Cozzer
Established Member
I've groaned before about out F22 boiler error. A Vaillant Ecotec Pro. During the summer, when the heating's not used, we used to get the F22 error every 4 or 5 days.
The plumber suggested we had a leak in the system, although we never found one. Everything else seemed to be working OK, so he stuck with the leak theory..."keep your eyes open".
We did, and never spotted anything. No damp carpets, no bulging ceiling....nothing.
As we hit early winter, the central heating was turned on...and the F22s became more regular. We operate the heating by using the wall thermostat - we were told that Vaillant clocks on the boiler weren't that dependable, hence using the wall job...
We never got an F22 during the day when the heating was working - it was always overnight when the thermostat had been turned "off".
The next morning we'd top the tank up by the filling loop with the two valves, and you'd hear the boiler kick in.
As time's gone on, the F22s started being a little more frequent - every other day was bad enough, but about a month ago, it became literally a daily event.
We'd asked the plumber to do a boiler service last September, before the onset on cold weather...he turned up last Sunday. By now, we had other problems. In the bathroom, unless you flushed the toilet first, the hot water pipes would be trying to free themselves from inside the wall. The sink hot tap would cough, splutter, fart and spit water at you. The pipes banging was so loud, even our neighbours commented. Well, complained, really. Eventually the bathroom sink cold tap started in harmony. The noise was horrendous; even the sink pedestal vibrated. You were almost afraid to turn the taps on...
Anyway, laddo checked the boiler, ruling out other F22 causes. Conclusion was the same - there's a leak somewhere. It's a solid floor under the lounge, so the money's on the leak being under it. He'd brought some liquid "magic leak sealer" which he added to the system, and so far, it's worked. No F22 since last Sunday....
And so to the banging pipes...."the pressure's too much". I don't know about these things, but laddo commented that it "must be about 10 bar". Might have been a jokey/off/whatever type comment, but he's been a plumber for above 30 years, so knows more than I do.
Under the kitchen sink sits the stop tap. At about 5 past the hour, the water's completely off. On the hour, it's a mere trickle out of the taps, hot or cold. At 5 to the hour, the banging's back with a vengeance. We settle around the 2 minutes to the hour, and no banging/rattling. Heaven.
I say "heaven". You can't use two "water items" at the same time. Flush the toilet? You have to then wait until the cistern fills before you can wash your hands, and the tap has to be fully turned on to get any worthwhile flow. If you don't wait for the cistern to fill, you get a dribble from the tap...
The washing machine takes an eternity to fill. The shower? You have to move around under it to actually get wet.... There's no "force" whatsoever.
To wash the dishes in the kitchen sink, you turn the tap fully open and wait for 30 seconds plus before the water is hot enough. I used to virtually fill the sink to wash the pots - I don't now. It would literally take 5 minutes plus.
This can't be right. It's driving me mad.
Tell me please - is it worth me sticking my arm down the mains tap/stopcock (?) on the pavement outside the house? Is it "too open"? Too "closed"? What?!
The plumber suggested we had a leak in the system, although we never found one. Everything else seemed to be working OK, so he stuck with the leak theory..."keep your eyes open".
We did, and never spotted anything. No damp carpets, no bulging ceiling....nothing.
As we hit early winter, the central heating was turned on...and the F22s became more regular. We operate the heating by using the wall thermostat - we were told that Vaillant clocks on the boiler weren't that dependable, hence using the wall job...
We never got an F22 during the day when the heating was working - it was always overnight when the thermostat had been turned "off".
The next morning we'd top the tank up by the filling loop with the two valves, and you'd hear the boiler kick in.
As time's gone on, the F22s started being a little more frequent - every other day was bad enough, but about a month ago, it became literally a daily event.
We'd asked the plumber to do a boiler service last September, before the onset on cold weather...he turned up last Sunday. By now, we had other problems. In the bathroom, unless you flushed the toilet first, the hot water pipes would be trying to free themselves from inside the wall. The sink hot tap would cough, splutter, fart and spit water at you. The pipes banging was so loud, even our neighbours commented. Well, complained, really. Eventually the bathroom sink cold tap started in harmony. The noise was horrendous; even the sink pedestal vibrated. You were almost afraid to turn the taps on...
Anyway, laddo checked the boiler, ruling out other F22 causes. Conclusion was the same - there's a leak somewhere. It's a solid floor under the lounge, so the money's on the leak being under it. He'd brought some liquid "magic leak sealer" which he added to the system, and so far, it's worked. No F22 since last Sunday....
And so to the banging pipes...."the pressure's too much". I don't know about these things, but laddo commented that it "must be about 10 bar". Might have been a jokey/off/whatever type comment, but he's been a plumber for above 30 years, so knows more than I do.
Under the kitchen sink sits the stop tap. At about 5 past the hour, the water's completely off. On the hour, it's a mere trickle out of the taps, hot or cold. At 5 to the hour, the banging's back with a vengeance. We settle around the 2 minutes to the hour, and no banging/rattling. Heaven.
I say "heaven". You can't use two "water items" at the same time. Flush the toilet? You have to then wait until the cistern fills before you can wash your hands, and the tap has to be fully turned on to get any worthwhile flow. If you don't wait for the cistern to fill, you get a dribble from the tap...
The washing machine takes an eternity to fill. The shower? You have to move around under it to actually get wet.... There's no "force" whatsoever.
To wash the dishes in the kitchen sink, you turn the tap fully open and wait for 30 seconds plus before the water is hot enough. I used to virtually fill the sink to wash the pots - I don't now. It would literally take 5 minutes plus.
This can't be right. It's driving me mad.
Tell me please - is it worth me sticking my arm down the mains tap/stopcock (?) on the pavement outside the house? Is it "too open"? Too "closed"? What?!
