Preventing serious accidents at low cost: DIY heating repairs

The heating system is a complex set of elements that over time are starting to malfunction.

In most cases, you have to contact professionals, but some problems can be fixed by yourself.

Heating maintenance and repair

It is not immediately possible to determine that urgent intervention is required, especially if the heating system is branched with a large number of radiators.

Most work related to poor heating is done by professionals, but with certain skills, you can fix some things yourself:

• To find the damage, A careful inspection of all sections of the heating system is carried out in turn. Where the seal is broken or a crack has formed, corrosion or plaque will be visible.
• The pump and boiler are also inspected.
• The expansion tank is checked by pressing the nipple. The appearance of splashes will indicate the need for repairs.

Main problems with the system and how to fix them

Problems and malfunctions in the heating system can be very different.

Poor heating of batteries

Heat does not reach the radiators for the following reasons:

• Airlock. Drain the water using the Mayevsky tap. To do this, prepare a bucket for the liquid and move all objects away from the radiator.
• The radiators are clogged and do not perform their function. If it turns out that the problem is not in the air, then you will have to flush the radiator. The battery is opened, the liquid is drained until the water is clean. If the radiator is heavily clogged, you will have to remove it and flush it.
• Low pressure in the boiler, which does not ensure movement along the circuit.

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Photo 1. The technician unscrews the Mayevsky tap on the radiator to drain the water and eliminate the air lock.

The pressure in a gas boiler can drop for the following reasons:

• A leak appeared in some part of the system.
• As long as there is air in the radiators or pipes, the pressure will drop. To solve this problem, you will have to drain the water in the farthest section of the heating system. The supply of the coolant must be turned on.
• Availability of new aluminum batteries - they oxidize from the inside, which leads to a decrease in pressure.

Sometimes radiators remain cold because the fluid is not circulating well or not at all.

It is used in heating systems two types of circulation: natural and forced.

If there are obstacles to the water flow, the radiators will remain cold (the boiler is still working). The reasons for this may be:

• malfunction of the liquid pumping device;
• large accumulation of gas in the circuit;
• swelling after unsuccessful soldering (this often happens with polypropylene pipes);
• rust build-up inside radiators or pipes;
• freezing of the coolant.

If eliminating minor defects and malfunctions of the system does not help, you will have to contact specialists.

• The heat is distributed unevenly. Professionals calibrate the temperature using special devices. They do it themselves by comparing the heating level of the radiators. The adjustment is made with taps. They open completely on the radiators furthest from the boiler, and less and less as they approach the boiler.

Accident in the apartment

Try to solve the problem yourself impossible. For repair work, the riser is disconnected, this is done Only specialists.

In summer, pipes and radiators burst during the period of maintenance and inspection of the system for performance.

Photo 2. A pipe that has leaked, the cause may be water hammer. Leads to unpleasant consequences and significant damage.

The heating system in the apartment breaks due to:

• water hammer (more often during the heating season);
• crimping (in summer during inspection).

Both reasons accidents depend on the condition of the radiators and the heating system, the service organization is responsible for this. It is important to take measures that will allow you to demand compensation for damages from the guilty party in the future.

A few steps will help to make the management company fork out and pay for the consequences of your negligence.

• You need to call the dispatch service and fill out a request. to repair a faulty radiator or pipes. A foreman or chief engineer is immediately called in to determine the damage.

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  After the work to eliminate the leak has been carried out, a report is drawn up., which describes in detail the damaged items, equipment, and decoration of the apartment.
• If the apartment on the lower floor was also flooded, then information about this is also entered into the document. If the damage is extensive, it is better to draw up a separate report.
• Next you need to determine the amount of damage incurred and present it to the management company for payment.

The guilty party usually tries to avoid paying, so if the damage is minor, you can agree, for example, to repair the apartment at their expense.

If compensation is refused or if the proposals to negotiate prove unfavorable, you will have to use the services of an appraiser and conduct an independent examination. With the received conclusion on the amount of damage a claim is filed with the court.

How to repair a radiator with your own hands without welding

Problems that may arise:

• coolant leak;
• radiators do not heat up;
• lack of normal movement of coolant in radiators.

The system starts up at maximum load and leaks in the batteries become visible.

Having discovered weak spots and leaks, you can quickly fix them using:

• Cold welding: the radiator surface is degreased and dried. A small piece of plastic composition is taken and kneaded between the fingers (a ball is obtained 20-25 mm).

Using a screwdriver, press it onto the damaged area of ​​the radiator. The ball is held in this position 3–5 minutes. The composition hardens in 40 min., and the battery will be ready for work only in a day. This material does not require subsequent bandaging or clamping.

