# Problem with stove heating



## niallo34 (6 Nov 2011)

I have a dual heating system.

1. A new Greenstar gas boiler - heats all rads without issue.
2. A Stanley Erin Boiler Stove.

The Stove has been installed a few months now but am only really using it the last few weeks.

Up to yesterday evening, it heated all the rads within a few minutes of being lit and all rads and water were very hot.

Last night I light the stove and it took about 90 minutes for the rads to get tepid, I checked the pump next to the stove and all the pipes were cold though the stove itself was very hot and the pump was working. The Pipe stat next to the pump is set to 65c.

The rads never got any hotter than tepid even though the stove was blazing for about three hours.

I haven't changed anything that I'm aware of. I've lit it again tonight and all rads up & down are tepid again.

Can anyone assist?

Thanks


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## Shane007 (6 Nov 2011)

It is difficult to diagnose remotely, however it sounds like a circulating pump failure. The pump maybe spinning but the impellor may be defective. Also is the gas boiler an open vented model?


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## niallo34 (7 Nov 2011)

Shane007 said:


> It is difficult to diagnose remotely, however it sounds like a circulating pump failure. The pump maybe spinning but the impellor may be defective. Also is the gas boiler an open vented model?



The Gas boiler is open vented afaik.

Anyway I can check if the pump is working - it's definitely spinning.


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## eamo (8 Nov 2011)

NIALLO34   would your gas have been on as well as the stove,a stove would not heat all rads and hot water in a few minutes ,maybe tepid after 90 minutes eamo.


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## villa 1 (8 Nov 2011)

The pump motor capacitor may be faulty. On the front of the pump is a bleeding screw which can be taken/screwed off(put a liitle dish and towel to collect dripping water). Use a screwdriver or pin nose pliers to manually turn the impeller inside the pump. If the impeller starts to spin this will move the water around the system. Replace the bleed screw. 
If this problem persists you may need to change the pump motor capacitor or even the pump.
This is a common occurrence with circulating pumps especially after long periods of no use.


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## niallo34 (9 Nov 2011)

I think I've identified the source of the problem.

The temperature on the pump stat was set to 65c.

I reduced this to 30c and the pump kicked in sooner. 

What would be optimal temperature for this stat?


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## Shane007 (9 Nov 2011)

niallo34 said:


> I think I've identified the source of the problem.
> 
> The temperature on the pump stat was set to 65c.
> 
> ...


 
If you turn the stat down to 30C it will heat the hw cylinder to 60 - 70C or whatever it can achieve, once the fire is goes out and cools the circulating pump will not switch off until it dumps the heat from your hw cylinder and reaches back to 30C. 

It sounds like the thermostat is too far from the stove. The thermostat should be located as close as possible to the flow pipe on the stove. It is located in your hot press, then it is too far and will require re-locating.

You originally stated that the pump was spinning therefore how is now suddenly working?


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## niallo34 (10 Nov 2011)

Shane007 said:


> If you turn the stat down to 30C it will heat the hw cylinder to 60 - 70C or whatever it can achieve, once the fire is goes out and cools the circulating pump will not switch off until it dumps the heat from your hw cylinder and reaches back to 30C.
> 
> It sounds like the thermostat is too far from the stove. The thermostat should be located as close as possible to the flow pipe on the stove. It is located in your hot press, then it is too far and will require re-locating.
> 
> You originally stated that the pump was spinning therefore how is now suddenly working?



So 30c should be ok so?

The stat is right beside the flow pipe - I've a seperate stat on the cylinder upstairs.

The pump was always spinning but now I can hear water being circulated


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## Shane007 (10 Nov 2011)

No, 30C is too low because it will dump the heat from your cylinder when stove cools down. It should be set to 60C.

If it is not turning on the pump when the pipe is hot then it could be wired incorrectly. There is will one common connection and outputs. One will be for live when stat is turned up and the other will be live when stat turned down. You will need to check with a continuity meter to see which it is wired to.

Pump should not be always spinning. This should only happen when the stat allows it.


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## niallo34 (11 Nov 2011)

Thanks I'll try that this weekend.

I was just a little confused as the pump appears to click off as I lower the temperature on the pipe stat.


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## Shane007 (11 Nov 2011)

If you turn down the stat and the pump switches off then this is correct. If you leave it set to 60C, the pump will switch on when the flow pipe temperature reaches 60C and switch off when it falls below this. If the pump is set to a low temperature the pump will operate at low temperature and eventually drain the heat from the hw cylinder coil and dump it in the stove back boiler. You could slightly lower the temperature of the stat to say 50 or 55C but you should heat the water to at least 60C regularly to eliminate the risk of legionnaires disease which will not survive at temps above 55C.


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## niallo34 (12 Nov 2011)

Shane007 said:


> If you turn down the stat and the pump switches off then this is correct. If you leave it set to 60C, the pump will switch on when the flow pipe temperature reaches 60C and switch off when it falls below this. If the pump is set to a low temperature the pump will operate at low temperature and eventually drain the heat from the hw cylinder coil and dump it in the stove back boiler. You could slightly lower the temperature of the stat to say 50 or 55C but you should heat the water to at least 60C regularly to eliminate the risk of legionnaires disease which will not survive at temps above 55C.



Tried it at 60 having had the gas on for about an hour first and all the rads up and down are heated nicely.

Thanks for the assistance.


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