alpha boiler - presssure high

[houswifeplight]

Hi - hoping you can help me - my other half is away for 6 weeks and the boiler is playing up - i dont have any cover on it for repair so when he rang last night he said oh yes you just turn the pressure relief valve underneath - did that and the pressure needle went up not down - he also said that the silver pipe could be unscrewed to let out water so Ive let out some water but havent a clue if thats right - the pressure is even higher - eek! - is there anything i could do - have turned the boiler off totally now as I dont want us to get blown up. thanks

lyn

 

[muggles]

It sounds to me like you've turned the wrong valve and opened the filling loop instead of the PRV. What boiler make/model is it? I note that you've said 'playing up' but not actually given any symptoms. In what way is it playing up?

It's extremely unlikely that your boiler will blow up.

 

[houswifeplight]

Hi - its an alpha 240p - with ocean written on the left. The pressure needle is now permanently high, around 3 bar, after my mucking with it. Before that it was going up high from the normal green area when the heating came on and settling just above the green if I kept the heating at moderate - I could get away with using the heating that way without the needle shooting to the end of the dial when turning the heat higher.

When I turned the black lever I did hear air escape at first but now there seems to be no more. The silver loop is attached both ends and may have been so all along - not sure - dont usually look at this myself. So, now if I put the heating on the needle moving up even further makes me panic. Thanks for the info that it wont actually explode but dont think I can use it as it is - the boiler is old but has been brilliant for years with service etc. Right now the black lever is closed and the silver loop is attached both ends. The dial shows 3 bar. Forgot to say that it has been dripping also.

 

[muggles]

Make sure the valves at either end of the silver filling loop are turned off, then detach it over a tub. If it continually drips then it's letting by, and this is the problem.

Most likely explanation, however, is that the expansion vessel has either lost pressure or the diaphragm has burst. This will cause the pressure in your system to rise significantly when it heats up. See FAQ Number 1 here //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=37170 for more info on that.

If you're not confident sorting it yourself, call an engineer in. If it just needs recharging this will be fairly cheap, if you need a new EV it'll obviously be more for the part and time to fit it.

 

[houswifeplight]

Hi - thanks - i have only one valve on one end of the silver loop and Ive seen in the topics that they have one each end and that it shouldnt be on there permanently anyway - maybe its been left on because theres no lever on both ends? anyway - i had a look at that loop but when i undo it the water shoots out at great speed so quickly tightened back up - definitely couldnt manage the sort of job i read in FAQ - will try to get an engineer out in the week and hope it wont be too expensive - many thanks.
Lyn

 

[houswifeplight]

Hi - back again - had a thought to bleed the rads to see if this might help but how the dickens can you bleed rads that have nothing to show anywhere at top ends other than a small circle on the panel with a head that is hard to make out the shape of - could be a 'D' or hexagonal? the space between the grills too small to get a spanner, pliers, anything into to try to turn it - and since the car has a blown head gasket now i cant even get to the hardwares to try to get a tool - this is turning into another nightmare!

 

[muggles]

If you're describing what I think you're describing then you need nothing more fancy than a radiator bleed key to bleed the radiators, but this won't help much. You can't fix the problem by letting air/water out of the system

 

[houswifeplight]

UPDATE:

I must let you know what has been happening here - I cannot reiterate enough, what you guys say about getting in the professionals! - I have had a lucky escape - the engineer arrived this morning after my emergency call - the water started dripping from the bottom and then started gushing at force along with steam and loud hissing and I thought this things gonna blow - two hours of emptying pans and mopping floors later the guys sorted it and then informed me that the saftey features of this boiler were not working! not only had the pressure vessel failed but the relief valve failed and I was at risk while it was in that state and should not have been using it - the pressure was way above 3 bar and I do feel that I should have called them in straight away - I even had transco out as i couldnt turn off the water and didnt know if the gas would present a problem. the guy explained to me about just how much pressure we were looking at - scary!