Non-motoring > Boiler making a racket - pump? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: RattleandSmoke Replies: 15
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 09:40 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - RattleandSmoke
The boiler is making a bit of a noise. It is really hard to describe the noise and it is intermittent but it sounds like gale force windows hitting a glass window (it not that windy here) and it is making a rather loud hum.

I can't see how it is the boiler itself, but could it be the pump on its away out?

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 Sun 24 Mar 13 09:50 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Old Navy
It may be the fan bearings, but any ones guess, without hearing it. It is gas man time, you would not like an amateur getting inside your computer even though the result may not be as fatal as a duff boiler could be.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 10:03 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - sherlock47
Use the old trick of screwdriver and human auditory interface to localise the noise.

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 Sun 24 Mar 13 10:26 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Zero
It could be kettling and banging due to crud and air in the water, it could be the fan, it could be the pump. All are distinctive sounds to the educated ear.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 10:13 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Manatee
Not banging noises is it?
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 10:30 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Slidingpillar
Cheapskate cure for banging noises in the boiler itself is a squirt of washing up liquid in the header tank.

There are however numerous reasons why it's not the best of ideas and a good boiler engineer will drain, flush and refill with a bottle of Fernox or similar in the system.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 10:42 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - bathtub tom
Mine's kettling like mad. I'm waiting until it's warmer then I'll give it a flush, add some de-scaler, flush again and re-fill with Fernox solution.

If it's an old system with a header tank, have you checked the water level in the header. It's common for the ball valve to seize allowing the system to run partially dry. You could be hearing the results of that.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 11:21 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Bromptonaut
Unless the pump is very close to the boiler it should be easy to eliminate. Pump or fan bearings usually chatter/rattle.

Whooshing sounds to me like kettling. Ours did this a couple of years ago, eventually overheating and shutting down altogether. My own tests showed that draining water from lowest rad was not creating a corresponding fall in the header.

Plumber went straight to spot where the downpipe from the header tank joins the main plumbing in the airing cupboard. and tested it with a magnet, was completely obstructed by iron oxide(?).

Cut out affected section, cleaned and partly replaced using compression joints so that later removal would be easier. Refilled and charged with fenox.

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 Sun 24 Mar 13 13:13 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - RattleandSmoke
It has all gone silent now.

It is an old gravity system, with a cold water tank in the loft, a hot water tank in my room, and then the boiler under that in the kitchen. The bump is directly above the boiler, so it is difficult to work out if it is the pump or the something inside the boiler itself.

We had remove all the plaster of the wall in the bedroom above the boiler, and debris fell through the holes under the floorboards, and landed on a worktop in the kitchen right next to the boiler, so I wonder if bits of got into the boiler itself?

PS I am not touching the boiler itself, it is about the only thing I would never consider touching apart from if the pilot goes out, (the electronic ignition doesn't work).
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Sun 24 Mar 13 at 13:14
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 13:25 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Ambo
Ours makes more of a thud. Boilerman says it is sediment that tries to move off the bottom when heated but only succeeds in moving up a little, then falling back. He says to ignore it.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 14:10 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Zero
>> It has all gone silent now.
>>
>> It is an old gravity system, with a cold water tank in the loft, a
>> hot water tank in my room, and then the boiler under that in the kitchen.
>> The bump is directly above the boiler, so it is difficult to work out if
>> it is the pump or the something inside the boiler itself.

If its got a pump, or even a bump, its not a gravity fed system. Its a pumped system.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 14:34 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - BiggerBadderDave
My boiler-in-law has plenty of bumps but she hasn't been pumped for more than twenty years.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 14:59 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - R.P.
Ah yes BBD. Glad you're back.

Rats,

How old is the old boiler...?
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 15:04 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - RattleandSmoke
It is a 1984 Glowarm Space saver. We had the thermocouple replaced last year. The plumber who looked at the boiler said it was still perfectly serviceable. It is an antique though.
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 15:14 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - R.P.
Maybe worth looking to replace it with a more modern one - there are grants available in Wales not sure about over the dyke. (calm down BBD)
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 Sun 24 Mar 13 16:52 
 Boiler making a racket - pump? - Dutchie
I had one of the Glowarm boilers for more than twenty years good little boilers.Like yours the thermo coupling replaced a few times.We had a header tank in the loft and a Grundfoss pump.

Replaced with a condensing boiler no header tank needed.
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