Central Heating Leak

[neasdendave]

Hi,

My boiler is losing pressure at an alarming rate. I set it at 2.5 bar on Monday and within 3 hrs it had gone to 0. I called a plumber who confirmed that there must be a leak and we think it is under the wooden floor in the living room. The wood has been put on a floating floor, so the only way of getting to the leak is to pull the floor up. However, I have seen adverts for leak detection companies who say that they can pinpoint the leak using thermal imaging equipment, etc, we can then save most of the floor. However, I am doubtful- has anyone got experience of using a company such as this?

Thanks in advance

 

[mcmoby69]

2.5 bar is too high, it should be 1.5bar and when the system is cold. try that before doing anything else.

why did you set it at 2.5bar?

 

[cantaloup63]

Did the plumber actually come round or did he diagnose over the phone? In particular did he and/or you check the PRV from the boiler to see if it is passing water?

 

[dcawkwell]

Empty the system and used compressed air into the system.
You will be able to hear where the leak is coming from.

This plumbing is so easy.

But would isolate the room first to confirm that is where the leak is
before talking floors up.

 

[Agile]

Empty the system and used compressed air into the system.
You will be able to hear where the leak is coming from.

I have got a 4 bar air compressor and an ultrasonic sound meter. An ideal combination for finding a leak!

Tony

 

[neasdendave]

Thanks for the reply's. The plumber put it up to 2.5 originally, so when it went down- I followed suit.. He has been round- checked the boiler & rads, but no water damage. Water's not dropping from the ceiling- so figure it is on the ground floor.

A bit of a stupid question- if there is a hole in a water pipe- is it possible that the water would travel eg from one room to the next?? The plumber said that he's worked in houses where damp has been found by a radiator on one side of a room, but the actual pipe had to be fixed on another. Surely, if there was a leak, the water would just run to ground where the problem was & not travel?? I'm starting to doubt him!

 

[Agile]

It all depends on where the leak is and whats underneath the leak.

Tony

 

[dcawkwell]

Thanks for the reply's. The plumber put it up to 2.5 originally, so when it went down- I followed suit.. He has been round- checked the boiler & rads, but no water damage. Water's not dropping from the ceiling- so figure it is on the ground floor.

A bit of a stupid question- if there is a hole in a water pipe- is it possible that the water would travel eg from one room to the next?? The plumber said that he's worked in houses where damp has been found by a radiator on one side of a room, but the actual pipe had to be fixed on another. Surely, if there was a leak, the water would just run to ground where the problem was & not travel?? I'm starting to doubt him!

No. No floor is perfect. The water will sink down to the damp proof membrane and then can run anywhere. Pooling here and there. Usually running around the walls.

 

[neasdendave]

Cheers- I guess it will probably travel to the lowest point if it falls onto the damp proof membrane? but if the damp was found by the pipes leading to the radiator- would that suggest that the leak was coming from that connection?

In my case, if I or the plumber can't pinpoint where the leak is coming from on the ground floor- do you think it's worthwhile getting the leak detection company out? They've quoted £450 to find the leak, fix it and repair the part of the floor they will need to cut...

Thanks again

 

[Agile]

Most houses in the Neasden area were built during the late 1930s.

Slate d.p.cs in the walls and nothing under the floor.

Tony

 

[neasdendave]

Thanks, but been away from Neasden for a while now!

 

[mcmoby69]

if you have a condensing boiler it may be possible that the secondary heat exchanger (sometimes known as a recuperator) has sprung a leak and is draining down the condensate pipe. a 'plumber' may not be aware of this but a boiler engineer would. if you isolate the boiler like i said you can eliminate this from the equation.

 

[neasdendave]

Quick Update-

Got a Polish plumber who actually knew what he was doing. Found the leak, cut only a small section of the floor, so didn't have to replace everything.

I had two plumbers opinions before this guy- both didn't have a clue and wanted to destroy the floor before they could find it. Both were English and both wanted a call out fee.

Don't bother with English trades people...

 

[Dan Robinson]

You're funny.

 

[neasdendave]

Prawda