My central heating is squealing??

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Couldn't sleep much last night - the dog was whining I have ear ache but worst off there was a squealing noise comeing from everywhere!
I couldn't work out where it was coming from as it seemed to move and get noisier and quieter at different places round the house
when I woke up this morning a bit less tired and had regained my sence of logic I narowed it down to the only thing that is all over the house - the central heating.
We have one of those boilers that heats the water when you turn the tap on or heats the water when the are taps on as well as the radiators (set by the temp control on the front) - I asume it's a "combi boiler"
anyway when I swithed the whole thing off this morning it stopped sqeeling, I turned it back on and there was no sqeeling (despite the heating comeing on straight away) It has now come back again and it's driving me potty!
Especially as I have ear ache and one of the little wall warts in the living room is also squeeling

edit:
I'm that tired I forgot to ask the question....
anyone got any idea what the squeeling is or what can be done about it?

[DSJR]

Make sure you have the correct inhibitor in the water, if any at all. Check FIRST with a qualified Corgi chap to ensure everything's as it should.....

[steveinspain]

Do you have thermostatic valves fitted to the rads ?
If so, unscrew the control bit to open up/turn on the rads so they are on full.
This may stop it - what can happen is that as the valves close down the flow of hot the water has to squeeze past causing a squeeling sound that varies from room to room, and time to time depending on the temperature.
I always hated the things for that very reason, though I believe decent ones do work better now..

As you have recently moved in to the place (is it bought or rented ?) it might be worth looking into the history of the system, if possible - it may benefit from cleaning out the rads and a boiler service if it has been there a few years - inhibitor should be present, but is unlikely to cause any noise such as you describe - a lack of it can cause knocking, and you DO have a combi !

[Mark Grant]

I would try with the boiler powered up but heating off, so you know if it is the water pump or maybe a radiator valve as Steve mentions.
We had a noisy thermostatic radiator valve recently, easily fixed by removing the plastic body off it and operating the 'plunger' many times with a big screwdriver to free it off.

Also might be the flue fan if its a combi with a fanned flue.

Just a process of elimination until you decide what it is and if it needs an engineer or not.

Mark.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

cheers chap... il look in to the valves thing first... that sounds fairly reasonable conclusion as i dont thinkl any of them are on full

[Stratmangler]

Have you bled the radiators ?
Air moving around the system can also cause whining.
If you do bleed the radiators you may have to increase the amount of water in the system - do so very carefully, otherwise you'll over pressurise the system, and you'll need to vent off the pressure by dumping water out of the system.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

how do you bleed a radiator... should i have a little key thing... i havnet got a bloody clue about central heating!

[Stratmangler]

You need a key.
Most hardware shops have them.
B&Q most certainly do.

The key goes fits into a bleed point at the top of the radiator. When you turn the key anti-clockwise it will open the bleed point slightly. If you hear a loud hissing with no water coming out you have air in the system. When the air has been removed from the radiator you'll get a trickle of water coming out - close the vent point when this happens.

You'll need to repeat the procedure for every radiator on the system - add water into the system a little at a time after bleeding each radiator, that way things will stay fairly well balanced pressure wise.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

add water?... how do i do that?

[Stratmangler]

There will be a valve/tap/stopcock somewhere near the combi boiler.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Hmm, il get hannah's das round to have a look and show me the ropes, cheers for the pointers all!!

[Mark Grant]

Good idea, you might make it worse if you dont know how to add more water :)

[Stratmangler]

Good idea, you might make it worse if you dont know how to add more water :)

+1

[Covenant]

Check the water pressure if its a combi. Most boilers are supposed to be 1-1.5 bar. The filling loop by the boiler allows you to increase the pressure.

[Puffin]

If you've stopped putting your cock in the stop-cock...there's your problem!

[john blackburn]

Hi hamish

If you want to read up a bit on boilers try this site.

http://www.diynot.com/forums/

There's pretty well every aspect of house diy covered, plus cars, computers and plenty more. It saved me a heavy call out fee for our Ideal boiler, just hope your boiler has a different name on it. Ideal? Far from it.

Look for "filler loop" on there, it will tell you how to fill the system if it needs it. Keep an eye on the pressure gauge and be aware it will rise a little when the system gets hot. Does it only make the noise with the central heating running or will it do it when there is a demand for hot water only?

Hope it helps a bit.

John

[The Vinyl Adventure]

i tried my cock in the stop cock but it got too hot and it didnt do jot

[Puffin]

Wot, and you a bell-end boy..tut tut.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I did fail to mention the other symptoms caused - bizzare ballooning bell-end and bulbous balls!

[Marco]

Couldn't sleep much last night - the dog was whining I have ear ache but worst off there was a squealing noise comeing from everywhere!
I couldn't work out where it was coming from as it seemed to move and get noisier and quieter at different places round the house
when I woke up this morning a bit less tired and had regained my sence of logic I narowed it down to the only thing that is all over the house - the central heating.


Ah, that's easy... You've got weevils in your boiler (it happens all the time):


http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/844/800pxweevilseptember200.jpg (http://img169.imageshack.us/i/800pxweevilseptember200.jpg/)


You need to contact your local weevil worrier, and a man will come round with a special gun and remove them.

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

your mistaking me for a beaver believer Marco

[Marco]

I thought you were quite partial to a wee hairy beaver? :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

Oh dear.

[Marco]

<Shtifles a shniggerette> :eyebrows:

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Shave it round it's face an leave a little bit of fluff on top of it's head ... That's the sort of beaver I belive in!

[Marco]

Yup, you need a bit of fur around the edges to cushion the old chestnuts when they hit home ;)

Marco.

[REM]

http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac294/Vinylista/beaver_shave.gif

[Marco]

F*ckin' hilarious, Ralph!

:lol: :lol:

Marco.

[Kris]

how do you bleed a radiator... should i have a little key thing... i havnet got a bloody clue about central heating!

Ye Gods, what do they teach at school these days? Bleeding radiators used to come in the life skills course, lesson two :lolsign:

[Mark Grant]

Ye Gods, what do they teach at school these days?

Playing about with computers :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

I'm sure I could work it out, it's just now it's my boiler and not one I'm a rented house I'm more aprehensive... It's stopped squeeling now anway :scratch:

as for school... Yeah computers mostly ... Gone are the days where people actually learnt usefull stuff at school (asuming there were such days :) - way before my time - you lot are like well old compared to, like, me, init :lolsign: )