URGENT! Serious problem with CH - losing water pressure rapidly. Possible leak?

[ginolard]

Hi all,

I really hope someone can give us some decent advice as we're very concerned about out CH system. It's oil-fired boiler system and we ran out (twice) over the Xmas period. Purely an oversight on our part and I won't go into details but we ran out and had to get an emergency delivery of 500 litres of oil on a Sunday and that ran out within a month so we then got the full 2000 litres.

Soon after that the water pressure began dropping from 1.5 bar to 0 once a day. We'd top up the system and it would drop again. The engineer came round to do a service (as the system was overdue one anyway) and found nothing wrong and surmised it must be a leak somewhere.

So, we called the insurance company and they send a "leak detection" expert round. He brought an infra-red camera and all sorts of other fancy gadgets and.....found nothing. He even emptied the system and filled it with some sort of gas to try and find the leak but still no joy.

However, SINCE then the water pressue is dropping even more rapidly!! From 1.5 to 0 in a and hour, maybe two! We, essentially, have no heating now as there's no point adding more water and wasting oil only to have to do it again hours later.

The engineer and expert are coming round again on Monday to work together to try and find the problem but can anyone suggest any other possibility?

We have sealed off the system to see if the water pressure dropped and it didn't, therefore indicating that the problem is NOT on the boiler side but definitely in the house somewhere.

I've taken some photos of the whole setup but I get "Post Denied" if I try to include the imgur URL

Any advice appreciated really. My wife believes we're looking at a huge, expensive problem and I'm starting to believe she's right!

 

[Killy Bing]

Way to go with the title.

If its system side and the pressure relief is on the boiler.

then its a leak

most likely in the floor on the downstairs as you would notice the wet cealings anywhere else.

have them check if a pressure relief has been installed on the system side and also to check any automatic air vents if they are buggered.

also get them to check the expansion vessel sizing.

 

[Howsie]

I've never heard of a leak detection company not finding the leak. As Billy say, it is likely downstairs.

I've know customers leave the filling loop cracked open a little to ensure they get heating in such circumstances...

 

[ginolard]

Here are some pics of the system. In case it helps anyone at all. I just hope they can find the leak when they come round for a second time on Monday

Seeing as it's not letting me post the link, just copy/paste it

*********/ZpSca2W,KTMhLNp,aP19jry,mNaLsmW,hgxK6FD,hcOAZgg,Hg198rF,T9jTQkJ,sVqiFNC

 

[Ermintrude]

Looks a dream of an install. Is boiler wet? Have you checked prv?

 

[Gray0689]

Can't get pics up
What area are you in maybe someone local that could help you out

 

[ADM360]

Had one on a Vokers gas boiler before crimbo, leaking through the primary hex and out the condensate, Bugger to find only for Vokera to say sorry it's out of warranty 1 month!!

 

[lame plumber]

Had one on a Vokers gas boiler before crimbo, leaking through the primary hex and out the condensate, Bugger to find only for Vokera to say sorry it's out of warranty 1 month!!

thats when you advice the custard to go via small claims stating the boiler isnt fit for purpouse, warranties have nothing to do with expectation of a reasonable lifespan. Tends to get the manufacturers to respond, I have done this with glowworm on several occassions and got them to fix leaking hydroblocks.

 

[village idiot]

When croppie returns from the pub, he will post the link on here for you

 

[Killy Bing]

Had one on a Vokers gas boiler before crimbo, leaking through the primary hex and out the condensate, Bugger to find only for Vokera to say sorry it's out of warranty 1 month!!

boiler isolated and no pressure drop. Also an oil boiler. The boiler wont fire as the blast chamber fills up and pees water out of the burner.

 

[gassafe]

I've never heard of a leak detection company not finding the leak. As Billy say, it is likely downstairs.

I've know customers leave the filling loop cracked open a little to ensure they get heating in such circumstances...

A customer had a bad leak once before and these specialists did not find anything with there fancy gas! Made a mess of an oak kitchen floor tho...

Luckily air testing from a rad made the water hiss out & I was able to hear it & found the leak

 

[Dotty]

No need to post a link as it's an oiler.

The boiler has been isolated from the system and the pressure was stable so by process of elimination coupled with actually reading the whole thread......

It's Professor Plum.... Under the floor.... With the pipe....

 

[drip-dry]

As said leak detection folk usually pick up the problem,even picked my customer's Granny that was incontinent once:crazy:

Maybe look for any outside pipework,maybe a system drain cock that has been fitted through the outside wall or maybe some pipework from the system that have been capped off in an attached outbuilding,ready for future works

 

[SimonG]

I always preferred Miss Scarlett, over the table, well lets leave it there.

Do you have concrete floors downstairs or timber?

 

[ginolard]

I always preferred Miss Scarlett, over the table, well lets leave it there.

Do you have concrete floors downstairs or timber?

Update: Floors are concrete

Anyway, that may be all academic now. And if someone can explain this to me I'd be grateful because I am utterly confused.

The leak detection expert came by again yesterday. He spent 3 hours in the house with all his fancy equipment and, by the end, was still not 100% certain where the leak might be. There was one place where his machine started beeping loudly but he couldn't be certain if it was a leak or was because that was "where the carpet joined" (????)

Anyway, he emptied the system of water and filled it with gas to try and find the leak. After that, he re-filled the system with water, bled all the radiators, (presumably) re-pressurised the system, balanced the radiators and said his goodbyes. He left the water pressure at 2 bar (we normally have it at 1.5)

2 hours later, with the heating having been running, the pressure had remained at 2 bar. We left the heating running until midnight (another 3-4 hours) and it didn't drop at all.

It dropped a tiny amount when we went to bed and put the heating down to 16 degrees C and I assume it will go back up when we turn it on later today?

So, the "leak" appears to have magically disappeared. Or, it wasn't a leak at all and was some other strange, unknown problem.

I'm utterly bemused (but silently thankful that it may not be a leak after all)