Previous Plumber left filling loop opened

[MartinIRL]

Hello AllI manage 6 apartments in the same building and recent repairs to the plumbing and boilers and subsequent replacement of a boiler I noticed that these were becoming a lot more frequent and Following my inspection of the apartments I seen that the filling loop was still connected to all the boilers.In Apartment C the filling loop was left opened and the pressure gauge was at 3.5 bar pressure and the joints were leaking from the pipes underneath the boiler.The plumber had cleaned out the heat exchanger in June and that is when he had access to the apartment last, I noticed the loop had been left open a few weeks ago so that has been 5 months with this pressure in the system,I had a pluber change the PRV , Manifold and the timer and it ran for a few days but now the new plumber is saying the pump has given up also.Since this pressure has been allowed to stay in the system for so long and it seems that the old PRV did not release the pressure at 3 bar which it is set to go of at,will most of the components in the boiler be damaged by this pressure?Is there a way of damaging the PRV so it will not release the pressure?We had used the same gas engineer for all the repairs to different properties and I noticed he was getting more expensive and having to repair everything in a shorter period of time.There has been a new boiler fitted to Apartment B and I went in to view this and the filling loop is still connected to the system.I called out another gas engineer to view the properties and he was of the view that this is against regulationIs it against regulation ?What can I do about this guy that had rigged all the systems?He has cost our company a nice little profit and has worked with us for a few years,he certified all the boilers and repaired and other problems with the plumbing ,gas or heating.I checked out his profile and he is a gas registered plumber.Thanks in advance for any help

 

[helpsy]

Filling loop should be disconnected.

 

[MartinIRL]

Hi Helpsy

Does the wording of the regulation say it should be or that it must be?

can you explain exactly what lines are to followed with regards to the regulations.

Thanks in advance

 

[Chalked]

Filling loop should be disconnected.

Should be. But very rarely is.
Personally I never do.

 

[MartinIRL]

Thanks

Any idea that 3.5 bar pressure would do to the boiler system and components that has been left on constant filling?

Also can a PRV be rigged to fail,if i Twist the knob enough times will it damage the spring enough so it will not open at the 3 bar limit?

 

[tamz]

To comply with water regulations the filling loop should be disconnected but probably over 90% are not.
3.5 bar is unlikely to have damaged anything.

 

[MartinIRL]

The heating had been turned off during the summer and this was a constant pressure in the system,would that not do damage over 5 months?

Is it common for PRV to fail?

 

[Chalked]

Failing prv, is probably the most common failure on boilers.

 

[REDSAW]

you cant blame any one for leaving the valve open for over 5 months then just discover it can you?
anyone could have topped up the boiler in that time¬!!

 

[newcastle phill]

If a prv is faulty and didnt go off then thats a fault with the prv.
Im presuming it is integral in the boiler you have ??
They are usually not a serviceable part or checkable for correct operation upon service. Many mfrs state not to touch them or use them to drain down.

As above anyone could have messed with the fill loop.
I also go to houses where the pressure is spot on but the isolation taps on the boiler are also very slightly weeping. Again this is a quality issue and if you touch them to replace a vessel etc etc its the luck of the draw.

I personally think you know fine well what you need to do - and that is to simply put these points to the engineer involved.

Prices going up - now theres a first

 

[oz-plumber]

It would not be the first faulty pressure gauge to be found on a boiler.

Have you had the pressure tested on the system with another gauge.

 

[Millsy 82]

You say that you notice that the boilers are being replaced more frequently, how old are the boilers? What make? What model?

You say the plumber hasn't been in for 5 months? What about tenants? Other trades? All these people will also touch boilers.

You say the prv didn't work well although they are meant to be checked on each service they very rarely are due to the fact they will leak after then you have people moan at you saying you have broken it.

The pump has now gone? It is that time of year that the boiler has gone from just doing hot water to heating and some pumps get lazy over the summer period and then quickly pack in during the winter.

It sounds to me like you want to go and blame him for everything that has gone wrong where as I fact it is more likely the age or condition of the appliances that has cost your company a nice little profit.