Draining heating systems before additional action
Draining heating systems before additional action
At some point in the lifetime of your fully pumped gas heating system you will want to flush it. To work on a heating radiator problem or to extend the system maybe. Whilst this will be carried out typically by an experienced engineer it is something that the average jack of all trades can execute if they have the experience of other household maintenance jobs.
Whilst there can be a multitude of causes the most standard is to flush the radiators. Before you do anything to the actual metal radiator you should turn off the gas fired boiler and any gas or electric that supplies the gas fired boiler. Another crucial step is to ensure that no additional water enters the central heating system whilst you are Emptying it.
gas central heating systems are normally topped up via a tank in the attic. The expansion water tank uses a ballvalve similar to that in a toilet system. The valve will be opened in the water levels fall as the ball will float on the falling water surface. This process will need to be stopped if the gas heating system is to be fully flushed. To prevent any more water getting in the valve needs to be off.
Now take a hose pipe emptying into an outside clean and connect this to the outlet valve on the bottom of your heating radiator. The water from your heating radiator will rate of flow through the hosepipe and out of your metal radiator system. As there will be water in the bottom floor metal radiators you will need to attach the hose pipe to one of these to ensure that the whole gas central heating system drains. You now need to be diligent and check that all the water has emptied out and that no more water is getting in before any other work is executed on the central heating system.
To make your heating system clear faster you should open any bleed valves on your metal radiators, starting with the metal radiators on the top story and working your way down. When completed work can now start on the system.