BOILER KEEPS LOSING PRESSURE - WHY AND HOW TO FIX - Plumbing tips

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- Hold tight.
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If you've been lucky enough
to stumble across this video
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because you've got a
problem with the pressure
00:00:04.648 --> 00:00:07.074
in your boiler and and the
fact it's constantly dropping,
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then lucky you and any second
now we're gonna get started.
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I'd just like to remind all of you
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that if this video helps you
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video and even at the end.
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Plumberparts.co.uk,
honest reviews and advice.
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So you've been noticing
lately that the pressure gauge
00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:39.880
on the front of your boiler
that looks very similar
00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:40.932
to some of the pressure gauges
00:00:40.932 --> 00:00:42.838
that I've got going on
behind me at the moment
00:00:42.838 --> 00:00:44.020
has been dropping down.
00:00:44.020 --> 00:00:46.481
Now if it goes anywhere
below kind of half a bar,
00:00:46.481 --> 00:00:47.888
then you know that you've got a problem
00:00:47.888 --> 00:00:50.443
and obviously if it's constantly
going down all the time
00:00:50.443 --> 00:00:52.341
or that reckedly you're topping it up
00:00:52.341 --> 00:00:54.632
using a filling loop like
the ones that we've got
00:00:54.632 --> 00:00:56.290
going on behind us at the moment,
00:00:56.290 --> 00:00:58.110
then you'll know that you've
definitely got a problem.
00:00:58.110 --> 00:00:59.822
Now there's a few things
that can cause this
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and we're just gonna go
through them step by step
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and also give you a quick idea about
00:01:03.146 --> 00:01:04.843
how you can maybe fix the problem.
00:01:04.843 --> 00:01:06.904
I've seen a few other
videos on YouTube about this
00:01:06.904 --> 00:01:09.125
and I don't really feel like
they're covering very well.
00:01:09.125 --> 00:01:10.502
So we're gonna try and do that now for you
00:01:10.502 --> 00:01:11.667
and I hope you enjoy the video.
00:01:11.667 --> 00:01:12.500
So let's go.
00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:14.018
You may be aware that
we've already done videos
00:01:14.018 --> 00:01:16.056
on how pressurized heating systems work
00:01:16.056 --> 00:01:18.627
and it's quite important to
know the basics of how they work
00:01:18.627 --> 00:01:19.663
when it comes to finding out
00:01:19.663 --> 00:01:21.355
why you've got a problem
with pressure drop.
00:01:21.355 --> 00:01:23.381
The main things to think
about are that when cold water
00:01:23.381 --> 00:01:26.183
is heated up inside a boiler
and inside a heating system,
00:01:26.183 --> 00:01:28.398
the cold water atoms and
molecules start to move
00:01:28.398 --> 00:01:31.334
and get very, very excited and
because of that, they expand.
00:01:31.334 --> 00:01:33.514
They usually on an unpressurized system,
00:01:33.514 --> 00:01:35.641
you have a tank in the
loft with an expansion pipe
00:01:35.641 --> 00:01:37.677
that goes up there and
that allows the water
00:01:37.677 --> 00:01:40.503
to expand up and down without
there being a problem.
00:01:40.503 --> 00:01:41.713
On a pressurized system,
00:01:41.713 --> 00:01:43.589
instead of having the expansion pipe,
00:01:43.589 --> 00:01:45.668
you have what's called
an expansion vessel.
00:01:45.668 --> 00:01:47.083
How they work is very simple.
00:01:47.083 --> 00:01:49.331
It's very difficult to compress water
00:01:49.331 --> 00:01:51.715
and so therefore you
have an expansion vessel
00:01:51.715 --> 00:01:54.388
with a rubber diaphragm and
on one side of the diaphragm
00:01:54.388 --> 00:01:56.982
you have compressed air that's
usually compressed to one
00:01:56.982 --> 00:01:58.424
or one and a half bar
00:01:58.424 --> 00:02:00.920
and on the other side you have
your heating system water.
00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:02.524
So as that water heats up and expands,
00:02:02.524 --> 00:02:03.575
it gets more and more happy,
00:02:03.575 --> 00:02:05.712
it can expand into the
easily compressed air
00:02:05.712 --> 00:02:07.086
without letting air
into the heating system
00:02:07.086 --> 00:02:08.755
because there's a rubber
diaphragm in the way.
