Hello,
I apologise in advance if I have not used the correct terminology but I hope you can follow.
I have a Remeha Avanta Plus boiler. It was in my flat when I moved in around 3 years ago and I think the boiler is around 6 years old.
I have an ongoing problem with the water pressure (not PRV) and I am a bit lost for answers.
At the end of last year I noticed the water pressure was quite low, it was below 1. I did some research on the web and found out how to top it up via the filling loop.
As the year has gone on it has required topping up more frequently. I them became concerned and called a plumber out.
Unfortunately, the plumbers I had out were via the insurance company and they were not keen on spending a second more in the flat that they had too.
Having done some research, I explained early on to the plumbers that the PRV had NOT been leaking any water. I had done several tests to capture any discharge from the small pipe that leads outside the flat but there was never anything coming out of it.
The first plumber came out and within seconds said the problem was the ARV at the top of the boiler, that it had become clogged up and needed replacing, before he bolted off.
The second guy came out to do the repair a few days later but said it wasn't the ARV, although the he cleaned it and put some tape around it; he said it was a combination of the PRV and the expansion vessel being under pressured. (I again said that the PRV had not been loosing any water but he did not seem to take any note of this).
He briefly mentioned changing the other ARV that is deeper within the actual boiler, but said it was a tricky job and probably not the problem.
The second plumber came back a few days later and replaced the PRV. He assured me that would be the end of the issue and all would be well.
Although the pressure held for a few hours it was not long before the needle started dropping again.
Unfortunately, over the weeks that followed I did not have any time off work and could not arrange for any more plumbers to come out.
During this time the water loss got worse and I found myself topping up the boiler from 0 to 2 almost twice a day. During this time there also seemed to be a lot of air in the system and I had to bleed the radiators a few times. (I'm aware that bleeding the radiators leads to a loss in pressure etc).
I was then getting seriously worried about having to put this amount of water into the system every day and where it was going.
At this point I was resigned to the fact I must have a leak - how else could I be loosing so much water on a daily basis?
I had a holiday coming up and decided I would call a plumber out again when I came back.
When I went, I left the boiler on but turned the central heating off, so the boiler would have been all but dormant for 5 days.
When I came back it was flashing its notification E7 to say 'no water pressure' (as I have seen before) and I topped it up as usual.
The strange thing is, the water pressure then held exactly where it had been topped up for nearly a week :-/
Its now slowly on the way down again but nothing like before the holiday.
Can anyone please help explain what might cause the system to go from having such a dramatic water loss every day to being fine for a week?
I am hoping to find an answer that suggests I don't have a leak as that would mean ripping up my wooden floor.
I have also read lots of posts of people doing that, and then they couldn't find a leak anyway.
There are no signs of a leak anywhere and having looked at some of the joints they seem mostly new and plastic so shouldn't really be leaking.
The only variable I can think of is that since I came back, the weather has been warmer, and I have not had the central heating on.
I did used to think that in the morning, when the central heating was on and the shower was going as well, there was a lot of steam coming out of the larger external pipe.
I've also turned down the temperature on the shower.
I would appreciate any suggestions for the water loss and how it might be fixed and, out of interest, what might have caused the 5 days of everything being fine again.
I am a lay man about these things, as you can no doubt tell, so would appreciate as simple answers as is possible.
My only guess at this stage is that perhaps the temperature on the central heating/water is too high which is creating a lot of steam which is then being vented causing the water pressure to drop?
I apologise in advance if I have not used the correct terminology but I hope you can follow.
I have a Remeha Avanta Plus boiler. It was in my flat when I moved in around 3 years ago and I think the boiler is around 6 years old.
I have an ongoing problem with the water pressure (not PRV) and I am a bit lost for answers.
At the end of last year I noticed the water pressure was quite low, it was below 1. I did some research on the web and found out how to top it up via the filling loop.
As the year has gone on it has required topping up more frequently. I them became concerned and called a plumber out.
Unfortunately, the plumbers I had out were via the insurance company and they were not keen on spending a second more in the flat that they had too.
Having done some research, I explained early on to the plumbers that the PRV had NOT been leaking any water. I had done several tests to capture any discharge from the small pipe that leads outside the flat but there was never anything coming out of it.
The first plumber came out and within seconds said the problem was the ARV at the top of the boiler, that it had become clogged up and needed replacing, before he bolted off.
The second guy came out to do the repair a few days later but said it wasn't the ARV, although the he cleaned it and put some tape around it; he said it was a combination of the PRV and the expansion vessel being under pressured. (I again said that the PRV had not been loosing any water but he did not seem to take any note of this).
He briefly mentioned changing the other ARV that is deeper within the actual boiler, but said it was a tricky job and probably not the problem.
The second plumber came back a few days later and replaced the PRV. He assured me that would be the end of the issue and all would be well.
Although the pressure held for a few hours it was not long before the needle started dropping again.
Unfortunately, over the weeks that followed I did not have any time off work and could not arrange for any more plumbers to come out.
During this time the water loss got worse and I found myself topping up the boiler from 0 to 2 almost twice a day. During this time there also seemed to be a lot of air in the system and I had to bleed the radiators a few times. (I'm aware that bleeding the radiators leads to a loss in pressure etc).
I was then getting seriously worried about having to put this amount of water into the system every day and where it was going.
At this point I was resigned to the fact I must have a leak - how else could I be loosing so much water on a daily basis?
I had a holiday coming up and decided I would call a plumber out again when I came back.
When I went, I left the boiler on but turned the central heating off, so the boiler would have been all but dormant for 5 days.
When I came back it was flashing its notification E7 to say 'no water pressure' (as I have seen before) and I topped it up as usual.
The strange thing is, the water pressure then held exactly where it had been topped up for nearly a week :-/
Its now slowly on the way down again but nothing like before the holiday.
Can anyone please help explain what might cause the system to go from having such a dramatic water loss every day to being fine for a week?
I am hoping to find an answer that suggests I don't have a leak as that would mean ripping up my wooden floor.
I have also read lots of posts of people doing that, and then they couldn't find a leak anyway.
There are no signs of a leak anywhere and having looked at some of the joints they seem mostly new and plastic so shouldn't really be leaking.
The only variable I can think of is that since I came back, the weather has been warmer, and I have not had the central heating on.
I did used to think that in the morning, when the central heating was on and the shower was going as well, there was a lot of steam coming out of the larger external pipe.
I've also turned down the temperature on the shower.
I would appreciate any suggestions for the water loss and how it might be fixed and, out of interest, what might have caused the 5 days of everything being fine again.
I am a lay man about these things, as you can no doubt tell, so would appreciate as simple answers as is possible.
My only guess at this stage is that perhaps the temperature on the central heating/water is too high which is creating a lot of steam which is then being vented causing the water pressure to drop?
