Central Heating Problem - Maybe I can get all the facts right this time!

[GB]

In the area where the pump is I've now removed all the housing so I acn see what's going on.

The pump impeller shaft is definitely turning, but I have no way of knowing whether the impeller has come off the shaft. So, that's a possibility.

I have a pair of pipes labelled bf and br - boiler feed and return. the bf pipe has the pump on it.

The boiler feed pipe leads down to a 3 way valve. Honeywell VC4013-02. One arm leads off to the hot water cylinder. That pipe is hot. The other arm goes to the central heating flow pipe. That side is all coldish. So, I'm coming to the conclusion it's actually the motorised valve that's not working correctly.

I took the actuator off, and there's a spring loaded piston on the hydronic part which I can't move. I'm not sure how stiff this is meant to be? This part of the system is all in 28mm pipework, so it's a really chunky valve and I'm not clear how easy it ought to be to move the piston?

In case it's any help, I found a spec sheet for the valves here:

[geoff]

In message , GB writes

The pump is turning - you have a call for central heating

The shaft is rotating, but you seem to have no circulation

go figure

[GB]

In frustration, I gave the piston a few taps with a hammer. On the third tap, it suddenly sprang upwards, and we now have central heating again! (As it was stuck fully down, that explains why no amount of pushing would get it to go down further.)

So, the next question is whether the valve needs replacing? A bit of WD40, maybe? In short, what do I need to do to stop this repeating, please?

Thanks for all your help.

[geoff]

In message , GB writes

There's lots of info in the DIY-FAQ