• Sealants: The leak site is cleaned down to the metal, then degreased with a solvent. A sealant is applied and tightly wrapped with a cloth or regular bandage.

If there is a fistula, you can first carefully screw a suitable screw into it, then rub it with sealant. A clamp is put on the sealed place. The clamps should be located on the side opposite the damage.

If the fistula is extensive, or there is an intense flow of coolant, it is better to call a specialist.

When leaks are regular, It's worth thinking about replacing the radiators.

Replacement and installation of pipes if water circulates poorly in them

In this case, the repair will depend on what material is it made of pipes are manufactured.

Metallic

It is easy to find leaks on metal: The paint on the pipes will blister, rust and streaks will appear.

A sign of a leak is pressure reduction - having noticed this, you can start looking for damage. If the pipes are hidden, then it is possible to determine the location of the leak only with the help of a special device.

Photo 3. Rust on a metal pipe, this problem often becomes the cause of leaks.

• In places of connections and joints with the radiator you will have to disassemble the mount and replace the seal.
• If the pipe is leaking at the junction with the shut-off valve, it will have to be replaced - Such a leak indicates a high probability of its unsuitability.
• If the leak is on a smooth section of the pipe, you can use a very simple and inexpensive method. In case of a small leak, salt is poured onto the damaged area and rubbed in. If the damage is noticeable, salt with a bandage is used: the pipe is bandaged, and before a new turn, the leak area is sprinkled with salt.

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  If you have a clamp at hand, cover the leak with rubber and tighten the clamp.

Then you need to wait, if the leak has closed, tighten the bolts a little more.

• If you don't have a clamp at hand, use wire.

But in most cases, such a measure turns out to be short-lived.

• A more reliable and durable method: cut out the entire piece and weld a new one (can be replaced with a piece of polypropylene pipe).
• ​Lead embossing: A small piece of lead is carefully driven into the fistula. The damaged area is cleaned beforehand. Tap until the lead completely fills the hole and takes up some space around it. This must be done carefully.

Polypropylene

It is difficult to find a leak on a polypropylene circuit, since there will be no rust. You will have to carefully inspect each area pipes.

Once found, turn off the heating and water supply, cut out the damaged piece and solder a new one. Minor damage can simply be soldered, but this temporary measure.

Photo 4. Leak in a polypropylene pipe. To fix it, you can solder the damaged area.

If the pipe bursts near the fitting, it is better to change it together with it. When the leak is small, you can first try to tighten the connection to the maximum. Then loosen it and apply a seal. If these manipulations do not help, the fitting will have to be changed.

Heating boilers

If a gas boiler is installed, then You shouldn't try to do the repairs yourself. A faulty gas appliance is source of danger.

First, you need to reread the technical data sheet for the boiler: it contains a list of faults that you can identify and fix yourself:

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  Uneven operation of the device, caused by the lack of light or unstable voltage in the network - buy and install a stabilizing device or provide autonomous electricity.
• Boiler shutdown due to coolant shortage - supply water to the heating system.
• Overheating and stopping of the device until it cools down.

Overheating in turn means:

• blockage in the heat exchanger — the boiler is de-energized, the heat exchanger is cleaned with a brush or vacuum cleaner;
• blockage in the chimney — the ventilation passage needs to be cleaned.
• leak from the column — the connections inside the device are checked, and any problems found are eliminated.

Circulation pumps

You can undertake independent repairs if the device is collapsible. But more often you have to contact a service center, since modern pumps, even simple and cheap ones, still are quite complex in structure.

There are several problems you can fix yourself:

• The pump works, but the impeller does not rotate. The device is disassembled, the rotor is rotated. If possible, oxidation is removed.
• The pump does not turn on. The fuse may have blown. If it is not provided by the design, you will have to buy a new pump.
• The pump is too noisy. Reason: air, if switched on for a long time, it may run idle. To fix this, bleed the air from the heating system.
• Pump interruptions, spontaneous shutdown.
• A layer of scale has formed inside, you can clean it yourself, the lid is cleaned.

Useful video

After watching the video, you can become familiar with the process of sealing polypropylene pipes for repair purposes.

Not everything can be done by yourself

If desired, with patience and effort, it is possible to clean and even install new water pipes and radiators. But trying to repair a boiler or pump, relying only on intuition and without the necessary knowledge - ineffective and dangerous.

It should be remembered that we are talking about devices whose operation is associated with high voltage and flammable substances. Thoughtless actions and excessive self-confidence can create an emergency situation in your own home.