mixing Fernox leak stop and unknown inhibitor

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george121212

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Hi I have a Worcester Combi boiler 3 years old that is losing some pressure every 6 weeks for the past 12 months.
It is covered by the Worcester warranty so a Worcester engineer came out assessed it and said everything including the valves and expansion tank looks ok.
He said it is most likely a problem with a small leak somewhere in the pipework.

He suggested adding some leak sealer through a towel rad.
When the boiler was installed 3 years ago I am sure he put an inhibitor in at install although I cannot remember the brand.

My question is I have some Fernox leak sealer, is there a risk here mixing it with an unknown inhibitor in the system like sentinel?
There appears to be mixed comments online that this could form a jelly sludge and cause blockages?

thanks
 
Hi, thanks for the reply , the house has 16 or so rads in it so he advised finding a leak might be hard.
I have had a good look but unfortunately nothing obvious has reared its head.
The boiler has been checked out by a worcester engineer 2 weeks ago and he says is happy that it is not the boiler. still have another 5 years gurantee on it.

Just didn't fancy causing too much damage looking for the leak, would leak sealer be a shout?
thanks
 
Good advice thanks, maybe ill have another good look and try and find the leak.
I asked the same engineer about installing a magnafilter, he advised probably no point now being 3 years down the line.
Do you think it would be worth having one installed? thanks
 
As above try finding leak. If it's taking 6 weeks to drop pressure I'd be having a good look at all rad valves .
Take of heads of trv's and dust caps off lockshields.
Auto air valves if you have any can be another source of problems.
Just fit a decent system filter, difficult to understand why a boiler only 3 years old didn't have one fitted as part of install.
 
Thanks so much all for the helpful replies, after some rummaging I found the leak on a bleed valve as Exedon recommended, so saved me clogging up the system with leak sealer!

It was only leaking when cold so made it a challenge to find.

I nipped it up as it was loose and seems to have stopped leaking. It's a little rusty where it was dripping , I have seen worse but would you recommend to do anything to this area.

Thanks for your help a big problem solved!
 

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These bleed valves seal against the raditor by compressing a rubber O-ring. This detiorates with time and this may be the cause of the leak. Nipping it up may stop the leak for a while but, if the O-ring is getting hard, then it might start leaking again. Eventually you'll probably need to replace the O-ring.
 

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