Pressure loss from Linea combi installation.

[DP]

This one is for the pros. The customer needs some advice as to how to proceed. Guys, those of you who have managed to crack this problem, please be a Santa for a pleasant customer.

Boiler is located rear of a terraced house, 22mm primaries teed under the boiler to heat upper floor and lower floor. Ground floor pipes run from boiler under floor that is oak finished (so would be the ultimate place to examine), suspect there is a 10mm plastic pipe teed under floor that feeds kitchen fan convector. Pipes connected somewhere (not visible) to 28mm existing runs under hall floor. Have suggested easy part is to roll carpet back and examine pipe run feeding four rads in hall. No room underfloor to eyeball the fittings. Though not a contributing factor, old pump still in place

The boiler was pressurised to 1.7bar today. In 10 minutes it had dropped to 1.5. When I went there this morning, pressure was at zero (boiler was pressurised last night). The PRV vent is dry and the heat exchanger is not leaking (no water in combustion chamber) and insulation panels are white as driven snow.

Commonsense suggestions will be gratefully received.

TIA

Dan

 

[ianmcd]

First thing to do is go back and re-pressurise boiler to about 2 Bar close the flow and return isolation valves and leave for a period of time 24 hours if possible then go back if pressure is still the same then you have a leak on the system if it has dropped it is within the boiler as you have already ruled out an expansion problem, if it is a system leak when you open the isolation valves again the pressure will suddenly drop

 

[DP]

Thanks for replying Ian.

Pressure drops is noticeable over say 10 minutes. The amount of water that is lost would leave a wet patch where it leaks from. Boiler is dry as is PRV vent. Good chance leak below ground floor

If you were presented with a floor that is oak finished with with primaries below, possible tee feeding fan convector below and a room radiator too, then piped to hall that is carpeted, how would you locate the leak

 

[Agile]

Running at a high temperature for an hour or two is likely to spill quite a bit of hot water from the leak when over pressurised to say 2.0 bar.

A thermal camera will probably pick that up over the floor area. Or even an IR thermostat carefully scanned across the floor area.


Santa


I saw a tablet device, perhaps Apple, that seemed to have a thermal setting on its built in camera.

I was unable in a few minutes to decide if it really was operating as a real IR camera but it certainly looked as if it was.

 

[gigz]

Pull the plinth heater out, and check flexi's. Is it the linea he or se ?

 

[DP]

Linea SE. Dry around plinth radiator

Thanks guys for taking interest. This one needs an army and rapid response to resolve the problem. Did suggest thermal camera to customer. Have suggested customer seek help from parties that have manpower and specialist equipment to locate and fix. My gut feeling is leak is under the oak floor