Boiler singing

[badabec]

Hello, my oil fired boiler has started singing and then kettle-ing.
Should I worry?

 

[Fintray]

Sounds like your heating pump is not running as kettle-ing is likely the heat not getting away to the radiators.

 

[OJCar]

Can you recognise the tune it is singing?


Seriously, Yes you should worry!
Check if your pump is pumping and zone valves etc are opening OK.
Else Call Heating Engineer.

 

[gaz1]

singing and ketterling is the first sign of over boiling of water within your heating system

be very careful with this sort of issue

 

[minimutly]

Boiler stat should prevent it, then the safety stat should "trip" it off...

 

[hunter27]

It used to be common with cast iron gas boilers when they got older especially on gravity hot water systems when the water got dirtier. Flushing, especially the boiler was the first thing we did followed by adding Fernox MB1 inhibitor (the old stuff that doesn't like new boilers and aluminium) I don't know if it is still available but often it cured the problem almost immediately.

 

[Wedg1e]

Can you recognise the tune it is singing?

Depending on the arrangement of the kitchen appliances, it could be Fridge Under Troubled Water

 

[Mark 5]

Hello, my oil fired boiler has started singing and then kettle-ing.
Should I worry?

Yes if you do nothing about it but not dangerous.

Boiler kettling is almost always about overheating, Why?

Yes it can be the pump but why is it failing if at all, are there other causes?

Check your thermostat and make sure that's working.

Heat exchanger blocked or getting there, some can be flushed in or out of the boiler.

As likely, system/pipework is full of crud.

A good dose or two of CH cleaner, drain, refill and include inhibitor.

Have a Mag' Filter installed if not fitted.

If limescale is the cause consider a whole house or single use Electrolytic inhibitor, ( altho' even after many thousands in use, the jury is still out as to their effectiveness ).

 

[Shedendman]

A singing boiler,i know

sorry

 

[gaz1]

Yes if you do nothing about it but not dangerous.

Boiler kettling is almost always about overheating, Why?

i beg to disagree

it is one of the dangerous things as its a sign that your water is turning to steam and that part is dangerous

once that happens it will find a weakest point and blow through that point boiling steam has killed many a person never mind burnt them badly

steam trains are known for for boiling steam and exploding with many an engine crew killed if they survived the steam explosion that certainly didnt last long

 

[Tim.S]

The kettling sound is the water boiling in the boiler, normally caused by the heat exchanger scaling up or filling with rust, if its a cast iron heat exchanger they can rumble on for years, the problem is that you're wasting a lot of energy just heating up the scale, as far as safety concerns, depending on the sytem its either open vented with a feed and expansion tank in the loft and it'll vent into that or its a sealed system with a 3 bar safety valve fitted but either way its safe.

 

[Mark 5]

i beg to disagree

it is one of the dangerous things as its a sign that your water is turning to steam and that part is dangerous

once that happens it will find a weakest point and blow through that point boiling steam has killed many a person never mind burnt them badly

steam trains are known for for boiling steam and exploding with many an engine crew killed if they survived the steam explosion that certainly didnt last long

I disagree, most European and UK boilers have several fail systems to prevent such things going that far.

A faulty boiler can cause steam but not to a point it is dangerous for the consumer.

That blow through you mention is prevented by a PRV and is one such feature to prevent steam build up.

Many a home owner has found no boiler pressure or the PRV dripping on an outside wall.

This will be due to a faulty PRV or the PRV is doing it's job and preventing serious kettling.

I can find no reference to a UK domestic/commercial boiler in the last 45 years, creating steam to the point it has caused injury to a user.

There are a few examples of cowboy installations where a UK boiler is/has become dangerous resulting in a devastating explosion, that is mainly down to gas, not steam.

Your steam train analogy, while not inaccurate, is a different beast to a CH gas or oil boiler of the last number of years.

 

[brightspark]

ive only once come across a boiler that has overheated and blasted boiling water and steam up the 22mm vent pipe and in to the cold water header tank .it cant run dry as it just refills the system if theres any loss of water

 

[Mark 5]

ive only once come across a boiler that has overheated and blasted boiling water and steam up the 22mm vent pipe and in to the cold water header tank .it cant run dry as it just refills the system if theres any loss of water

Twice for me, it's a rare occurrence.

 

[MattF]

The kettling sound is the water boiling in the boiler, normally caused by the heat exchanger scaling up or filling with rust, if its a cast iron heat exchanger they can rumble on for years, the problem is that you're wasting a lot of energy just heating up the scale, as far as safety concerns, depending on the sytem its either open vented with a feed and expansion tank in the loft and it'll vent into that or its a sealed system with a 3 bar safety valve fitted but either way its safe.

I disagree, most European and UK boilers have several fail systems to prevent such things going that far.

A faulty boiler can cause steam but not to a point it is dangerous for the consumer.

That blow through you mention is prevented by a PRV and is one such feature to prevent steam build up.

Many a home owner has found no boiler pressure or the PRV dripping on an outside wall.

This will be due to a faulty PRV or the PRV is doing it's job and preventing serious kettling.

I can find no reference to a UK domestic/commercial boiler in the last 45 years, creating steam to the point it has caused injury to a user.

There are a few examples of cowboy installations where a UK boiler is/has become dangerous resulting in a devastating explosion, that is mainly down to gas, not steam.

Your steam train analogy, while not inaccurate, is a different beast to a CH gas or oil boiler of the last number of years.

You know logic & reason shouldn't be used in arguments, chaps. Behave yourselves.

 

[Wedg1e]

steam trains are known for for boiling steam and exploding with many an engine crew killed if they survived the steam explosion that certainly didnt last long

Topical; it's the 200th anniversary of the Stockton-Darlington railway this weekend. The replica Locomotion No. 1 puffed backwards and forwards (delayed, there's a surprise) while people cheered.
Anyway, when the original No.1 was only 3 years old its boiler exploded, killing the driver and injuring the fireman. Apparently the driver had tied down a pressure relief valve so (presumably) it would go faster.
...and people have been killing themselves in pursuit of speed ever since

 

[gaz1]

some steam stuff is really interesting

a boiler type

this is a grant oil boiler with super heated water within it

if it cant escape due to poor maintenance it explodes