Draining off a Baxi Bahama 100 Boiler

[DucatiMan1]

Guys

I have a leak on my boiler at the moment, I thought while I had it apart as it were, I would take the primary flow switch out and give it a clean

I have read on here that to that one has to drain down the boiler

What does that actually entail ??

Many thanks in advice for any advice !!

Cheers

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

On that boiler I don't think there's an official drain but I don't bother with that anyway. Just isolate the boiler underneath and let the excess out of the prv.
Those isolation valves often leak as well but usually I find that if you are careful then you can get them down to a tiny dribble and most the time they reseal themselves when you get some hot water flowing through.
Safer still but more time consuming is to drain the system down to the level of the boiler from a separate drain off valve or radiator.

Retrieving the sliding part of the sensor I usually get away with one of those cheap 99p mains tester screwdrivers and sometimes a blob of blu tack helps.

Remove the diverter head by pushing the button usually on the right and rotating anti clockwise until you can pull it forward and off.

Occasionally I find it easier to remove the copper link pipe from the top of the diverter, If you have to do this then get some silicone grease on before you put it back.

As you might have guessed I can fix these all day long but now they really are well past their scrap by date. If you cant get a free replacement it's probably about time to start saving up for a new one.

 

[DucatiMan1]

Thanks Slug, when you say push the button on the right, do you mean the white thing on the side of the gray housing ??

The boiler hardly gets used as i am constantly working away, so if i can get another couple of years out of it i will be happy !!

Cheers

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

The gray housing should be your diverter valve head and half way down on the right and at the back is the little button which you push in to the left. Then rotate the valve head anti clock wise.

Yes I think it is white. I dont even look at them anymore when I take them off lol

 

[Madrab]

Personally I would never use the PRV to drain down a system, it is a safety device and is not designed for that purpose and in my opinion should not be played with. They are notorious for not sealing correctly afterwards and are there solely to safeguard against system over-pressurisation and a potential disaster. If they do subsequently leak then the system loses inhibitor and eventually there would be none left due to constantly adding water to re-pressurise the system resulting in system corrosion.
All properly designed central heating systems will have drain down points on either the flow/return pipes or both, it's just a case of finding these and attaching a pipe. Worst case is find lowest radiator and undo a valve and drain down that way.

 

[DucatiMan1]

Hi

I am getting a little confused here sorry, what is the PRV ?

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

PRV's are supposed to be tested anyhow. Might as well do it while you're there. If it doesn't reseal then it needs cleaning or replacing and maybe it's about time the system had a flush.

PRV = pressure release valve.

This is an old boiler probably on an even older system. There's just as much chance of getting chew from a dodgy drain off valve.