Vaillant EcoTEC Combi Boiler - pressure / water issue ?

[MiltonPFC]

I have a Vaillant ecoTEC combi boiler that was installed last summer from new with no issues .... until now.

I have just bled the rads around the house (due to very low heat from the rad in the loft ..... which did turn out to have a lot of air in it) .... and we now have no hot water (but we do have central heating still!)

I have rebooted the ecoTEC Boiler a couple of times and get an F22 error message .... which is one of the error messages according to the Operating Manual which occur when the water pressure in the heating system is too low (it is 0.4 Bar, which is too low)

The manual also says that if the Pressure Gauge is below 0.8 bar then fill the system up with water before putting the boiler in operation.

However, what the manual doesnt show is the procedure to top up the pressure / fill the system up with water??

On my old boiler there was a big old stop cock that I could manually adjust and watch the pressure gauge increase to the right value etc

Any assistance really would be welcome / appreciated.

Merry Christmas - Pat

 

[mickyg]

2 grey knobs underneath boiler, turn them on until correct pressure then turn both back off. use "-" button to check exact pressure reading.
merry christmas.

 

[landyandy]

There are two models of the Ecotec combis.
Ecotec pro.
Ecotec plus.

Both will have a filling loop,(a silver braided flexi pipe) which is what you need to find to increase the pressure.

On the plus the filling loop is directly under the boiler.

On the pro the installer decides where to put it. But it probably will be somewhere near your boiler.

Water regs say that the filling loop should be disconnected after use, so you might need to re connect one end.

Increase the pressure to just over 1 bar when the system is cold.

Sorry Mick you got there just before me.



Andy.

 

[MiltonPFC]

Many thanks gents - spot on Mickyg !

I had tried the two grey valves ... but had turned them independantly of each other - not both at the same time.

Pressure back up ... hot water back on again .... and missus happy to boot

I'd be happy to buy you a drink for your helpful advice - if you have a paypal account Mickyg, PM me the details

All the best

Pat

 

[mickyg]

i was just first, its all free

 

[MiltonPFC]

i was just first, its all free

Truly appreciated. All the best , Pat

 

[stevenleith]

Guys - i have exactly the same problem on my ecoTEC plus. I phoned a builder friend who gave the same advice and i managed to repressurise etc with the two valves......however it happened again a few days later after i had done this.

It is now happening nearly everyday. It works totally fine if i repressurise every day or every other day (so at least i can get heating and hot water) but clearly this is not how it should be!

Is there something i can do so i don't have to keep doing it??! the mains water flow into the house is quite low could this be a problem?

PS i have underfloor heating (down) and radiators (up)

thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[landyandy]

Your symptoms suggest that you have a leak somewhere.

You need to investigate this further.

Andy.

 

[stevenleith]

Do you mean water or pressure leak?

how do i go about testing for a leak?

i'm guessing a professional would be a good start!

anything i can do before calling someone Monday? There doesn't appear to be any water leaks anywhere in the house!

thanks

 

[gas4you]

Check the 15 mm copper pipe that goes outside is not dripping first.

You could tape a plastic bag over it to check for 24 hrs or so.

You could also pressurise boiler to 1.5 Bar, isolate from heating system for as long as possible.

If pressure has not dropped it will be a leak on the system somewhere. If it does drop then there should be some water in the plastic bag.

Could also be the EV flat. See FAQ's on how to check.

Plenty to be going on with for now

 

[landyandy]

What pressure are you setting the system to?

You can check by pressing the minus button on the panel (bottom left button).

Andy.

 

[stevenleith]

Check the 15 mm copper pipe that goes outside is not dripping first.

You could tape a plastic bag over it to check for 24 hrs or so.

You could also pressurise boiler to 1.5 Bar, isolate from heating system for as long as possible.

If pressure has not dropped it will be a leak on the system somewhere. If it does drop then there should be some water in the plastic bag.

Could also be the EV flat. See FAQ's on how to check.

Plenty to be going on with for now

No idea where pipe that goes outside is but will have a look (3 out of my 4 walls are party walls so not ideal).

I have been pressurising to about 1.8 (about half to two thirds through the dark grey area).

Will look at EV FAQ now as well...

I've just got back from 5 days away and obviously it tripped off F.22 error (pressure drop) - this killed the boiler ops and so now the house is freezing. I repressurised and the burner is back on but I am concerned that the underfloor heating does not seem to be heating.....(had it on 2 hours now and still no real change in temp). Air locks likely?

 

[gas4you]

Could be, depending where the drained water went.

Check the UFH pump is spinning.

 

[stevenleith]

Could be, depending where the drained water went.

Check the UFH pump is spinning.

Ok, a friend of mine told me to turn off all rads upstairs and so only flow will be into UFH system. This appears to have speeded its heating up and something seems to be happening. I just took the cover off the UFH bits and the pump is going and the thing seems to be operating as normal....so that will at least hopefully get me a bit warmer in the next few hours...!!

That leaves sorting this pressure problem - couldn't find anything on EV flat in the FAQ? or in the user manuals...?

The outside pipe i will check out tomorrow....what did you mean by "isolate from heating system" - you mean turn it off for 24 hours?

Thanks

 

[gas4you]

No, turn the isolating valves off on the flow and return pipes under the boiler, then leave off as long as possible.