Calorifier

[plumbob]

Good morning. I’m not getting any hot coolant getting to the calorifier so I suspect airlock.

on investigating a way to solve it I’ve found the attached connections but I don’t really understand them? Why 2 valves? Could the top brass valve be designed to let air out? Do both valves need to open to run the heating system? It’s a Broom 39.
Thank you
DView attachment 116860View attachment 116861
View attachment 116860View attachment 116861

It looks as though the gate valve, the red top thingy, could be stuck , shut or open, and the elbow joints which were there have been replaced by tee joints to "easily" enable another Bypass to be fitted. If you cannot easily move the red handle, leave it alone. Use a screwdriver and open the ballofix valve and see what flows then. The gate valve appears to be 15mm but the ballofix is 22mm which could explain a lot, ie not original Broom plumbing. Its possible , becauseb this stuff is easy to alter that the installer decided that would be the lesser of the 2 weevils. Its a sealed system so should really not be any air trapped. I suspect you have what is often referred to in the trade as ONOFF syndrome. My Broom has a bypass but only because the flow to the cal. has a thermostatic valve on it. Any chance of a better pic?? Good luck

 

[Dave1966]

It looks as though the gate valve, the red top thingy, could be stuck , shut or open, and the elbow joints which were there have been replaced by tee joints to "easily" enable another Bypass to be fitted. If you cannot easily move the red handle, leave it alone. Use a screwdriver and open the ballofix valve and see what flows then. The gate valve appears to be 15mm but the ballofix is 22mm which could explain a lot, ie not original Broom plumbing. Its possible , becauseb this stuff is easy to alter that the installer decided that would be the lesser of the 2 weevils. Its a sealed system so should really not be any air trapped. I suspect you have what is often referred to in the trade as ONOFF syndrome. My Broom has a bypass but only because the flow to the cal. has a thermostatic valve on it. Any chance of a better pic?? Good luck

Thank you. Hadn’t thought of that but it sounds very possible. I’m going down again Tuesday to have a look. What does on/off syndrome mean please? The flow to the cal goes straight from the heat exchanger with no valves. These valves are only on return

 

[Dave1966]

Thank you. Hadn’t thought of that but it sounds very possible. I’m going down again Tuesday to have a look. What does on/off syndrome mean please? The flow to the cal goes straight from the heat exchanger with no valves. These valves are only on return

Yes looking at the picture it’s the the “top” part of the loop with the brass valve that’s the addition and not original

 

[plumbob]

Yes looking at the picture it’s the the “top” part of the loop with the brass valve that’s the addition and not original

Onoff syndrome comes from a friend who had to do a flyby to signal he was going to land the Buccaneer he was piloting as his radio was apparently u/s. On landing, the chief tech said if you turn it on sir it will work. We call it onoff syndrome sir.?

 

[Dave1966]

Onoff syndrome comes from a friend who had to do a flyby to signal he was going to land the Buccaneer he was piloting as his radio was apparently u/s. On landing, the chief tech said if you turn it on sir it will work. We call it onoff syndrome sir.?

The guy that taught me on my initial instrument rating was a long retired Buccaneer pilot. Flying those things onto an aircraft carrier took “special” people ?

 

[PaulRainbow]

If there are isolator valves at the engine end of the hoses i can't see the point in have any additional ones at the calorifier, unless it was one per hose to isolate the calorifier, but that would only save losing the coolant in the hoses, not something that's usually done in my experience. I'd be very tempted to remove the whole lot of fittings and just have a pair of hoses from the isolators at the engine end to the calorifier.

If the flow pipe is then getting hot at source, but only for a short distance along the pipe, there is almost certainly an airlock. Air may have been allowed into the system during some servicing work, perhaps the coolant was changed at the last service ?