Frequently Asked Questions

If you are constantly losing pressure in the heating system you could try the following to establish the cause by:

1. Checking all visible joints including radiator valves and connections for obvious signs of leakage. There needs to be consideration to potential leaks to any under-floor pipe work.
2. Check that there is no water being discharged from the pressure relief valve (sometimes referred to as an overflow). This pipe usually goes from the boiler through to an outside wall and terminates outside. Check this for signs of dripping. If it is wet, this may mean that the pressure relief valve is faulty.

In either case, if your heating system keeps losing pressure to gain advice or help you should:

• Contact APG Domestic Services via out online form
• Call us on 01772 697166

This gurgling sound may be caused by a blocked condensate pipe, please contact us to resolve the issue.

To view a video that shows how to re-pressure a heating system using an internal filling key by clicking here.

This is normally due to a build up of air in the radiator.

This can usually be cured by bleeding the radiator using a key. Have a cloth ready to catch the drips as the water can be dirty.

This can be more of a challenge. This can occur on older systems and is often due to a build up of sludge or Magnetite in the bottom of the radiator. Excessive deposits in a central heating system indicate that the water has not been treated with a corrosion inhibitor over the life of the installation, or perhaps the inhibitor has been emptied at some point and not topped up? Other indications are noisy pumps sticking valves poor warm up times intermittent radiator warm up and boiler overheating.

Although it is often possible to effect an improvement by adding a chemical ‘central heating restorer’ to the system or disconnecting the radiator and flushing it out outside with a high pressure hose ultimately the the most permanent remedy is professional flushing & cleaning. Call APG Domestic Services for a quotation, or click here for more information on powerflushing.

This can be caused by an airlock. Try turning all the other radiators in the house off (using the radiator valves noting the number of turns each time) and then try bleeding. Reset the valves to their original positions when you have finished (see below regarding ‘balancing’).

Alternatively sometimes central heating systems suffer from a ‘blocked cold feed’ which will gradually cause the system to run out of water because it isolates the water feed and expansion tank from the radiators, pipework, boiler & controls.

Repairing a blocked cold feed is not a DIY proposition. Call APG Domestic Services to request a service engineer visit.

This can be achieved by adjusting the lockshield valve (usually covered with a plastic cap) to adjust flow of water to all the radiators in the property.

Professionals usually set these up by checking the temperature differential across the inlet/outlet pipes; however a more basic balance can be achieved by reducing the flow to those radiators nearest the heat distribution point (normally the pump) and opening the valves to a greater degree on those radiators furthest away.