00:02:08.755 --> 00:02:10.752
So make sure that your heating
system is nice and full
00:02:10.752 --> 00:02:13.403
of water at all times,
you have a filling loop
00:02:13.403 --> 00:02:15.976
that fills up the cold water
from the cold water main system
00:02:15.976 --> 00:02:17.751
and make sure that everything's okay.
00:02:17.751 --> 00:02:19.617
It's worth noting as well
that the filling loop
00:02:19.617 --> 00:02:21.369
is not in all the time, okay.
00:02:21.369 --> 00:02:23.548
When you filled up the system,
when you've done anything,
00:02:23.548 --> 00:02:25.616
you should turn off both
the valves at each size
00:02:25.616 --> 00:02:27.640
and remove the filling loop braided hose
00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:29.059
and just hang that behind the pipe.
00:02:29.059 --> 00:02:30.516
The main reason we do that is because
00:02:30.516 --> 00:02:32.177
if you've got a problem
with one of the valves,
00:02:32.177 --> 00:02:34.314
you could overpressurize the
heating system and actually
00:02:34.314 --> 00:02:37.024
pressurize the whole heating
system up to main's pressure.
00:02:37.024 --> 00:02:38.222
So now you've got a basic idea
00:02:38.222 --> 00:02:40.537
about how a pressurized
heating system works.
00:02:40.537 --> 00:02:42.127
Let's look at problem number one
00:02:42.127 --> 00:02:43.694
that could cause a pressure drop.
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Firstly and most obviously of all,
00:02:45.467 --> 00:02:48.017
you could have a leak on your
heating system somewhere.
00:02:48.017 --> 00:02:50.188
When it comes to finding
leaks, the best thing to do
00:02:50.188 --> 00:02:52.152
is pop around all the
radiator valves for a start
00:02:52.152 --> 00:02:54.031
and just make sure
there's no leaks on them.
00:02:54.031 --> 00:02:55.758
Make sure you lift up the heads as well
00:02:55.758 --> 00:02:58.162
to make sure that there's no
weep on top of the valves.
00:02:58.162 --> 00:02:59.460
Make sure that the compression fittings
00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:01.275
on each side of the radiator valves
00:03:01.275 --> 00:03:03.478
are nice and tight and
there's no water anywhere.
00:03:03.478 --> 00:03:05.288
Just go around, run around with your hands
00:03:05.288 --> 00:03:07.670
and make sure that you've
got no leaks there at all.
00:03:07.670 --> 00:03:09.218
That's number one on the list.
00:03:09.218 --> 00:03:10.683
Try and stop the leaks.
00:03:10.683 --> 00:03:12.900
If you find that you can't
find any leaks anywhere,
00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:14.155
always look out for sort of
00:03:14.155 --> 00:03:16.108
dark brown patches on the ceiling.
00:03:16.108 --> 00:03:17.381
They can indicate leaks.
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After that, you're into the gnarly world
00:03:19.529 --> 00:03:22.527
of pulling up floorboards and
having a look under the floor.
00:03:22.527 --> 00:03:24.451
Things like that can get pretty horrible.
00:03:24.451 --> 00:03:25.355
So that's number one.
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You might actually have a
leak on your heating system.
00:03:28.001 --> 00:03:30.311
Number two, most modern combi boilers
00:03:30.311 --> 00:03:32.858
have what's called
automatic air vents on them.
00:03:32.858 --> 00:03:35.427
Now they're great for when it
comes to venting a system out.
00:03:35.427 --> 00:03:37.109
Everything gets vented automatically
00:03:37.109 --> 00:03:38.254
and it works brilliantly.
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But they can cause problems
if the heating system
00:03:40.614 --> 00:03:42.820
hasn't got an adequate
amount of inhibitor in it
00:03:42.820 --> 00:03:46.085
or if the pump setting is
set too high for the speed.
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Let's go through both
of those quickly now.
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What an inhibitor does is stops the water
00:03:49.689 --> 00:03:52.347
from reacting with the
inside of the radiators
00:03:52.347 --> 00:03:53.459
and the inside of the components
00:03:53.459 --> 00:03:54.754
of the heating system itself.
00:03:54.754 --> 00:03:56.527
If that's not in there,
you've got normal water
00:03:56.527 --> 00:03:59.179
going up against the insides of a radiator
00:03:59.179 --> 00:04:01.385
and causing horrible things to happen.
00:04:01.385 --> 00:04:03.653
Many, many months ago
I started an experiment
00:04:03.653 --> 00:04:05.236
with two jars just like this,
00:04:05.236 --> 00:04:08.127
one with inhibitor in it and
one with just water in it
00:04:08.127 --> 00:04:10.332
and then popped about 10 nails in each
00:04:10.332 --> 00:04:13.004
and I think you can see the difference.
00:04:13.004 --> 00:04:14.921
If I just pop these down so
you can have a closer look
00:04:14.921 --> 00:04:17.566
at them, you can see the
different state in the nails
00:04:17.566 --> 00:04:20.013
and if inhibitor is not
inside your radiators,
00:04:20.013 --> 00:04:22.427
that's exactly what's
gonna happen to the inside.
00:04:22.427 --> 00:04:23.965
Now, another byproduct of this
00:04:23.965 --> 00:04:26.082
is not just sludge and
rust that goes around
00:04:26.082 --> 00:04:28.123
and stops a heating system
from working properly,
00:04:28.123 --> 00:04:30.129
it's also hydrogen and other gases.
00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:32.405
What happens is the hydrogen
can work its way around
00:04:32.405 --> 00:04:33.872
to an automatic air vent
00:04:33.872 --> 00:04:35.860
and the automatic air
vent's just doing it's job,
00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:38.174
it's just sitting there
having a nice chilled out day,
00:04:38.174 --> 00:04:39.677
a little bit of gas comes along
00:04:39.677 --> 00:04:42.661
and it lets it out quite
happily, but what happens then
00:04:42.661 --> 00:04:45.084
is the pressure drops down on your boiler.
00:04:45.084 --> 00:04:46.756
So make sure that you've got a nice amount
00:04:46.756 --> 00:04:48.264
of inhibitor in your heating system.
00:04:48.264 --> 00:04:49.993
We've done a video about how to do that
00:04:49.993 --> 00:04:52.130
and that'll be appearing
in the card right now.
00:04:52.130 --> 00:04:54.266
The next thing to worry
about is the pump speed.
00:04:54.266 --> 00:04:55.389
Now the problem you have is
00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:57.926
if the pump speed is set
too high and the water
00:04:57.926 --> 00:05:00.350
is not getting away from
the pump quick enough,
00:05:00.350 --> 00:05:02.964
it can do a thing called
cavitation, which is what happens
00:05:02.964 --> 00:05:05.324
where the pump impellers
themselves split the water
00:05:05.324 --> 00:05:07.990
and air up and then you
again create hydrogen.
00:05:07.990 --> 00:05:10.295
So turn your pump speed
down, make sure you've got
00:05:10.295 --> 00:05:12.508
an adequate flow around the holder system
00:05:12.508 --> 00:05:13.994
and that should stop that from happening.
00:05:13.994 --> 00:05:16.022
Now obviously the hydrogen
has to escape somewhere
00:05:16.022 --> 00:05:18.291
and guess what, it goes up to
that naughty little automatic
00:05:18.291 --> 00:05:20.981
air vent again and drops
the pressure in the system.
00:05:20.981 --> 00:05:22.172
So there are the other
things you'd look at
00:05:22.172 --> 00:05:23.896
with a pressure drop
00:05:23.896 --> 00:05:25.272
on your pressurized system.
00:05:25.272 --> 00:05:27.295
The last two things to
look at and unfortunately
00:05:27.295 --> 00:05:29.969
the most common are problems
with the expansion vessel
00:05:29.969 --> 00:05:32.443
and also problems with
your pressure relief valve.
00:05:32.443 --> 00:05:34.322
Let's have a look at the
expansion vessel first.
00:05:34.322 --> 00:05:36.735
Like we described earlier
on, the expansion vessel
00:05:36.735 --> 00:05:39.840
allows the hot water to
have somewhere to expand to
00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:41.400
without pressurizing the heating system
00:05:41.400 --> 00:05:43.292
anywhere above what is a safe limit.
00:05:43.292 --> 00:05:45.868
Now, if the rubber diaphragm ruptures
00:05:45.868 --> 00:05:48.465
and let's face it, it is
actually a moving part,
00:05:48.465 --> 00:05:50.070
then water will go into that,
00:05:50.070 --> 00:05:51.595
the air will get into the heating system
00:05:51.595 --> 00:05:53.763
and get taken out of
the automatic air vent
00:05:53.763 --> 00:05:55.438
and basically what you'll end up with
00:05:55.438 --> 00:05:57.433
is an area of no expansion.
