Leak detection

LindA.

My Baxi boiler, which is situated upstairs sometimes gets a fault on it E1 19, a couple of people have looked at it and can't explain what the problem is, it has been going on for about 2 years, it seems to get worse in the winter.

The last guy who has looked said it may be a leak downstairs, by a process of elimination he guesses it may be in my living room. This is laminated with floorboards going the other way, I can imagine it is going to be a expensive messy job, with no guarantee that there will be any leak under that floor.

Does any one have any suggestions? as I am not handy and fed up of this situation.

stator

If it's got a suspended floor (hollow underneath floor boards) then might it be possible to drill a small hole in an inconspicuos area and push an inspection camera (like an endoscope) and have a look underneath the floorboards?

Savannah02K

This so resonates with me after having the second house flood in 12 months, hot water tank last year, cold water tank this year. Both, drip, drip, drip type leaks that have built up over time. I asked the insurance assessors, why haven't the insurance companies come up with leak detectors, like smoke or carbon dioxide detectors? There must be something they can do as they already have the detectors that they hold against walls/ceilings to check for damp. His answer: the insurance companies don't want to invest in anything like that, they wouldn't make the money on premiums if they did. Depressing.

But re the suspected leak in your floor: a damp detector should be able to pick that up. Find a local surveyor, not a damp protection company, explain the situation and ask if they will just come and check that area. They shouldn't need to do any invasive work on the floor other than possibly what Stator has suggested above.

alanobrien

I like the endoscope idea, especially if you know the direction the pipes run in.

A little bit more techy;
You could try ramping up the temp as high as possible and using a thermal imaging camera on it. (HSS hire shop no idea of cost) Trouble is you would likely need a high sensitivity model as the pipes will be in air. It can work in some instances, i identified a leak in the downstairs bathroom (tiled floor) using this method.

sooty&sweep

Hi
We had a leak under a floor. We were able to work out roughly where it was but not exactly.
In the end my husband simply replaced the offending pipework, as he could access both ends and that resolved the leak.

Jen

macman

Have you ruled out the PRV and EV, assuming that it's a combi? A leak on the CH circuit can only be assumed after they've been checked.

knowlia

I’ve got a similar problem with my Baxi combi . I’ve had British Gas round 3 times. First time they recharged the pressure vessel. Second and third times they replaced the pressure vessel and the pressure valve (yesterday). This morning I had an E119 and no heating again. No obvious leaks from the heating system. Could be a slow leak of course but would that cause the pressure to drop from the level set by the engineer to an E119 cut-out overnight?

Undervalued

LindA. wrote: »

My Baxi boiler, which is situated upstairs sometimes gets a fault on it E1 19, a couple of people have looked at it and can't explain what the problem is, it has been going on for about 2 years, it seems to get worse in the winter.

The last guy who has looked said it may be a leak downstairs, by a process of elimination he guesses it may be in my living room. This is laminated with floorboards going the other way, I can imagine it is going to be a expensive messy job, with no guarantee that there will be any leak under that floor.

Does any one have any suggestions? as I am not handy and fed up of this situation.

That suggests that it is only leaking when the system is hot.

How much are we talking about? How often do you have to top up the pressure and, as best you can judge, how much water does it take to do it.

When I had something similar it was a tiny rust pin hole on the back of a downstairs radiator weeping slightly when hot. However the water was evaporating off the hot radiator rather than dripping onto the floor. It was only when it got worse that the carpet started to get damp and we found the problem.

LindA.

Not a lot of progress but thanks for your replies everyone.
Macman - asked if I had rules out the PRV and Ev I do'nt know what they are??
Undervalued - your comments are interesting, I only have to top it up slightly.
Thanks for all your comments, I am contemplating getting someone to lift the floor in the sitting room to check for leaks, but I am wary as I think it is such as thankless task when you don't even know if there is a leak

Undervalued

LindA. wrote: »

Not a lot of progress but thanks for your replies everyone.
Macman - asked if I had rules out the PRV and Ev I do'nt know what they are??
Undervalued - your comments are interesting, I only have to top it up slightly.
Thanks for all your comments, I am contemplating getting someone to lift the floor in the sitting room to check for leaks, but I am wary as I think it is such as thankless task when you don't even know if there is a leak

Indeed.

As mentioned, particularly if it is only leaking when hot, the water is probably evaporating off the hot pipe or radiator so any trace of the leak may be very hard to find.

The PRV is the boiler's pressure relief valve. This is a safety valve that vents water to the outside if the system pressure gets too high (typically 3 bar). It can also be operated manually to drop the pressure for servicing etc. A tiny bit of grit stuck in the valve can make leak slightly. If you look outside the house near the boiler you should see a pipe that probably goes down almost to ground level with a open end. This is where the water will come out if the PRV opens. You might see traces of hard water deposits or even a small drip?

The expansion vessel (EV) will be inside the boiler and is a tank half full of water and half full of air inside a rubber balloon. The air in the balloon is compressed when the pressure in the system increases as it gets hot. Problems with this can also cause the type of issue you have been having.

If you are only topping up by a small amount every week or two you may be best to live with it until it gets worse and therefore easier to find.

cyclonebri1

Every Time I've had this its been a thermostat valve that leaks from the gland but only when hot, rust stains on carpet but always dry when I check. A rag round the valve was saturated after a heating cycle.
To check this is easy without any disruption so I would look closely at all valves 1st.
A different heating guy may be able to identify if there is an internal boiler leak.

Anything from the pressure relief pipe outside the house???