When your boiler loses pressure it can be extremely frustrating! If the pressure is too low most boilers stop working so you end up either waking up to a cold house or jumping into a cold shower - ouch!
In this post, I'm going to be explaining why your boiler loses pressure, how you can find the problem and what you can do to fix it! But first of all, it's a good idea to understand why the pressure needs to be correct in the first.
The problem with low pressure in a boiler/heating system is that the water doesn't move around the system as well as it should.
This can cause the boiler to overheat or put a strain on components like the pump, for example, which can end up resulting in more expensive repair costs further down the line.
So to protect themselves most boilers shut down until the pressure has been put right.
If your boiler loses pressure every so often, then lots of people are quite happy just topping the boiler pressure back up until it's in the right place again and continue living their lives.
Little do they know they're actually making things a lot worse for themselves.
Adding fresh water to the system is going to dilute the chemicals that are in the system to slow corrosion down. If corrosion is left to occur then it causes your radiators to fail - or worse - your boiler to breakdown.
For those who don't know why your boiler pressure, here's what's happening.
let's imagine you blow a balloon up with air. You've added pressure to the inside of that balloon.
If you let some air out of that balloon, then the pressure inside drops.
It's the same principle with your central heating system, except its not air that's being released it's water (ok - sometimes it is air but let's not complicate things for now)
As water leaves the system - the pressure drops - it's as simple as that.
Now we know what the problem is and how it happens, it's time to learn how to fix it. The last thing you want to do is employ a company to come and find a water leak when you can do it yourself, so here's the exact process we follow.
The obvious thing when trying to find a water leak is to look out for water. Remember the water leak could be anywhere on the heating system, this includes the boiler, the radiators, the radiator valves and the pipework.
Starting with the boiler take a close inspection, be on the lookout for any signs of water or rust on the boiler case,
Any discolouration on any valves or pipework can also indicate a leak. Water might not actually be present but don't let this fool you, sometimes leaks can only occur when the heating is on and can be so small that it evaporates before almost straight away. So if you see anything that looks 'different' then consider this as a potential place.
If you have a hot water tank then you'll need to do the same here too. Be extra vigilant in this area, I know there's lots of pipework but break it down one pipe and one valve at a time.
Once you're satisfied with the hot water tank area we need to turn our attention to the radiators and radiator valves - including the pipework that is visible in that area. Remember, we're not only looking for wet patches but anything that's out of the ordinary - any signs of rusting for example.
If you're still struggling to find your leak then it's possible that there is a leak on pipework underneath the floor space. In this scenario, you might need to call in the experts to investigate further (experts being us of course).
We may need to lift up the floor and have a much closer inspection, if that's not possible then there are some other solutions available depending on your situation.
If you find the source of your boilers pressure loss issue then it's possible to repair it yourself, in a lot of cases a simple tweak of the nut can solve your issue.
In some cases though tightening the nut can make it worse so if you really don't feel comfortable tackling this yourself and you'd prefer for the experts to take care of it then you know who to call.
If you need more support then please get in touch
