Frequent topping up of central heating required.....

Taylor132

Hello and thanks for taking the time to read my post.

I have tried to find the answer online and through the forums but no joy so far.

I just wanted to check if its normal to have to top up the CH every month or so. It only required a short (5-10 seconds) top up but I just wanted to make sure this is normal as I'm currently on a mission to understand the damp issues in my house. If it is normal, please could you explain why? (I'm just like to understand things).

I notice the lack of pressure because my bathroom radiator, always goes lukewarm/cold at the top as there is a substantial amount of air rather than hot water. This is probably at the highest point in the house (not sure if that makes any difference).

The boiler is an Isar HE30. I believe its under 8 years old (I inherited it from the previous owner who had done a full renovation and had only lived in the house a few years). It's due for a service so I was going to get this checked out but I'm always wary of cowboys, hence me asking for some points/advice on here first.

dampdaveski

Taylor,
It isn't normal to top up your heating system, you either have a small leak somewhere or the boiler is spitting water out. I'm no plumber/gas peep in the slightest but i have to top mine up on a monthly basis.
I know where my leak is and it means disturbing my karndean floor, so ive decided to leave it till I replace the floor.

If you have no staining on your ground floor ceilings then there is a good chance that the leak is on the ground floor circuit.

You can get additives to add to your system that can plug small leaks, whether they are any good or cause more damage than good I couldnt tell you.
Good luck with it
DD

JohnB47

Is there any water coming from the pressure relief outlet? Sorry, don't know the correct term but it will be a small pipe from the boiler through an outside wall perhaps. It only needs to be dripping to drop the pressure over time.

Taylor132

Thanks for your responses. A small leak does kind of make sense with my current (extremely localised) damp issues....

I'll double check the radiators/pipes through the house (that aren't embedded) and the pressure release outlet all tomorrow night.

Thanks for the pointers!

elliot341

Just as a note I had a rare leak on my system. Basically the recuperator (bit where the exhaust gases pass over the heating water to save energy) was constantly leaking to the condensate drain in the boiler so i wasnt able to see where the leak was. to check for this type of leak isolate the boiler from the heating circuit, switch off the boiler and see if theres still a drip from the condensate pipe.
Its probably not this issue but worth mentioning for you!

paulpud

dampdaveski wrote: »

You can get additives to add to your system that can plug small leaks, whether they are any good or cause more damage than good I couldnt tell you.
Good luck with it
DD

I've had good results with one of these additives.

My oil-fired combi in the garage was leaking from an inaccessible point underneath, meaning I was topping up daily as the pressure would drop significantly. Faced with a £3K+ bill to get it changed I decided to try Fernox F4 superconcentrated, which I think circulates through the entire system and seals minor leaks. I have quite a large system so needed 2 tubes of it (£18 per tube, Amazon) and injected it in via the filling loop as I wanted to get it as near to the boiler as possible, but it can also be injected via a radiator. Within a day my boiler had stopped leaking, and the pressure has held steady ever since, which has been over 6 months now.

Seronera

I'm honestly not trying to be facetious Taylor 132, but with an Isar you really need to think hard about replacing it. You will win the occasional battle with it, but you will never win the war. I'm quite a fan of Ideal in many ways, but the Isar was a shockingly bad design in so many ways I don't really know where to start. Even if you get it repaired it will never be right as they can play so many tricks, all of them expensive.

There are people who love to fix Isars, and many who refuse to touch them as they get blamed for everything that goes wrong subsequently. The printed circuit board is on Version 9......and it STILL fails. So bad is it that British Gas designed their own with a blue box (ideals is orange). If Ideal find one with a BG pcb..they condemn the boiler as having 'non manufacturer approved parts' Its madness. The boiler develops leaks that drip onto the PCB and wreck it. The Condensate trap is so small it blocks and the boiler can fill with water and short the electrodes. The insulation blocks can fall into the combustion chamber, the hydro blocks and diverters can fail. Its endless.

Sorry to be all doom and gloom, but I'm sure most gas engineers will agree with my summary

Seronera

OK..I've reread your post and want to change my advice.....a bit. Still start saving for a new boiler but..

If you are repressuring once a month that is just about OK. If you find a small leak and can fix it, so much the better. If you can't find it by all means try leak sealer. Some say it blocks boilers but I've never had one block yet in over 20 years.

The 'air' in your bathroom rad is almost certainly corrosion gas, so I think your system needs cleaner in it...follow instructions, then draining and flushing through a couple of times, then filled with corrosion inhibitor. If you can afford it get a magnetic filter fitted at the same time this work is done. It will 'grab' all the steel corrosion products as they pass and protect the boiler and keep the system running efficiently. The magnetic filter is not essential, but it is desirable. The inhibitor is essential. Wait till last to put the sealant in.

Hope that helps....and still start saving to replace the Isar...if you can.

Taylor132

Hi Seronera

Thanks for your posts. I must admit I only discovered what type of boiler I had about a day ago.... seeing all the info on it was a big shock :eek:

I really don't want to tempt fate but so far so good..... I've had 3 years out of it and fingers crossed for another 3. I'm starting to save for a new one in the coming month and be grateful for whatever time left it has.

Is it worth looking at a service plan? I do need to get it serviced soon....:eek:

Also as an update, I have been around all my radiators and 4 of them have beautiful turquoise/blue deposits.... I think I have found my leak! Now, any ideas on how to fix it? I've found the deposits on the values on the side of the radiators. I couldn't check both sides as the other was the temperature valve (but surely you would only get it on the exit pipe?)

Anyway, enough rambles for this evening! As always, any advice is gratefully received.

Taylor132

Apologies Seronera, I forgot to say thanks for the specific advice regarding the cleaning of the system. I'll certainly look into this over the coming week.

:beer: