Corgi Installers, Radiator Valves & Boiler Installations

[Seri]

Oh wizards of D.I.Y. (hey, a bit of flattery when asking for help never hurts!)

I'm just about to order a new boiler to replace our two existing ones, have chosen a Worcester Greenstar 40HE Plus.

1: Can anyone recommend a Corgi gas fitter in the South London/Croydon area to hook this thing up to the gas feed and disconnect the other two (literally, that's all I want them to do, the part that means you must be Corgi registered)

2: I'm converting from an open heating system to a closed pressurised system and have been told that some of the radiator valves may not be up to the job. If this is the case, can I simply swap the radiator valves out for new ones or do I need to completely replace and radiators that fail?

3: Is there anything else I need to consider?

The boiler is going to be going in a completely new location to the existing two boilers so I can have it hung, vented and plumbed in before getting the Corgi person on site.

Thanks for any and all help.

Seri

[Christian McArdle]

Basically, you connect it up and look for leaks. Tighten anything that does leak. If that doesn't work, replace the component that leaks. Generally speaking, if anything does leak, it was knackered anyway. It just shows up very slightly quicker on a higher pressure system.

However, you may need to bring your valves up to date. Unless you have an S-Plan-Plus system with a zone per room, then you should ensure that any rooms without a room thermostat in have thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). You should insert the locking pins into these to prevent selection higher than around 22C. This is because most people can't be convinced that TRVs sense room temperature and thus use them like traditional valves (i.e. power controls) and complain every 20 minutes when they are too cold or too hot because they haven't discovered that they can be set to positions other than '0' and '6'.

Christian.

[BillV]

I did it myself in a south London flat because we couldn't get a corgi guy to connect only for love or money. It was actually very easy if the boiler install instructions were followed. Obvious really as the average corgi idiot has to be able to follow them.. Took precautions of checking for leaks with leak detector fluid and manometer on gas meter test point.

[Ed Sirett]

Try the Corgi web site

which has a 'find an installer page'. The search is based on you location, so at least the companies/idividuals are nearby.

This will depend on the level of corrosion in the existing units. Its your call, if the valves are a problem they can be exchanged after the event. There is an outside chance a really badly rusted radiator might split open when it comes under full pressure.

I would get and pay your chosen fitter to come and discuss the work first. That way you won't get into a situation where you have no heating and can't find anyone prepared to commission it.

[Ed Sirett]

To cut down on reading I go even further and have a few favourite models about which I know what the manual says. However I came unstuck the other week when they changed the size of the flue so it protrudes less out of the wall.

These are not precautions they are core techniques in the business of competant gas fitting.

[Seri]

All good advice, but I don't think the SO would let me rest if I did the gas part myself (she frets no matter what I do, let alone when there's the chance of a pretty explosion).

Anyone have any tips on how to prime the system before hand? Flushing out the rads etc?

Thanks

Seri

[Christian McArdle]

A week before, give it a clean water flush until the water runs clear. Then put an aggressive cleanser in the system and run it like that for a week (or as long as the instructions allow). This will descale and to some extent desludge the system. It may even find any of the incipient pinhole leaks that would have only come to light after the pressurisation. Some leaks are blocked simply by the scale and gunk of the system. Better to know where they are early, so they can be replaced.

As the plumber does all the boiler installation bits, you can remove all the radiators and pressure wash their insides in the garden. If you can live without heating for a few days, then you could even take the opportunity to refresh their paintwork, and paint behind them where horrible 70s wallpaper has been left instead of your nice freshly painted colours in the rest of the walls. Before putting the radiators back, put reflective radiator foil behind them too, especially for those mounted on outside walls. It's very cheap.

Christian.