Worcester Bosch Greenstar 157 Losing Pressure

[Fast_Muchly]

Hi
Boiler been losing pressure alongtime but i have put it off till now as its been mostly switched off.But deciding to get it done with winter looming.

Basically been having to top it up everyday.Its been in since 2009.

I have checked all round house no leaks.Found the leak when i left the pressure valve open to keep it constantly topped up.....not wide open but just a little bit.A neighbour came round as the bolier is in the garage to say i think you have a leak.

There are two pipes coming down from this bolier one is the condensate outflow the other on the right hand side comes down and thru our garage wall.I dont know what this pipe is but at the bottom where it comes out on the opposite side of our garage wall you can see it dripping when the boiler is under pressure.

I have a mate who knows a mate who knows a good plumber know what i mean.He is coming round on Monday without even visiting us he has ordered a part and says he knows what it is.No mention of prices to fix !!??.

Is this a common problem ?

What is it likeley to be from the symptons ?

Could it just be a bad leaky join on the bottom of this pipe where you can see it leaking and am i going to have to pay for this part to be fitted when all it is is a leaky copper pipe ?.Basically a £20-£30 job.

I have also put the bolier under pressure with both valves turned off yesterday so it wasnt working and it lost pressure from 2.0 bar to zero i wud say in an hour and a half.And puddle appeared on next door where this pipe end is.

Plz someone let me know how much im roughly looking at for this as i dont want to get ripped off as im on a low income having just switched jobs and i can seriously do without getting ripped off.

Thanks

Alan

 

[Burnerman]

From your decription, it sounds like the pressure relief valve (PRV) on your boiler is allowing some water to pass by - this isn't uncommon and is usually an easy replacement fix. The PRV is a safety device.
Its not a good idea to introduce fresh water into your heating system - it contains oxygen and therefore promotes corrosion.
John

 

[Fast_Muchly]

From your decription, it sounds like the pressure relief valve (PRV) on your boiler is allowing some water to pass by - this isn't uncommon and is usually an easy replacement fix. The PRV is a safety device.
Its not a good idea to introduce fresh water into your heating system - it contains oxygen and therefore promotes corrosion.
John

So you dont think the pipe outside is leaking.The pipe doesnt have water dripping down on the outside of it right where it goes into boiler.I just dont get why its dripping at the bend of the pipe on the outside if the water isnt running down the outside of it if you get what i mean.

What is this pipe ?. Its not the condensate one which is on the left.

And if it is the PRV roughly how much am i looking at do you think ?.

Thanks for replying.

Alan

 

[Burnerman]

The PRV pipe that leads to outside is dripping water, according to your description, so the PRV itself is letting water by.
This is the reason for your need to constantly top up the boiler.
PRV's typically cost around £10 but I have no knowledge of this boiler, as I only sort oil stuff - therefore I can't comment on how difficult it is to replace.
Typically a TRV outlet pipe passes through the wall then turns back on itself - a safety measure should the boiler discharge hot water without warning.
There is no connection between the condensate pipe and PRV.
John

 

[sloaney]

The PRV should only let water pass if the pressure on the gauge on the boiler exceeds 3bar. If you top the boiler up when it's cold to about 1/1.5bar then run the central heating on max. If the pressure on the gauge reaches 3 bar quickly (say 15 minutes or so) you have a problem with expansion vessel. It either needs replacing or repressurising. If there is a problem with the expansion vessel and you just replace the PRV you will not cure the problem.