Main Eco Elite 30 pressure probs

[maindrain]

Hi all, I've had a lot of issues with a year old Main Eco Elite 30 installed in my house. It's started to lose pressure a month ago so I topped it up via the loop. However, it's now losing pressure after every time the heating has been on so I have to top up at least 2-3 times a day. It's still under warranty by Main and they’ve been out twice to fix it. First time they said there was an issue with the expansion vessel, which they rectified and it seemed to go back to normal. However, two days later the issue returned. Main have been out again and couldn’t find the fault but as a precaution they changed the PRV, plate Heat Exchanger and also the filling loop but this hasn’t fixed the prob. They are now saying that there’s nothing wrong with the boiler and it must be a leak although, I’ve checked and I can’t find one anywhere. It needs re-pressurising every time it’s needed to be used, which is at least 2-3 times a day and it's been going on for a month so if there was a leak I would've thought I'd have seen it by now. The initial tinckering to the expansion vessel by the Main Engineer seemed to temporarily resolve the issue, which makes me think it’s the expansion vessel. It’s only been in the house for just over a year and this is the second major issue we’ve had with it. Just a few months after it was installed the diverter failed and was leaking water everywhere. If anyone has any ideas what could be wrong with the boiler it would be much appreciated, it's driving me bonkers!.

Andy

 

[ianmcd]

Hi Andy , there will be a small piece of pipe sticking outside from your boiler, this is the Pressure releive vale (PRV) locate this and attach a balloon or small freezer bag or something on there, connect with an aelastic band or something so it doesnt blow off, when the pressure in your boiler drops have a look in the bag , if there is water in it then it is indeed your expansion vessel or PRV, nut as it only happens when the heating is on I suspect it is the expansion vessel, another way to check is before your CH comes on note the pressure registering on the boiler guage and when heating comes on watch it for about 20 mins and if it rises to about 3 Bar then you do indeed, have an expansion problem

 

[maindrain]

Hi Ian, thanks for you reply. I will ask my installers to have a look at this as the boiler is in the loft and I can't get easy access to it, they're also coming to check my pipework for any leaks. The other odd thing is, the hot water pressure seems much reduced since we've started having this problem even when the boiler is at normal pressure (1.5mb). It's driving me mad and I'm sick of having to re-pressurise all the time, I'm regretting getting rid of our old more reliable but less efficient system boiler.

Another odd thing I've noticed is that our boiler seems to eject more steam from the flue than both neighbours who have exactly the same Main Eco Elite 30 boiler.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[maindrain]

Hi, just an update, well I've had the system checked for leaks and two bottles of leak sealer later it's still a problem. No leaks were found and it did seem to solve the problem temporarily for two days but then the pressure loss returned. So I've bagged up the PRV outlet with a condom, yes that's the sorry mess I am in now, placing condoms on PRV outlets, I really think I'm losing it! But then rusty coloured water started gathering in the condom, obviously not a good sign, but maybe this indicates a PRV problem. Weird thing is the boiler when on isn't getting anywhere near 3 mbar so it must just be a faulty valve. However, Main say that they replaced this in their warranty check two weeks ago, so did they really change it or is it just faulty? I shall be emailing Main telling them what I've found and I just hope they fix it before I get sectioned.

Are these PRVs cheap and shoddy or can I buy a better quality one?

Thanks

 

[AGAS]

why the hell did you put leak sealer in ?? they have no clue putting that s**t in at that stage of diagnoses , ian gave you sound advise and you completely ignored it what a waste of time . why would anyone put leak sealer in without doing other simple checks first , it sounds like you have other problems but are you going to listen

 

[steve32]

Oh dear leak sealer will block the main heat exchanger and plate heat exchanger you need to try and flush it out asap
How many radiators are on the system

 

[maindrain]

Hi all, thanks for your responses, yes I should've insisted that our installers check the PRV first rather than installing the leak sealer. They didn't mention that it could cause problems otherwise I obviously wouldn't have let them do it. The odd thing is the boiler pressure is normal when on, as I initially thought it could be rising pressure from a fault with the expansion vessel triggering the PRV. Main also replaced the PRV a couple of weeks ago and they also checked the expansion vessel. So I am confused as to why the PRV now appears to be failing. I'll ask Main to come and have another look as no other leaks can be found anywhere.

Thanks,

Andy