CH & Stopcock

[AndyM]

I Recently moved into a 1950's house that I am discovering, over time, has been plumbed by an imbecile. Also, with age, all the c*ck/tap sealing washers have the consistency of coal.

I'm fitting a combi and have just refilled the CH system. The bathroom radiator (next to the original tank) appears not to be connected to CH system at all. Q1. Is it possible that the rad was connected to the original 28mm gravity feed pipes? Why would someone do this?

Now that I am ready to break into the mains for the boiler feed I find that the stop c*ck will turn off but doesn't stop the flow. A meter has been fitted before the c*ck and an inline brass valve before the meter. The valve has a slot with a central hole --o-- .

Q2. Does this need a special tool cos I can't get it to budge. Does it turn 360 deg or 90 deg left / right??

Thanks

AndyM

[Richard Porter]

Because you might want a warm towel rail even when the CH is turned off.

It's dificult to visualise but this sounds like an isolating ball valve. In this case it should rotate 90 deg between full flow and cut-off. The slot should be in line with the pipe for full flow and at right angles to it when the flow is stopped. You can turn it either way.

It's likely that the stopcock is scaled up so won't close properly. If you can't shut the water off inside then you may find an external stopcock in the road outside.

[Gordon Henderson]

So the bathroom radiator warms up with the boiler just heating the tank even if the CH is turned off. Some people think it's nice to have warm towels and a warm bathroom, even when you don't neccessarily need the central heating on...

I imagine it's in paralel with the tank coil, so turning it off won't affect flow - it'd be even better if it had a TRV fitted.. (Which is how I think my in-laws works)

We have a similar one connected to the main tank coil which is fed from the cooker. Shame it's in the spare bedroom and not the bathroom though )-: I think it's original pupose was to act as an extra heat sink in the days when the original range was a coal-fired Rayburn though. It used to get f'ing hot at times!!!

Can't answer that I'm afraid - out street stop-c*ck is plastic and only needs aquarter turn..

Gordon

[Scott M]

Why on earth would I want to take a bath at 4:30am? ;-)

I suppose years ago with solid fueled systems this idea would have merit, but most people set their timers so the water's up to temp before they're up. And, in my case, before the CH's set to come on.

[Set Square]

My bathroom and en suite radiators are *not* on the HW circuit - but I *do* have warm towels in the summer by setting the CH to come on for 1/2 and hour in the morning, with all rads turned off except for these two. And yes, my HW is hot before this - using a conventional programmer for HW and a programmable room stat for CH (with CH on the main programmer set to continuous). This makes the two sides completely independent.

[Christian McArdle]

You don't need to. With a modern system with good insulation and a pumped primary it works even better. Even with the HW set to always on, the system won't run at night, as there is no water to heat up. It might do a top up for 2 minutes every couple of hours, if you're unlucky. However, when you run a bath, the systems goes into overdrive and your radiators get nice and warm for your towels, just when you need it most. After 15-20 minutes, the system is completely recovered and the radiator turns off just as you're getting out.

Christian.