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Bleedin calorifiers!


frogprints

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My daughter advises me that her hot water system, from a calorifier, is "no longer getting as hot as it was" i.e if she ran the engine at night to charge the batteries, she would have adequate hot water the next morning for a shower - this is apparently no longer the case.

 

I suspected that the tank was not getting heated through so checked and topped up the engine coolant, which was low, but this has not solved the problem. Although the water is getting hot, but the tank is not, is it possible for there to be an airlock/blockage of some sort? :unsure:

 

How would we go about bleedin the system? As it will be a couple of weeks befor I can have a look myself is there any thing simple that she can try?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

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My daughter advises me that her hot water system, from a calorifier, is "no longer getting as hot as it was" i.e if she ran the engine at night to charge the batteries, she would have adequate hot water the next morning for a shower - this is apparently no longer the case.

 

I suspected that the tank was not getting heated through so checked and topped up the engine coolant, which was low, but this has not solved the problem. Although the water is getting hot, but the tank is not, is it possible for there to be an airlock/blockage of some sort? :unsure:

 

How would we go about bleedin the system? As it will be a couple of weeks befor I can have a look myself is there any thing simple that she can try?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Sounds like an airlock, especially as the coolant was low. The flow and return pipes should both be hot after the engne has run for a while, but if the return is remaining cool then that is a clue. Is there a bleed valve anywhere say at the highest point of the pipework? If not you could slacken off fittings along the way until water appears, but this gets messy. When we first fitted our calorifier, it was a bit tricky bleeding it initially, but I persevered and it went OK eventually.

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For a quick answer.

The easiest thing for her to crack open to bleed the air off is the engine coolant cap.

1. Make sure the engine is cold before removing the cap.

2. Run the engine for a few minutes, keep an eye on temp & coolant levels.

3. As already said check the temp of the pipes to & from the calorifier.

if that doesn't cure it there lots of other things that need checking.

Water pump is it belt driven.

Does the water pass thru' a thermostatic valve, this may be faulty.

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My daughter advises me that her hot water system, from a calorifier, is "no longer getting as hot as it was" i.e if she ran the engine at night to charge the batteries, she would have adequate hot water the next morning for a shower - this is apparently no longer the case.

 

I suspected that the tank was not getting heated through so checked and topped up the engine coolant, which was low, but this has not solved the problem. Although the water is getting hot, but the tank is not, is it possible for there to be an airlock/blockage of some sort? :unsure:

 

How would we go about bleedin the system? As it will be a couple of weeks befor I can have a look myself is there any thing simple that she can try?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

 

First check that the take off for the hot water is on the engine side of the thermostat (others will say differently).

 

Then check the engine thermostat is not stuck open.

 

To bleed.:

 

Make sure the engine is cold or only slightly warm.

 

Locate the point where the return hose connects to the engine "bottom" hose, probably close to the engine water pump, loosen the joint and make sure you can pull it off when ready.

 

Mix up a quantity of 50% antifreeze mixture in a watering can & remove engine filler cap. Hand can to assistant so they can top up as required.

 

Set engine to a very fast idle or a bit more.

 

Pull off return connection and place thumb over engine side, watch the water pouring out of the calorifier return hose until you are sure no more air is in the circuit. Remove thumb & remake connection.

 

Stop engine. Tighten hose, top up, restart engine and run until hot, checking for leaks.

 

Do not remove filler cap on a hot engine.

 

Tony Brooks

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