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Draining heating system on Ex Ownerships boat


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Iain did the one on Copperkins (also a Pat Buckle boat) several years ago but he is out just now. I'll mention this to him when he comes home later. He did it when we were moored in Chester (near a water point) and I remember he had one of the radiators off (I wanted to paint it) and it was full of dirty black stuff! Took ages running clean water through it to get it running clear. 

haggis

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1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

Er - he said HEATING system, not engine coolant.

I suspect it may be on the end of a pipe that is poking backwards to one side of the engine. Just a pipe with a tap of some kind on it, but its a guess.

Thanks Tony I'll have a look for that in the morning. I did a search for info on this and found an amusing exchange between you and an owner that was rendered quite difficult by the forum concerned censuring the word "cock"!

No such problems with the more liberal Canal World........

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When I did Copperkins' heating, I used to undo a radiator connection, and let it drain into a basin. I think there was a drain down cock in the engine bay, in the calorifier line, but I don't remember ever using it! I found the radiators usually needed flushed through (or painted!), anyway, which was easier done with the radiators off the boat.

Copperkins isn't typical of the ex-Ownerships fleet, though.

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Perhaps be somewhere near the bulkhead in the engine room between there and the rear cabin, engine room side I would have thought.
 OR at the base of the boiler.

Personally I would just top up with neat antifreeze in the header tank when it needs topping up!

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I don't think there is one. Like Iain I have disconnected one of the radiator connections. It's a bit messy but can be done. You are lucky you need to change the antifreeze. Ours has had a few leaks over the years which meant the antifreeze was continually being topped up. 

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19 hours ago, Rog Davies said:



Personally I would just top up with neat antifreeze in the header tank when it needs topping up!

It's more the corrosion inhibitors you need to be concerned about rather than the antifreeze properties. The jury is still out as to what might happen if you just add corrosion inhibitors without removing the original fluid. 

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14 hours ago, Peter Thornton said:

I'm reluctant to add neat antifreeze as I've heard that this can cause problems with an inversion lock. Also I wouldn't know how much to add. I'll have a look for a tap in the engine bay. Thanks for the comments.

You are right, if you just add neat antifreeze and there is only water in there at the moment it could well take ages to mix and just stratify in the radiator 

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I think I found it? There are two fittings into the calorifier each with a tap on them. The only thing is that the bottom one is higher than the lowest point of the radiators. I'm guessing that I drain as much as possible from here then the rest from a radiator valve.

or maybe just refill with a stronger mixture of water and antifreeze assuming that this will mix ok?

The puzzling thing was that the water seemed absolutely clear whereas I would have expected it to be discoloured. The boiler is an Alde gas boiler. I suppose that these heat the water directly, rather than indirectly?

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On 10/03/2017 at 20:14, cuthound said:

If you can attach  a short length of hose to the tap so that the end is lower than the pipework, then you will be able to syphon out all of the water from the heating system. 

Now why didn't I think of that! 

Although I guess the siphon will be broken when air gets in and not all the liquid will be removed?

i think I'll do that and then end up with the bowl under the radiator.

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