Used 32 tonnes of water in 3 weeks!

[John sankus]

Hi guys,

We recently moved into a property with a water meter and oil-fired central heating - not that the two are connected but we had neither before... anyway, the boiler is a heatslave ii, only a few years old (3, I believe) and has two pipes coming out through the external wall - one is a big black plastic thing, looks around 50mm in diameter, belches steam when the boiler is on. The other is a 15ml copper pipe, where, when the boiler is on, water pours out as if it were a tap. The two largest radiators in the place don't work, and symptoms suggest they need removing and flushing, rather than just bleeding.
So, can my wee copper pipe really have used 32 tonnes of water in a month, or do I have a leak?
Is the small copper pipe even supposed to have water coming out of it?
Will flushing the radiators help with any of this?
Would I be right in assuming the black plastic thing is a condensate pipe, getting rid of the combustion products, or is the wee copper pipe the condensate pipe?
We intend getting an engineer out to service the boiler as soon as there is room to move in the house

Any help much appreciated - this is gonna cost me a fortune is I don't get it sorted quickly...

 

[terryplumb]

What makes you think you have used 32 tons of water in a month/ 3 weeks ?? Where has it gone ?

 

[Schrayder]

Look up the manual for your boiler to see what the various pipes are.
Sounds like the pressure relief valve is operating.
If water pours out like a tap then yes, you could have wasted that much water.
Get an engineer.

 

[John sankus]

Look up the manual for your boiler to see what the various pipes are.
Sounds like the pressure relief valve is operating.
If water pours out like a tap then yes, you could have wasted that much water.
Get an engineer.

Cheers bud - as an aside, it says pressure is supposed to be between 1.5 and 2.5 - this is over 3... sounds a tad high...?

 

[John sankus]

What makes you think you have used 32 tons of water in a month/ 3 weeks ?? Where has it gone ?

Meter said 240 on 6th December, says 272 today...

 

[Nige F]

That could be 32 cubic metres of water = you should be able to check with your water co. for the price per cubic metre.

 

[Schrayder]

Yes its too high, thats why the prv is operating. Is the filling loop open?

 

[John sankus]

That could be 32 cubic metres of water = you should be able to check with your water co. for the price per cubic metre.

32 cubic metres of water is 32 tonnes isn't it? there's a thousand litres in a cubic metre of water I think...

 

[John sankus]

Yes its too high, thats why the prv is operating. Is the filling loop open?

My experience with oil fired boilers is zero, and although I can find some material on how to increase the pressure, I don't see anything that says how to get it down. Do you think the fact that two of the large radiators are blocked with sludge (I believe) could be a factor in this? I mean if I take these things off and flush them this weekend will it help any? I do intend getting an engineer in soon, but I don't want to pay someone to come and tell me I need to flush a couple of radiators if it won't solve the problem...

 

[Schrayder]

No. Its not because of the rads. An engineer should find it an easy fix.
And stop being so mis trustful.

 

[John sankus]

Yes its too high, thats why the prv is operating. Is the filling loop open?

I'll take a look at filling loop when I get home... if memory serves, it is at the side, and valves are in open position I think...

 

[John sankus]

No. Its not because of the rads. An engineer should find it an easy fix.

Thanks for this. I need to flush them anyway because they are bloody useless as they are and I don't want any crap in the boiler - but the pressure is over 3 and in the red..

 

[Mottie]

I'll take a look at filling loop when I get home... if memory serves, it is at the side, and valves are in open position I think...

They should be closed. Close them off, bleed some water out of the rad until you get the correct pressure and see how that goes.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That could be 32 cubic metres of water = you should be able to check with your water co. for the price per cubic metre.

Or it could be 0.032M as in ???.???

 

[Dereekoo]

Or it could be 0.032M as in ???.???

.032m3 in a month, hope not, thats about 4 flushes of the toilet and a few teeth cleaning sessions.