Trying to replace combi-care compact filter

[TobyMar]

Hello

I recently bought my first house, so home ownership & maintenance is all quite new to me. I have a Baxi combi boiler with a combi-care compact filer cartridge next to it. The cartridge looks like it hasn't been replaced for quite a while, so I've bought a new one & am trying to change it. The very first step of the instructions tells me to 'loosen the pressure relief screw on top of the control head'. I've tried to do this, but the screw is very rusty & it's hard to get any grip with the screwdriver without it completely mangling the screw head. I've tried WD40 & using a hacksaw to make the slot in the screwhead more pronounced, but it won't budge.

Is there risk involved in proceeding with removing the cartridge without first releasing the pressure relief screw? Or should I leave it & get an engineer to do?

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Problems arising from not releasing the pressure will be:

- A short sharp shock as the water in the cartridge squirts out - shouldn't be much in it though.

- The vacuum in the filter will make withdrawing it a pig...

- Which could put stress on the pipes and valves.

 

[TobyMar]

Thank you, Dan. There's a chap coming next week to replace a boiler part, so I may as well ask him to have a go. I've just tried with pliers & I'm gradually destroying this blessed screw.