00:05:57.433 --> 00:05:58.673
Now, you'll probably think
00:05:58.673 --> 00:06:00.669
that's gonna make the
system pressure go up.
00:06:00.669 --> 00:06:02.840
That is kind of true, but
only for a little while.
00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:05.427
What'll happen is is the system
pressure will go up and up
00:06:05.427 --> 00:06:08.901
and up and actually force the
pressure relief valve to open.
00:06:08.901 --> 00:06:10.409
The way to know that
00:06:10.409 --> 00:06:12.729
with your expansion vessel
is to find what looks like
00:06:12.729 --> 00:06:15.475
a bike pump connector on the
top of it or on the side,
00:06:15.475 --> 00:06:17.443
press that and unfortunately
you're probably gonna release
00:06:17.443 --> 00:06:20.129
all the air out, but if
water starts to come out,
00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:21.718
then that's a bad thing, okay,
00:06:21.718 --> 00:06:24.558
and you're gonna need to put
a new expansion vessel on.
00:06:24.558 --> 00:06:25.914
If you don't find there's
any water come out,
00:06:25.914 --> 00:06:27.494
it might've just lost its charge
00:06:27.494 --> 00:06:30.326
through that straighter valve
and you can get a bicycle pump
00:06:30.326 --> 00:06:32.594
and repressurize it and
then use a pressure gauge
00:06:32.594 --> 00:06:34.588
to make sure that it's pumped up to one
00:06:34.588 --> 00:06:35.879
or one and a half bar.
00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:38.848
Another thing I'd also say
is a lot of combi boilers
00:06:38.848 --> 00:06:40.838
only have an expansion
vessel that accounts
00:06:40.838 --> 00:06:42.687
for the expansion of the boiler itself
00:06:42.687 --> 00:06:44.951
and doesn't account for the
expansion of the radiators.
00:06:44.951 --> 00:06:46.344
I always say it's a great idea
00:06:46.344 --> 00:06:48.536
if your plumber's in and
he's putting a new boiler in,
00:06:48.536 --> 00:06:51.085
ask him to whacker a moat expansion vessel
00:06:51.085 --> 00:06:52.510
somewhere else on the heating system,
00:06:52.510 --> 00:06:54.019
usually in the airing cupboard
00:06:54.019 --> 00:06:55.719
and then you'll halve the risk
of there being any problem
00:06:55.719 --> 00:06:58.150
or the pressure relief valve
00:06:58.150 --> 00:07:00.566
'cause you've got so much
more expansion space.
00:07:00.566 --> 00:07:02.420
Pressure relief valves are very simple.
00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:04.107
All they are is a rubber valve
00:07:04.107 --> 00:07:06.923
with a certain set spring
on the back of the valve.
00:07:06.923 --> 00:07:09.171
When the water gets up
to a certain pressure,
00:07:09.171 --> 00:07:11.033
the pressure pushes on that spring
00:07:11.033 --> 00:07:14.165
and then dumps the water
at a safe location outside.
00:07:14.165 --> 00:07:16.622
They usually run with a
little 15 mil copper pipe
00:07:16.622 --> 00:07:18.723
that sticks out the
back wall of the boiler
00:07:18.723 --> 00:07:20.780
and usually the outlet is
behind a hedge or something
00:07:20.780 --> 00:07:22.687
so you can never see
them running or dripping
00:07:22.687 --> 00:07:25.004
and let's face it, most
homeowners aren't gonna be
00:07:25.004 --> 00:07:26.167
looking for that anyway.
00:07:26.167 --> 00:07:28.312
So if you've got a problem
with the expansion vessel,
00:07:28.312 --> 00:07:30.199
the pressure is gonna go up so much
00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.670
and it's gonna start dumping
out the pressure relief valve
00:07:32.670 --> 00:07:34.704
and then your pressure
drop will happen that way.
00:07:34.704 --> 00:07:36.658
Now a problem you can
specifically get with the pressure
00:07:36.658 --> 00:07:39.543
relief valve is again
that it is a moving part.
