Leaking central heating pipes

cooldaddy

We were convinced by our plumber to replace our slightly temperamental conventional boiler with a combi-boiler.Our house is 17 year old .
But since the Boiler installation 3 month ago,we are having leaking radiators valves or copper pipes.The leaks keeps happening at a new place on a weekly basis.
The chap who installed boiler says it is not his problem and that house is old and pipes needs changing.Moment we repair a leak and new ne appears in few days time elsewhere.We are pretty much sick of paying for digging the floors/breaking the ceiling and repairing the copper pipes.In fact it has become a problem leaving home for few days not knowing what will happen next!!!
Did we make a big mistake in opting for Combi-boiler?How could we remedy this situation? Boiler pressure guage is between 1 and 1.5 if not leaking that is

thefishdude

that does seem strange, have you tried some internal leak seal in theory it will flow round and seal a leak as it appears.

how bad are the leaks?

southcoastrgi

that can be the prob with changing from an open vented system to a sealed system under pressure, leak sealer may work although some boiler manu won't warrenty the boiler if they find it in there

Canucklehead

Can you confirm the system was open vented before the boiler change? That means, did you have a small expansion tank in your loft.

Were any chemicals used to flush the system , either before or during the installation? If so what were they, as in brand and type. For example Sentinel X100. This information will be on the Benchmark page in the installation manual or a seperate page.

When you say the pipes do you mean the pipes , or the fittings? Fittings in this case means elbows, couplings, tees and made of copper and soft soldered.


Internal leak sealer on a new combi? No!

cooldaddy

Canucklehead wrote: »

Can you confirm the system was open vented before the boiler change? That means, did you have a small expansion tank in your loft.

Were any chemicals used to flush the system , either before or during the installation? If so what were they, as in brand and type. For example Sentinel X100. This information will be on the Benchmark page in the installation manual or a seperate page.

When you say the pipes do you mean the pipes , or the fittings? Fittings in this case means elbows, couplings, tees and made of copper and soft soldered.


Internal leak sealer on a new combi? No!

We do remember having an overhead tank in the loft with our conventional boiler.
The chap who installed the boiler said he had flushed the system but hasnt mentioned the brand.
As for the site of leaks-twice it was the elbows from copper pipe raising upto the radiator,twice it was radiator valve itself(?spindle),then there was leak below the lockshield valves.Now we have leak from possibly copper pipe underneath a room which has made the ceiling below damp and stained.

unclebulgaria

Pitfalls of the installer not testing the central heating system by pressurising to test for leaks (though this invariably seems ok and may show leaks at a later date)
If this was an open vented system and it seems so, the increase in pressure has found the weaknesses caused by old soldering and old pipes.
I personally wouldn't use Leak Sealer, not on a new combi, I think your only option may be to replace the old piping.
Did the installer make you aware of the problems associated with the old copper fittings and pipes either in writing or verbally?
Thing is if he didn't you weren't properly advised and it is his problem! IMO.
You employed this guy to give advice to choose a boiler and what you required so he can't just wash his hands of you now.
If he did tell you and you didn't listen because of the extra cost then I'm afraid its a tough lesson.
Just to add, a friend of mine who is also in the trade has recently had to bite the bullet and go back to sort the same problem (he's getting paid, he's got to sort the water damage for free) he didn't advise correctly and his customer threatened him with legal action.

macman

On what basis did the plumber convince you to fit a combi? He's not the one who lives in the property, not does he know your lifestyle.
The choice is not a technical one.

southcoastrgi

exactly as i said in post #3

cooldaddy

macman wrote: »

On what basis did the plumber convince you to fit a combi? He's not the one who lives in the property, not does he know your lifestyle.
The choice is not a technical one.

When a so called expert comes in and tells you that your old boiler is packing up and this year snow is expected to be the most severe type we layman would obviously give it due consideration.

cooldaddy

unclebulgaria wrote: »

Pitfalls of the installer not testing the central heating system by pressurising to test for leaks (though this invariably seems ok and may show leaks at a later date)
If this was an open vented system and it seems so, the increase in pressure has found the weaknesses caused by old soldering and old pipes.
I personally wouldn't use Leak Sealer, not on a new combi, I think your only option may be to replace the old piping.
Did the installer make you aware of the problems associated with the old copper fittings and pipes either in writing or verbally?
Thing is if he didn't you weren't properly advised and it is his problem! IMO.
You employed this guy to give advice to choose a boiler and what you required so he can't just wash his hands of you now.
If he did tell you and you didn't listen because of the extra cost then I'm afraid its a tough lesson.
Just to add, a friend of mine who is also in the trade has recently had to bite the bullet and go back to sort the same problem (he's getting paid, he's got to sort the water damage for free) he didn't advise correctly and his customer threatened him with legal action.

At no stage did he mention possibilty of such leaks verbally or written.But he clearly washed his hands off once we informed him of the leaks and damage to our ceiling.Since then we have been regularly paying other gas engineers to sort out the leaks as and when happening!!
Can I include future leaks in British Gas Boiler and heating insurances??

macman

cooldaddy wrote: »

When a so called expert comes in and tells you that your old boiler is packing up and this year snow is expected to be the most severe type we layman would obviously give it due consideration.

That sounds more like a cynical sales pitch to me. I'm not disputing that a new boiler may have been required, but what reasons did he give you for opting for a combi over a conventional boiler?
A combi suits certain lifestyles, and not others. Did he even ask you how you use your CH and DHW? You are the one best equipped to judge that, not your RGI.