Corroding joint / pipe / heat exchanger

[kevhky]

Hi after many months of trying to find leak in my combi ch i still have not found it

ive narrowed it down to flow/return pipework comming from boiler approx 3m going to upper floor or 4m heading down

Ive come across a quite bad corroding joint (pics attached) although im not 100% this is where the leak is occuring although its a good possibility, ive felt and checked for signs of water but cant see or feel any, im going to leave this pipework exposed and check monitor over the next few days.

Do you think its a good possibility this is where leak is (looks like its been trickling down pipe) but unsure if that off maybe a previous incident before i moved into property.

Kev

 

[rojaca]

try wrapping kitchen roll around it and check when cold, hot and when pump is running. will often only show under specific conditions

you may need to cut isolation valves into htg to help identify where on system leak is.

alternatively you could try the old spice method as advocated by some of the other members on here. Essentially put some strong smelling aftershave into htg and follow your nose. NB not used this method myself!

 

[kevhky]

try wrapping kitchen roll around it and check when cold, hot and when pump is running. will often only show under specific conditions.

Doing this as we speak

you may need to cut isolation valves into htg to help identify where on system leak is.

What do you you mean (sorry for my ignorance)

alternatively you could try the old spice method as advocated by some of the other members on here. Essentially put some strong smelling aftershave into htg and follow your nose. NB not used this method myself!

Does this actually work as read it in other posts i seriously thought other members were being sarcastic hahaha althoguh it does sound like a great idea, what about a dye such as food colouring (wont it effect any parts inside combi ????

Kev

 

[kevhky]

Could this be my problem Main Heat Exchanger

No visible signs of water

 

[rojaca]

ahah that's looking like a baxi/potterton heat exchanger on a performa/105 etc. No the insulation panels shouldn't be showing water damage like that.
It's not a HE version of the performa/105 is it?
It is very unusual for the main heat exchanger to leak although not impossible, i would just check that the water is not travelling down from somewhere else causing the staining. Heat exch will more often leak from the o-rings.
If the boiler is a HE version I would isolate the blr from system and check for pressure loss across blr. You may have a pinhole on the secondary heat exch if there are no other visible signs of leaking.

Cutting in isolation valves- done where you have a large system and are trying to establish on what section a leak is taking place. Lever valves or similar can be put on flow and return pipes to isolate a section and see if pressure drop continues.

Old Spice- as said never done it myself but like yourself had seen it posted several times. You never know what to trust on here

 

[rojaca]

P.S i should really advise against DIY repairs on your boiler. Most op's on here won't give advice on gas related work. Essentially your boiler is classed as a gas fitting, and without wanting to open up an age old debate (here we go), you should be qualified and competent to work on them.
As you have taken the front of the combustion chamber off I think I may be metaphorically waving to your horse whilst I gently close the gate behind it.

 

[kevhky]

Hi, boiler is a vokera maxin 24e, the only visible sign of leak is within the main heat exchanger, the side that was showing signs of water damage i swapped with the perfectly clear side, i will wait a few days then recheck see if water damaged has occured. If it has i will first check the o ring as you said ( are these sold seperately) thanks for the replys and advice

kev

 

[petit_pablo]

Vokera heat exchangers are terrible for rotting through round here. Theres a good chance thats where your pressure has been going.

V easy heat exchanger to change but should be be done by an RGI

 

[kevhky]

UPDATE .......UPDATE

I changed the insulation pads two days ago and this is what has occured

Water damage

and finally i have found the leak

Two boiler men that called to inspect insisted that it was impossible to have leak in boiler as it would show on the worktops, this leak has being going on for around 2 month thank god ive got it

Thanks everyone for your replys and all the help was much appreciated

THANKS

Kev

ps wheres the best place to order parts or has google gotta be my friend

 

[DP]

How did you change the insulation pads? The rear pad only comes out if the heat exchanger is removed. To remove the HE, fan has to come out.

 

[kevhky]

How did you change the insulation pads? The rear pad only comes out if the heat exchanger is removed. To remove the HE, fan has to come out.

hi i never changed all the pads. I swapped the left pad with the right pad (they are identical) before doing so the left pad was perfectly clean no damage at all, now this pad is all marked just like the other, this has occured in 2 days,

ive now contacted the boiler insurance to show them the problem'z

apologies for not making it clear in my last post

this is the pad after 2 days

Kev

 

[ChrisR]

The Boiler insurance co will most likely wash their hands of you now.
Work has been done on the appliance by an unqualified person.
Work can only legally be done on a gas appliance by a "competent" person. You may see it that you're competent to undo some screws, but if you don't have full knowledge of what you're doing, that could get you into trouble before you realise it. I'd expect them to cry Foul because you can't prove competence.


As you've found, many with bits of paper aren't terribly competent either, but that argument won't get you very far!

 

[DP]

As has been mentioned previously, main heat exchanger is leaking. By look of things, it appears your boiler service is well overdue.

An operational check as carried out with FGA is NOT a service.

 

[kevhky]

H yes your right i cant provide competence but it aint rocket science removing half a dozen screws and replacing them

i respect you guys on here as i know this is your trade

ive had the ins guys out before and they are spot on, ill just tell them ive paid for a competent person to inspect boiler and thats what they hsve found = result

ill let you all know on Sunday when theve been

Kev

 

[DP]

it aint rocket science removing half a dozen screws and replacing them

Nothing difficult about that, but fault finding is another ball game. If you are that clever, I wonder why you are asking questions in the first place.