Vaillant boiler water pressure dropping

sreenijacob

Hi,

I have a vaillant ecomax 828/2e boiler, recently it started dropping the water pressure, then boiler wont start, no heating or hot water. After filling the boiler with water, by turning two knobs underneath, and pressing a button to re-ignite (I think) the system works. I have to refill every morning, and today I noticed that drops of water coming out from one of the outlets to the outside of the hose, which goes from the a red valve (I think this is the PR valve). How can I fix it ? do I need a gas engineer to fix it ?

gas4you

Expansion vessel is flat or knackered.

Should really be checked and repaired by a RGI, as the PRV is a safety device.

macman

Assuming by 'hose' you mean house, it's the PRV sticking, usually due to dirt/grit getting under it and preventing it seating down properly. It then continually discharges via the overflow pipe outside.
Some times releasing it and closing it can clear the debris, but usually requires a new PRV.
It won't fire up unless the pressure is adequate, that's not a fault but a safety feature.
The other possible causes of pressure loss are a faulty EV, or a leak on the CH circuit. But, since you can see a discharge from the PVR overflow, that seems to pin it down.

BertieUK

macman wrote: »

Assuming by 'hose' you mean house, it's the PRV sticking, usually due to dirt/grit getting under it and preventing it seating down properly. It then continually discharges via the overflow pipe outside.
Some times releasing it and closing it can clear the debris, but usually requires a new PRV.
It won't fire up unless the pressure is adequate, that's not a fault but a safety feature.
The other possible causes of pressure loss are a faulty EV, or a leak on the CH circuit. But, since you can see a discharge from the PVR overflow, that seems to pin it down.

We had the problem of a drop in pressure to Zero on our Worcester-Bosch GREENSTAR 24i Combi-boiler and the local exGas Gas Engineer who services our boiler called and released / closed the PRV then with a tyre pump pressurised the EV and now it is back to normal working 100% again.

The boiler had only been serviced three weeks before by his good self and he did not make any charge for his call. So there are good people out there.

diywhynot

BertieUK wrote: »

We had the problem of a drop in pressure to Zero on our Worcester-Bosch GREENSTAR 24i Combi-boiler and the local exGas Gas Engineer who services our boiler called and released / closed the PRV then with a tyre pump pressurised the EV and now it is back to normal working 100% again.

The boiler had only been serviced three weeks before by his good self and he did not make any charge for his call. So there are good people out there.

Refreshing to see a positive post about a RGI for a change as we usually only hear about the chancers and the cowboys.;)

sreenijacob

Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply. I have also noticed that even though I fill the boiler with 1 bar water and turn the heating on, within 5 minutes the water pressure goes beyond 3 bar and then I can feel warm in the pipe going out from the PR valve. Also I noticed drops of water coming out from another pvc pipe outlet to out side the house, which is coming out from the body of the boiler. Do I need a vaillant engineer or any person can do these jobs for me. Awaiting your valuable replh.

macman

The PVC pipe is the condensate drain, it's supposed to discharge, unlike the PRV overflow! Not a fault. It should be discharging into a drain or soakaway though, not just onto the ground.
You need an RGI to change or fix the PVR. If it's still in warranty, call Vaillant.

sreenijacob

macman wrote: »

The PVC pipe is the condensate drain, it's supposed to discharge, unlike the PRV overflow! Not a fault. It should be discharging into a drain or soakaway though, not just onto the ground.
You need an RGI to change or fix the PVR. If it's still in warranty, call Vaillant.

Can I not just repair the PVR ? may be by changing some bushes etc. Do I need a new PVR ? I checked it, its really tight. Another question is why the water pressure goes 1.5 bar to above 3 in 5 minutes ?

Browntoa

the expansion vessel (EV in earleir post) needs repressurising , had the same thing on my boiler

BertieUK

Browntoa wrote: »

the expansion vessel (EV in earleir post) needs repressurising , had the same thing on my boiler

Additional to post #4

When our boiler pressure dropped to zero I also topped up the water to 1Bar and then within an hour or so the pressure reading was up to almost 3Bar which caused me some concern, I then removed some of the water within the central heating system to drop the pressure down to 1 bar as I did not want to have any issues that it may be possible for the PR vale to fail to operate and cause damage.

These symptoms and clues told the Gas Engineer what he suspected and he carried out the operation that I discussed in post #4.

southcoastrgi

no you can't change "bushes" & replacing the PRV won't sort your prob if you don't get the EV sorted out