Central Heating Pump Problems & Cures

Martin Smith explains about central heating pump problems and what to do before calling an emergency plumber in the day or night.

First of all before Martin Smith explains about central heating pump problems and what the cures are. We would like to explain a little about this picture to the right. This is a typical central heating pump, that has been in the basement for over 15-years or more and if you have noticed, there is corroding going on between both gate valves. There is also a wire going around the central heating pump. The wire that is going around the circulation pump is in the incorrect place, not because it is un-tidy, but because the central heating pump can get very hot and therefor, will heat the electric current up, causing it to either trip the electric, heat the electrical elements within the circulation pump, more than they should or even set a fire is the worse scenario.

My pump is running but not pumping round the central heating system causing central heating pump problems

If your having central heating pump problems, where the pump is on, but not pumping around the central heating system and the pump is feeling hot, then you may have a problem with the central heating pump motor or the propeller that is in connection within the circulation pump motor. If your having central heating pump problems with the pump motor, then the best options to take, would be to replace the pump motor or the complete pump and body. Another method is to take out the front screw and place a screw driver inside but make sure the central heating pump is off before you do this. Use the screw drive to turn the shaft, but if this fails, then you you simply need a new motor. There are a few problems that can occur with the central heating pump. Just below we have a list of them.

• C/H Pumps can get worn.
• No Power to the pump.
• Pump Full Of Grime.
• Airlock Within The Pump.
• Pump is running the incorrect way.
• Pump is on a setting that is too low.
• Pump is leaking.
• There is a fault with the gate valve or just turned off.
• The propeller is jammed.
• Internal corrosion stopping the motor from turning.
• Live power coming to the pump but no neutral return.
• Incorrectly wired.
• Start Capacity has gone faulty, leaking brown liquid or looks burnt out.
• Central heating pump failure symptoms.

Central Heating Pump Problems & Cures

Now I will mention about all the central heating pump problems and try and mention the cures also.

C/H Pumps can get worn due to age and being very highly used. I general time scale for this to happen would be any time after 15 to 30-years. If you get more than 30-years out of your central heating pump, then you have done extremely well (Give your central heating pump a pat on the back).

No Power to the pump can be that the central heating is not calling for the pump to turn on or a fuse has gone, somewhere within your central heating wiring. It may be a good idea to call a central heating technician to check that there is no loose connections.

Pump Full Of Grime – If your pump is full of grime, this may be due to not giving the central heating system a power flush. It is always very important to keep your central heating system well serviced and at least check the water once every 5-years. By letting the water turn a sludgy black, this will leave you at high risk of a short central heating pump life.

Airlock Within The Pump. If you have an airlock within the circulation pump, then this can be solved by unscrewing the head screw with a large flat head screwdriver.

Pump is running the incorrect way, then this can cause problems with the running of the central heating, which depends on the lay-out. This can be resolved by turning the central heating pump around, saving on your central heating pump problems.

Pump is on a setting that is too low, then this may give you a feeling the central heating pump is not working. By using a long screwdriver you can put this against the pump and your ear, to find if the pump is turning or just turn the setting up to either 2 or 3.

Pump is leaking due to corroding body. If the pump is leaking due to corrosion, then the only thing to do, is to replace the pump, as the corrosion is most likely not going to stop by making any easy fixers.

There is a fault with the gate valve or just turned off. Faults can occur when the gate valve is turned off with too much force causing the thread to break. This may give you the feeling that the pump is not circulating and may need further tests such as, draining the central heating system and checking the gate valve is good.

The propeller is jammed due to foreign stuff in the central heating. Due to the internal side of the pump being relatively small, if there is any foreign stuff in the central heating system, then there is a good chance it may get stuck in the central heating. This can happen when there is work being done on the central heating, not watching what is falling into the central heating. This may also be due to an old central heating tank that has gone or foreign stuff falling into the central heating system.

Internal corrosion stopping the motor from turning. Corrosion over time can expand and grab on to components causing them to stick. If the central heating pump is suffering from lack of use, then this can happen over time. Sometime this can be temporary cured by giving the pump a knock with the hammer. Temporary meaning it could last up to 5-years sometimes, but most likely not working within a week again.

Live power coming to the pump, but no neutral return. It is very unlikely that there is no neutral unless there is a loose connection somewhere. This can be very hard for a plumber to test, but due to the likeliness of this happening, then the plumber will most likely just replace the central heating circulation pump.

Incorrectly wired. Incorrectly wiring the central heating pump, may cause the circulating pump to run in the wrong way, however this has not been tested and is up to discussion with others. The answer I have been getting of a few engineers is that the capacitor won’t strike. Some say that the fuse will go or just burn the electrical wiring within the pump. This is why it is so important to just do the job correctly to start with.

Start Capacitor has gone faulty, leaking brown liquid or looks burnt out can also be a bit of a central heating pump problem, but with a bit of effort, the start capacitor can be replaced, so that it’s working again to it’s full potential.

Central heating pump failure symptoms can come from the pump over heating more than the central heating hot water itself. Another symptom of a central heating pump would come from the circulation pump making a loud noise or just not circulating the central heating as quick as it usually is. Any of these central heating pump failure symptoms may mean you mean you require a new heating pump.

If your a customer with one of these symptoms, maybe you have central heating pump problems and would like us to send an emergency plumber out, then please give us a call. Our company is nation with over 400 engineers. If your a plumber or central heating engineer and would like to join our database, then please send us a email to emergencyplumber@me.com