Had a call from a tenant of mine last weekend to say that their heating was
out; I went round and found it was caused by the combi boiler having become
depressurised. I quickly refilled it, and showed them how to do it, but
with a strict direction to call me if it happened again.

Bugger me, they've just let me know it's happened again, so clearly there's
a problem which needs sorting out. I'm going round again tomorrow to have
a closer look.

My good news/bad news is that I have a service contract on the boiler but
not on the radiators; ie if it's a leak somewhere in the CH pipework then
I'll fix it myself; but otherwise the engineers will do it. I'll check
for leaks tomorrow, but think it's the less likely cause - the system has
been running fine for years and hasn't been disturbed, and unless it's in
pipework under a floor I'd think a leak of this size would have been fairly
clear. I'm hoping expansion vessel? Boiler (Sime "Friendly Format") is
probably about 15 years old and it hasn't gone before.

What I'm asking now is for any tips I can look for tomorrow (in the absence
of any obvious leaks), really to nail down whether it's the boiler or
hidden pipework at fault, so that I can phone the engineers on Monday
knowing what I'm talking about!


--
David

On 21/02/2015 19:00, Lobster wrote:
Had a call from a tenant of mine last weekend to say that their heating was
out; I went round and found it was caused by the combi boiler having become
depressurised. I quickly refilled it, and showed them how to do it, but
with a strict direction to call me if it happened again.

Bugger me, they've just let me know it's happened again, so clearly there's
a problem which needs sorting out. I'm going round again tomorrow to have
a closer look.

My good news/bad news is that I have a service contract on the boiler but
not on the radiators; ie if it's a leak somewhere in the CH pipework then
I'll fix it myself; but otherwise the engineers will do it. I'll check
for leaks tomorrow, but think it's the less likely cause - the system has
been running fine for years and hasn't been disturbed, and unless it's in
pipework under a floor I'd think a leak of this size would have been fairly
clear. I'm hoping expansion vessel? Boiler (Sime "Friendly Format") is
probably about 15 years old and it hasn't gone before.

What I'm asking now is for any tips I can look for tomorrow (in the absence
of any obvious leaks), really to nail down whether it's the boiler or
hidden pipework at fault, so that I can phone the engineers on Monday
knowing what I'm talking about!



If there's a problem with the expansion vessel - which seems likely -
the following will happen:
* You will refill the system cold, and set it to (say) 1 bar
* When it heats up, the pressure will rise to over 3 bar (it shouldn't
normally go above 2 bar), the pressure relief valve will open and water
will drip out of the emergency release pipe - which goes out through a
wall to the outside world.

So if you (a) watch the pressure gauge and (b) locate the outside pipe
and watch for water coming out of it, you'll gather some evidence.

If you do find high pressure plus water dripping outside, it means that
there's a problem with the expansion vessel. If this happens, the vessel
may be shot - in which case it needs replacing - or it may simply have
lost its charge pressure - and pumping more air into it may fix it.

Let us know what you find, and come back for more help if appropriate.
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
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checked.

On 21/02/2015 20:58, Roger Mills wrote:
On 21/02/2015 19:00, Lobster wrote:
Had a call from a tenant of mine last weekend to say that their
heating was
out; I went round and found it was caused by the combi boiler having
become
depressurised. I quickly refilled it, and showed them how to do it, but
with a strict direction to call me if it happened again.

Bugger me, they've just let me know it's happened again, so clearly
there's
a problem which needs sorting out. I'm going round again tomorrow to
have
a closer look.

My good news/bad news is that I have a service contract on the boiler but
not on the radiators; ie if it's a leak somewhere in the CH pipework then
I'll fix it myself; but otherwise the engineers will do it. I'll check
for leaks tomorrow, but think it's the less likely cause - the system has
been running fine for years and hasn't been disturbed, and unless it's in
pipework under a floor I'd think a leak of this size would have been
fairly
clear. I'm hoping expansion vessel? Boiler (Sime "Friendly Format") is
probably about 15 years old and it hasn't gone before.

What I'm asking now is for any tips I can look for tomorrow (in the
absence
of any obvious leaks), really to nail down whether it's the boiler or
hidden pipework at fault, so that I can phone the engineers on Monday
knowing what I'm talking about!



If there's a problem with the expansion vessel - which seems likely -
the following will happen:
* You will refill the system cold, and set it to (say) 1 bar
* When it heats up, the pressure will rise to over 3 bar (it shouldn't
normally go above 2 bar), the pressure relief valve will open and water
will drip out of the emergency release pipe - which goes out through a
wall to the outside world.

