Losing Pressure on Alpha Ocean 240E Combi

[Steam]

Hi
having a bit of fun (not) in trying to find out why the pressure on my Alpha Ocean 240E boiler constantly falls (needs topping up when heating is on every 20 mins).

It does not fall as much when it is set on DHW, but nevertheless still falls.
I have checked all the pipes / carpets for signs of a leak but everything appears dry, also checked the boilers outside vent to see if that is dripping, but no signs there.

A boiler man has called and changed the following parts (we were having problems with DHW only hot when heating was on);

DHW Heat Exchanger
Flow Switch
Thermister
Diverter Valve

We now have hot water when heating off, but the problem with the constantly dropping of pressure is still there!!!

I have even isolated the inlet & outlet valves (beneath the boiler) of the central heating to see if it is on the boiler side or CH side. Doing this still dropped the pressure although at the same rate as when the heating is switched off (ie several hours before a topup is required)

There are no visible signs of water leaking from underneath the boiler, but my concerns are where is all this water going that I'm filling up each day?

Is there somthing else within the boiler that is faulty and allowing water to escape to a drain (not that I can see any pipes leading to a drain)

To give a little more background on the building;
It is a single storey (Bungalow) with no pipeworks in the loft space.

It is about 15 years old with a concrete floor, however the builders left a channel running on the inside of the floorspace with a plywood inspection cover for the pipeworks. This I have had up completely around the house and the channel is bone dry?

As I mentioned earlier we did have a problem wherby the boiler would fire up when turning on a hot tap (when heating was off) but no hot water just cold to luke warm. When heating was on we had occaisional hot water.

Could the fact that the boiler was still firing up have damaged something which is venting out the wall as steam? Expansion vessel for example?
The boiler man has suggested we put in some dye to see where the leak is, however as the pipework channel is dry I fail to see how this will help?


Any help advice appreciated

The boiler is about 5 years old

Regards

 

[gasmick2]

there is only one other place where the water can get out and that is through the P R V valve to the outside put a plastic bag over the end of the pipe to see if any water collects in it
I would also get yopu RGI to check to see if the expansion vessel has got air in it and is pressurized to the correct around 0.7bar
it has to be going somewhere

 

[Agile]

Has your CORGI man opened the combustion chamber to see if any water is leaking there?

If it was it would just get boiled away whenever the boiler is operating.

Tony

 

[Steam]

Thanks for the replies, Agile & gasmick2

I'm pretty sure he hasn't checked the expansion vessel & combustion chamber, so I'll run it by him tomorrow.

He was suggesting we put a chemical through the boiler as it could be a blockage, but although I am not an engineer, my logic still cannot fathom where the water is going?

I did put a bag on the outside vent pipe to the boiler and I did collect about a half pint of water during the course of a day (this did not seem to be anywhere near the amout I topped up at the other end)

I will keep you informed of the progress

 

[gas4you]

I did put a bag on the outside vent pipe to the boiler and I did collect about a half pint of water during the course of a day (this did not seem to be anywhere near the amout I topped up at the other end)

Shouldn't be any water coming out of this.

Depending on the size of your system, this could be enough to make the pressure drop as you say.

As suggested, EV needs checking, if water comes out it needs replacing.

It does seem though that your 'engineer' is a bit of a parts changer

Seems an awful lot of parts to change just for a no hot water fault in the first place. Usually it is just the diaphragm with the fault you described

 

[Steam]

Thanks Dave

I have text to run the points past him & explained I had got this info from Alpha direct (so as not to dent his confidence)

It is interesting that the pressure remains reasonable stable when the heating is off (just DHW on) and drops like a stone when the CH kicks in?

I'll let you know the outcome in a couple of days when he comes back...

Pity your in Norwich

Dave