BAXI BOILER

[JSM]

Hello Great Plumbers of Cyberspace,

I have a Baxi 133 HE Plus 133000 condensing boiler which was installed in my new house just under three years ago. The correct operating pressure is 1.5 and I fill it up whenever it reaches 1.0 In the summer it goes for about 8 months before it needs re-pressurising but in the winter it goes only 3 months. Is this normal or do I have a leak? Is there more pressure in the whole system, pipes, etc. when the central heating is on which would worsen a leak?

Many thanks for your kind assistance.

Jim

 

[clf-gas]

Would not worry to much Jim, 0.5bar over a 3month period would be a bugger to find, more than likely on one of the hidden pipes.

 

[JSM]

Hi STUPID,

Thanks for that. Does that mean (hopefully) that I am not losing a significant amount of water?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[superdupergasman]

agree, you would never find .5 bar drop....you could get internal leak sealer...salamander, ferinox or sentinell all do it....put in when cold through a rad, circulate through system them heat it up.

 

[JSM]

That's very helpful and encouraging, superdupergasman. I'm taking it that I don't have a big problem, a small leakage of water that will be untraceable but which will be rectified by belting in some of the stuff you mentioned (just as I used to belt radiator sealant in an old car).

Thanks again.

Jim

 

[snb]

I would check the pressure in the expansion vessel. After 3 years they have usually lost the charge.

Drop the pressure to zero with the prv. Check vessel charge pressure with tyre guage. It should have 1bar pressure.

System will lose more pressure if the expansion vessel has the wrong charge in the winter because heating the whole system will have a greater volume increase than just the dhw cicuit.

 

[bengasman]

Do not use prv for releasing small amount of water as they tend to leak afterwards. Just drain a half a litre from bleeding nipple when system is cold. you only need to bring the pressure gauge below 0.5, it does not have to be completely zero. Pump the vessel up to somewhere around 1, no need to be preciseDo not use prv for releasing small amount of water as they tend to leak afterwards. Just drain a half a litre from bleeding nipple when system is cold. you only need to bring the pressure gauge below 0.5, it does not have to be completely zero. Pump the vessel up to somewhere around 1, no need to be precise
I would also recommend to get another plumber to service your boiler as this should have been checked as part of the annual inspection. If he did not do a simple thing like that, NO chance he checked the inhibitor level. That will cost you hundreds in the foreseeable future.

 

[ChrisR]

Just drain a half a litre from bleeding nipple when system is cold

A bit of a guess isn't it? If the PV is pretty full of water, you aren't pumping much up...

 

[bengasman]

A bit of a guess isn't it? If the PV is pretty full of water, you aren't pumping much up...

Sure it is a guess, but an educated one.
No mention of excessive pressure variations, just a bit low.
No mention of leaking prvs or frequent refilling so I am thinking along the lines of adding a bit of pressure that will work until boiler is properly serviced.
If op does not take my advice on the second suggestion, an ev that is less than optimum will be the least of his worries longterm