Is your Boiler Losing Pressure Buckinghamshire? Boiler Pressure Loss Could Be A Sign Of A Central Heating Leak

Is your boiler losing all of its pressure in 24 hours or less? If so then you may have a hidden water leak…

Call Us Now On 0800 731 3843 For A Professional Leak Detection Service

Our team of fully qualified and experienced engineers can not only locate the source of your leak, but in the vast majority of cases, they are also able to undertake any repaired needed to leaking pipework, both internally and externally, in some cases on the same day.

The Original Leak Detection Service

What is boiler pressure?

Boiler pressure is the pressure of the hot water in your system. Your boiler heats up cold water and pumps it through the pipework in your home to heat up radiators and your hot taps. It’s vital that the right level of pressure is maintained in order for this hot water to reach all the pipes and radiators in your home to heat it properly. If your boiler pressure is too high, there may be too much water in the system causing it to overload and turn off. A good way to try and combat high pressure is to bleed your radiators to release some of this pressure build up. If your boiler pressure is too low this could indicate there is a leak somewhere in your system causing you to lose water and therefore lose pressure.

Boiler pressure will fluctuate as your central heating is used as it heats the water in the system up but it should return to a more stable level when the heating is switched off and the water begins to cool. A normal boiler pressure should be between 1 and 2 bars, which will be displayed on your boiler’s pressure dial or on a digital screen. It may reach up to 2.5 bars when the central heating is on or hot water is being used, but this should return to between 1-2 bars once the water cools back down. Any higher or lower than this and it indicates a problem with your boiler pressure.

Can a boiler lose pressure without a leak?

Although a leak is the most common reason for a boiler to lose pressure there may be a few other reasons for it such as if you have recently bled your radiators you may have let too much air escape leaving less pressure in your central heating system. You can fix this by adding more water into the system via the filling loop until the pressure is returned to normal. There may be faulty components inside your boiler like a faulty pressure relief valve or your boiler may just be old and worn out and in need of replacement.

How do I check if my boiler pressure is low?

The best way to check if your boiler pressure is low is by locating the pressure gauge on your boiler. On most modern boilers like a combi boiler the pressure gauge is usually a round dial on the front of your boiler or control panel. Older boilers may have their gauges underneath or amongst the pipework. Your pressure gauge should be between 1-2 bars with the ideal pressure often marked on the gauge in green and red indicating too low or too high pressure. Some boilers have a digital screen displaying the number of bars and an error code if its not within the normal amounts.

Fault Codes that Indicate a Boiler Losing Pressure

If your boiler has a digital display indicating the bar level it will show you fault codes if there is a problem present in the system, including if there is low pressure detected. These are a great way to help diagnose the issue before it becomes a big problem. These fault codes will vary with each make and model of boiler. It’s always a good idea to refer to your boiler’s manual if a fault code is present as each make and model of boiler will have different meanings for different fault codes. There are the most common fault codes for the top UK boiler manufacturers that show a drop in boiler pressure:

Worcester bosch – 1017 W
Alpha – E10
Biasi – ER04
Ariston – 108
Baxi – E119
Ideal – F1
Vaillant – F22

ADI Leak Detection was the first leak detection company in the UK.

Now serving England, Scotland and Wales with our network of strategically located leak detection engineers.

Comprehensive Reporting To Assist Your Insurance Claim

We understand that you are probably concerned about the cost of leak detection and repairing your leak.

Most customers are unaware that finding your leak and exposing it is normally covered by your home insurance policy – normally you’ll only need to cover the small cost of any repair after your insurance claims are settled.

The section that applies is usually named “Trace & Access” or similar – if you have this on your policy then your home insurance company should reimburse the costs of our services to you. We provide a full and comprehensive report for your use in any insurance claims.

Why do we only recommend our services if your boiler is losing all its pressure in 24 hours or less?

If it takes longer than 24 hours for your boiler to lose its pressure, your leak may be too small to find.

The basis we work on is: if your boiler is losing all its pressure in a 24-hour period on a 12 radiator system, it will probably be losing around
500ml every time the pressure goes down to zero from 1.5 bar.

If we divide that 500ml over a 24-hour period we get a leak rate of 20.83ml an hour. If we break that down even further, and divide the 20.83 by 60 minutes, this gives us a leak rate of 0.347ml a minute!

This is 1/3 of a ml of water being lost per minute. Hopefully, it is now becoming clear how small this leak is. It’s just a tiny weep.

To put this into context, a droplet of water is 0.5ml, so it’s less than 1 droplet of water per minute.

Even so, at this rate, we should be able to find the leak (assuming the floors are solid. If the floors are suspended, the boiler needs to be losing all its pressure twice in a 24-hour period, in other words, once every 12 hours.)

The reason we ask all these questions is not because we don’t want to help you. It’s because unlike our competitors, we want to make sure that we’re not trying to achieve an impossible task, wasting your time and your money. If we don’t think the leak is big enough to be found, we’d rather tell you before we come and charge you for a day’s work, and let you save your money!

Let us solve your Buckinghamshire boiler pressure loss problem

If you are struggling to get to the bottom of why your boiler is losing pressure or you suspect a leak somewhere in your system causing you problems don’t hesitate to call ADI Leak Detection. Our trusty local engineers will get to the bottom of the issue in a quick, effective, non destructive way leaving you with a warm home and your boiler working properly again. Our friendly customer service team is happy to answer any boiler pressure loss queries you may have. Don’t delay as the issue won’t fix itself and the longer a leak is left the more potential damage it can cause to your home.