soak away. He told me to bleed all the rads individually for a few mins, top up the system and add more inhibitor. He also suggested power flushing the system. I did all this and also rented a machine and flushed the system myself.
I did all this but the problems remained. I ended up contacting Baxi who came out and replaced the expansion vessel.
This didn’t solve anything. More gurgling, more air.
We ended up getting the boiler serviced again (this is maybe a year after install) and I mentioned the problems to the engineer. He asked the usual questions (is there inhibitor, have you bled the system, etc) and mentioned we had an old radiator in the bathroom. He thought this might be the source of air.
We were planning on getting the bathroom refitted so I decided to wait and see if that solved any issues.
We got the bathroom refitted. Now, the gurgling and air does not go to the top of the house but is in the towel rail in the bathroom. I can bleed the rad once a day and there’s maybe a second or two of air and then water. The pressure does not drop on the boiler.
I contacted Baxi again who came out and replaced the expansion vessel with a bigger one. The engineer also suggested fitting an automatic bleed valve on the chrome towel rail because in his experience chrome towel rails suck in air. I bought one two valves (one for spare) and fitted it.
I noticed an odd thing while fitting the automatic bleed valve. I turned off the two rad valves, released the pressure. Once the air left the rad I could put my finger in the top of the rad and feel there was no water there at all. I’d expected that the water would be just below the top of the rad?
But you’ve guessed it — still gurgling and air in the system! The automatic bleed valve doesn’t appear to vent automatically, not sure why. Could be faulty. I can swap it over with the spare but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The only other thing I noticed with the system is that if the system is off in the summer then there is minimal air in the rad. I assume because the pump isn't forcing water around the system?
If you got this far, thanks! I’d love to solve this issue and have a system that works! I’m not opposed to ripping out pipework and starting again (even though I’m nearing the end of a long renovation!). Ideally there are some simpler steps I can take to diagnose?
Any advice?
Around 2 years ago we had a very old, leaky Baxi combi replaced with a newer Baxi.
For background I live in a 3 storey terrace. First floor has 3 rads, second floor has 4 rads and third floor has 2 rads.
We noticed problems with noise and air in the system. One of the rads in the loft made gurgling noises. If the rad was bled, air came out. Also, at this time the pressure gauge was all over the place. Up to 3, back down to 1 and every number in between. The gauge didn’t appear to drop, though.
The installer wasn’t helpful over the phone so I ended up finding a different engineer.
Turns out the installer of the boiler didn’t do a particularly thorough job. He didn’t clean the old system, I found leaks on some of the nuts beneath the boiler, he didn’t fit a soak away outside so water drips out over our path (great in winter when it’s freezing).
He engineer found the expansion vessel was flat. He pumped it up, tightened the pipes, advised on a soak away. He told me to bleed all the rads individually for a few mins, top up the system and add more inhibitor. He also suggested power flushing the system. I did all this and also rented a machine and flushed the system myself.
I did all this but the problems remained. I ended up contacting Baxi who came out and replaced the expansion vessel.
This didn’t solve anything. More gurgling, more air.
We ended up getting the boiler serviced again (this is maybe a year after install) and I mentioned the problems to the engineer. He asked the usual questions (is there inhibitor, have you bled the system, etc) and mentioned we had an old radiator in the bathroom. He thought this might be the source of air.
We were planning on getting the bathroom refitted so I decided to wait and see if that solved any issues.
We got the bathroom refitted. Now, the gurgling and air does not go to the top of the house but is in the towel rail in the bathroom. I can bleed the rad once a day and there’s maybe a second or two of air and then water. The pressure does not drop on the boiler.
I contacted Baxi again who came out and replaced the expansion vessel with a bigger one. The engineer also suggested fitting an automatic bleed valve on the chrome towel rail because in his experience chrome towel rails suck in air. I bought one two valves (one for spare) and fitted it.
I noticed an odd thing while fitting the automatic bleed valve. I turned off the two rad valves, released the pressure. Once the air left the rad I could put my finger in the top of the rad and feel there was no water there at all. I’d expected that the water would be just below the top of the rad?
But you’ve guessed it — still gurgling and air in the system! The automatic bleed valve doesn’t appear to vent automatically, not sure why. Could be faulty. I can swap it over with the spare but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The only other thing I noticed with the system is that if the system is off in the summer then there is minimal air in the rad. I assume because the pump isn't forcing water around the system?
If you got this far, thanks! I’d love to solve this issue and have a system that works! I’m not opposed to ripping out pipework and starting again (even though I’m nearing the end of a long renovation!). Ideally there are some simpler steps I can take to diagnose?
Any advice?