So if you (a) watch the pressure gauge and (b) locate the outside pipe
and watch for water coming out of it, you'll gather some evidence.

If you do find high pressure plus water dripping outside, it means that
there's a problem with the expansion vessel. If this happens, the vessel
may be shot - in which case it needs replacing - or it may simply have
lost its charge pressure - and pumping more air into it may fix it.

Let us know what you find, and come back for more help if appropriate.

Unlikely that the CH plumbing has suddenly developed a leak, so I'd say
the odds must be on a boiler fault. But, if you're losing that much
water in a week, there should be evidence somewhere. Maybe the pressure
gauge is buggered (the sensor gets gummed up I think).

On Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 10:48:05 AM UTC, stuart noble wrote:
On 21/02/2015 20:58, Roger Mills wrote:
On 21/02/2015 19:00, Lobster wrote:

What I'm asking now is for any tips I can look for tomorrow (in the
absence
of any obvious leaks), really to nail down whether it's the boiler or
hidden pipework at fault, so that I can phone the engineers on Monday
knowing what I'm talking about!

If there's a problem with the expansion vessel - which seems likely -
the following will happen:
* You will refill the system cold, and set it to (say) 1 bar
* When it heats up, the pressure will rise to over 3 bar (it shouldn't
normally go above 2 bar), the pressure relief valve will open and water
will drip out of the emergency release pipe - which goes out through a
wall to the outside world.

So if you (a) watch the pressure gauge and (b) locate the outside pipe
and watch for water coming out of it, you'll gather some evidence.

If you do find high pressure plus water dripping outside, it means that
there's a problem with the expansion vessel. If this happens, the vessel
may be shot - in which case it needs replacing - or it may simply have
lost its charge pressure - and pumping more air into it may fix it.

Let us know what you find, and come back for more help if appropriate.

Unlikely that the CH plumbing has suddenly developed a leak, so I'd say
the odds must be on a boiler fault. But, if you're losing that much
water in a week, there should be evidence somewhere. Maybe the pressure
gauge is buggered (the sensor gets gummed up I think).

Odd. I went round, all was working fine, and there doesn't appear to have been any fall in pressure since they last topped up the system, which was on Thursday (which apparently was when it shut itself down); having previously refilled last Sunday.

Couldn't find any evidence of any leakage; hard to tell anything sensible about the PRV since it was a very wet day.

I decided to give it one more go - if and when it shuts down again, I'm fairly sure it must be boiler-related, and I'll get the plumber straight round.

Thanks for the advice guys

David

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
On Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 10:48:05 AM UTC, stuart noble wrote:
On 21/02/2015 20:58, Roger Mills wrote:
On 21/02/2015 19:00, Lobster wrote:

What I'm asking now is for any tips I can look for tomorrow (in the
absence
of any obvious leaks), really to nail down whether it's the boiler or
hidden pipework at fault, so that I can phone the engineers on Monday
knowing what I'm talking about!

If there's a problem with the expansion vessel - which seems likely -
the following will happen:
* You will refill the system cold, and set it to (say) 1 bar
* When it heats up, the pressure will rise to over 3 bar (it shouldn't
normally go above 2 bar), the pressure relief valve will open and water
will drip out of the emergency release pipe - which goes out through a
wall to the outside world.

So if you (a) watch the pressure gauge and (b) locate the outside pipe
and watch for water coming out of it, you'll gather some evidence.

If you do find high pressure plus water dripping outside, it means that
there's a problem with the expansion vessel. If this happens, the
vessel
may be shot - in which case it needs replacing - or it may simply have
lost its charge pressure - and pumping more air into it may fix it.

Let us know what you find, and come back for more help if appropriate.

Unlikely that the CH plumbing has suddenly developed a leak, so I'd say
the odds must be on a boiler fault. But, if you're losing that much
water in a week, there should be evidence somewhere. Maybe the pressure
gauge is buggered (the sensor gets gummed up I think).

Odd. I went round, all was working fine, and there doesn't appear to have
been any fall in pressure since they last topped up the system, which was
on Thursday (which apparently was when it shut itself down); having
previously refilled last Sunday.

Couldn't find any evidence of any leakage; hard to tell anything sensible
about the PRV since it was a very wet day.


Then tape a plasic bag over the PRV outlet:-)


--
Adam