Putting sealant into a boiler

[Revan72]

This is what pressure is on now after all heaters on for an hour, but when I get up for work in morning it will be down on 0.

 

[terryplumb]

As others have said ,your expansion vessel needs attention. If you only top your boiler up to just under 1 bar, when it's cold, what does it then rise to when heating has been on for an hour.

 

[Revan72]

As others have said ,your expansion vessel needs attention. If you only top your boiler up to just under 1 bar, when it's cold, what does it then rise to when heating has been on for an hour.

I will test this out in the morning when it’s dropped down again.

 

[sxturbo]

I'm sure it's Bosch but someone can tell me if I'm wrong, do they still do the fixed price repair, where you pay them a. Couple of hundred and they fix whatever needs fixing.

As you are selling the flat, selling it with a known issue may have some implications, you will also need to provide a gas safety cert as part of the sale, so will have to have a service at some point, and it's likely the fault will be picked up then.

So at some point you will have to pay for a fix. As has been stated it sounds like an expansion vessel failure, it's not usually an expensive job.

 

[ianmcd]

You have an expansion problem, get it sorted sooner rather than later , you are damaging your boiler from the inside

 

[endecotp]

my property is currently up for sale

Ask your estate agent whether they recommend fixing it now, or selling at a discount due to the broken heating.

 

[xd400]

Going by your picture it's hitting 3 bar. As said looks like vessel needs topping up.

If you've got steel rads and keep filling up with fresh water every day you're going to end up with far worse problems.

The annual services you've had don't necessarily mean a thing. Depends on who you call. I have had service contracts for tenanted property & largely these guys turn up and do sod all. If anything they deplete the air in the expansion vessel by quickly pressing it. That to to them is 'a test'. i.e. it's got air in it, that will do!

 

[Revan72]

Going by your picture it's hitting 3 bar. As said looks like vessel needs topping up.

If you've got steel rads and keep filling up with fresh water every day you're going to end up with far worse problems.

The annual services you've had don't necessarily mean a thing. Depends on who you call. I have had service contracts for tenanted property & largely these guys turn up and do sod all. If anything they deplete the air in the expansion vessel by quickly pressing it. That to to them is 'a test'. i.e. it's got air in it, that will do!

Your not wrong there I use to pay for BG homecare and one year SSE boiler cover which included an annual service and when they turned up they Never seem to do anything they just get you to turn your heating on full blast and take the cover off the boiler then leave after 20 mins...

 

[Revan72]

Ask your estate agent whether they recommend fixing it now, or selling at a discount due to the broken heating.

This is a shared ownership property I only own 50% the housing association sell on my behalf.

 

[Revan72]

All I wanted to know was how to apply my sealant, I didn’t get one answer on how just pointless silly answers like you got a major leak and tell your estate agent you got no heating.... I will listen to the pros.


If the leak is determined to be on the system but not identified, Fernox F4 leak sealer is suitable for micro leaks



Regards,



Technical Support
Worcester, Bosch Group

 

[endecotp]

If the leak is determined to be on the system but not identified, Fernox F4 leak sealer is suitable for micro leaks

Bu that’s not the issue in your case. It’s clear that you don’t have a “micro leak”, but rather a problem with the expansion vessel.

If you do decide to put the sealer in, do please let us know what happens.

 

[xd400]

All I wanted to know was how to apply my sealant, I didn’t get one answer on how just pointless silly answers like you got a major leak and tell your estate agent you got no heating.... I will listen to the pros.

The point being made, and also having seen the pressure on your picture, is that you're more than likely losing water via the pressure relief valve because your expansion vessel is not pumped. So adding leak sealant will be of no use.
Also if you do want to add it then you'd need to know some basic plumbing skills anyway. Isolate a radiator, partially drain it by loosening a valve and pour it into that after removing one of the top vents.

 

[muggles]

All I wanted to know was how to apply my sealant, I didn’t get one answer on how just pointless silly answers

I hardly think that telling you you've got a problem with your expansion vessel, and that the leak sealer won't fix that, is a pointless silly answer. It might not be the answer you wanted, but it's the answer you need

 

[sxturbo]

To install the leak sealer you can add it via the filter, if your filter has lock shields then you can just drain the filter and fill up the filter with the f4, then de-pressurise.

Alternatively, lock off a radiator from the system and release the pressure and partially drain the radiator, remove the air bleed valve and put the f4 in, then top up the system pressure. The vertical towel rad would be the best place in this scenario.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

All I wanted to know was how to apply my sealant, I didn’t get one answer on how just pointless silly answers like you got a major leak and tell your estate agent you got no heating.... I will listen to the pros.

The starting point for diagnosing a pressurised system loosing pressure, is always one of checking the PRV and EV. It's not maybe what you wanted to hear, but none the less it is the correct place to start, rather than assuming a major leak, or adding sealant.

Adding sealant is at best a botch, which might obstruct the narrow passages in your boiler, turning a minor problem into a major one. Your other suggestion is one of topping it up daily, to keep it working - this dilutes the inhibiter which itself carries the risk of rotting your radiators out from the inside. So then you (or whoever buys your place) end up replacing leaking radiators, suffering pipes choked up with debris and the boilers water passages too.

By far the cheaper option is to fix the leak properly, starting with the PRV and the EV, to see if they are the problem - as seems most likely now and leak sealant will not help with either of those.