00:07:39.543 --> 00:07:41.445
The fact that you've got a
spring on the back of the valve
00:07:41.445 --> 00:07:42.812
will mean that it is a moving part
00:07:42.812 --> 00:07:44.734
and it'll get weaker and weaker over time
00:07:44.734 --> 00:07:47.235
and eventually 50% of
pressure relief valves
00:07:47.235 --> 00:07:49.475
will fail after about 10 years
00:07:49.475 --> 00:07:51.487
and what happens is they'll
start to slowly drip out
00:07:51.487 --> 00:07:53.408
and you'll slowly notice the effect
00:07:53.408 --> 00:07:55.173
if you've got a leak on the system,
00:07:55.173 --> 00:07:57.261
but of course the pressure
relief valve's piped up
00:07:57.261 --> 00:08:00.016
to dump that little drip outside
where you're not looking.
00:08:00.016 --> 00:08:02.282
So a good idea is to just pop outside,
00:08:02.282 --> 00:08:04.096
find that little 15 mil pipe
00:08:04.096 --> 00:08:06.746
and just run your finger under
that and see if that's where.
00:08:06.746 --> 00:08:08.528
If it is, then you've
probably got a problem
00:08:08.528 --> 00:08:09.763
with the pressure relief valve
00:08:09.763 --> 00:08:11.735
and you'll need to get a
plumber out to replace it.
00:08:11.735 --> 00:08:12.568
So there we go.
00:08:12.568 --> 00:08:13.704
I hope this video's
given you a better idea
00:08:13.704 --> 00:08:15.197
about the problems you can have
00:08:15.197 --> 00:08:16.955
when it comes to your
pressurized heating system
00:08:16.955 --> 00:08:18.753
and why you're getting a pressure drop.
00:08:18.753 --> 00:08:20.046
There are a few reasons.
00:08:20.046 --> 00:08:22.957
Let's face it, the most common
are the expansion vessel,
00:08:22.957 --> 00:08:24.163
the pressure relief pipe,
00:08:24.163 --> 00:08:26.144
or obviously a leak on your system.
00:08:26.144 --> 00:08:27.716
One thing I would say,
it's always a good idea
00:08:27.716 --> 00:08:29.417
just to top of the inhibitor
in the heating system
00:08:29.417 --> 00:08:30.691
if you're not sure anyway
00:08:30.691 --> 00:08:32.863
and periodically ask
your plumber to come out
00:08:32.863 --> 00:08:34.553
and just do a nice little
health check on it,
00:08:34.553 --> 00:08:37.121
drain the whole heating system
out, fill it all up again,
00:08:37.121 --> 00:08:38.950
pop a couple of tubs of inhibitor in there
00:08:38.950 --> 00:08:40.887
and your system should be nice and happy.
00:08:40.887 --> 00:08:42.803
Also at the same time,
if you haven't got one,
00:08:42.803 --> 00:08:44.643
ask them to bang a magnetic filter
00:08:44.643 --> 00:08:45.961
on the return to the boiler
00:08:45.961 --> 00:08:48.198
and you're really halving any
of the problems you might have
00:08:48.198 --> 00:08:50.144
just through the running
of the heating system.
00:08:50.144 --> 00:08:51.631
If you need any more help
or any more information,
00:08:51.631 --> 00:08:53.221
pop over to our website,
00:08:53.221 --> 00:08:55.208
Facebook, Twitter, give us a subscribe.
00:08:55.208 --> 00:08:56.957
Mr. G, my cat will be over there.
00:08:56.957 --> 00:08:58.332
He loves to be out that place.
00:08:58.332 --> 00:08:59.660
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this video.
00:08:59.660 --> 00:09:01.041
I do hope you subscribe
00:09:01.041 --> 00:09:03.186
and remember everyone, once
you've got all that sorted out
00:09:03.186 --> 00:09:04.130
and you've figured out why you've got
00:09:04.130 --> 00:09:06.577
this pressure drop
going on, to hold tight.
00:09:06.577 --> 00:09:08.374
See you later everyone, buh bye.
00:09:08.374 --> 00:09:12.207
Office location
Engineering company LOTUS®
Russia, Ekaterinburg, Lunacharskogo street, 240/12

Phone: +7 343 216 77 75

E-mail: info@lotus1.ru

Sales phone

Russia: +7 343 216 77 75

WhatsApp: +79122710308