Strange Radiator problem/Gravity return valve???

[Tony & Debs]

Hi all

We have a glow-worm boiler in the kitchen, which is used to heat the water and supply the radiators when heating is required. Upstairs in the 2nd bedroom there is a cold water tank and hot water tank with an electric emersion heater.(never used). Today on returning home from work, the hot water has come on via the combi boiler(no heating on) but the radiators downstairs were all red hot, even though the timer was set to hot water only and the thermostat in the hallway was on minimum.

Any ideas???

have done a Google and the general consensus seems to be the gravity return valve???? If this is the culprit, where is it located and is it easily sorted..

Thanks for you help

Tony

[Heliotrope Smith]

Do you have more than one boiler? You mention a combi for the hot water but then talk about gravity return valve.

[Tony & Debs]

No just a gas boiler in the kitchen and an emersion heater that i never used upstairs.

[Lurch]

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:07:27 GMT, "Tony & Debs" mused:

What sort of gas boiler? Any model numbers on it?

Not really sure what a gravity return valve is but either you have soe weird concoction of systems linked together or you have misdescribed something.

[Tony & Debs]

Its a Glowworm spacesaver about 20 years old..

[Roger]

The message from Lurch contains these words:

Surely a gravity return valve would be a valve in the system to prevent gravity circulation in the heating system when the heating is off. (Does anyone fit such things these days?)

What is the betting that the OPs problem is the usual cause of distress

- a 3 port valve that won't behave properly. No use looking to me for advice on those though. I only know sufficient about them to avoid installing one for myself. :-)

[TMC]

combi's do not usually have water tanks and were not commonly installed 20 years ago as regs around that time required a separate water pressurisation vessel

this valve moves the flow of water between the feed to the tank and the feed to the rads and is electrically controlled by the programmer and thermostat

Tony