Finding a leak

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.

mmmmikey

Baxi fault code e119 means low pressure - I assume you are clearing it by re-pressurising the system? It's not uncommon (in my limited experience!) for this to happen, but I wouldn't expect it to happen more than once or twice a year. Sometimes you can have a "leak" that is so small that any water expelled is immediately evaporated by the system so it's not obvious where it is. Unfortunately, I don't think that there is any real option other than to live with it or do a full inspection of the pipes.

Norman_Castle

My Baxi boiler, which is situated upstairs sometimes gets a fault on it E1 19

How often?

LindA.

Hi thanks for both replies and taking the time to reply, it has happened quite a few times this winter ranging from once every few weeks, to last week 3 times - quite sporadic, whereas in the summer when there wasn't any heating on just hot water it was just occasionally, once every six weeks.

mmmmikey

Must be driving you mad! A couple of things to try which won't fix the problem but might make it happen less frquently:


1. Try re-pressurising the system when all the radiators etc. are fully cold (assuming you haven't already done this)


2. Bleed the radiators to make sure there's no air trapped anywhere in the system


No guarantees but might help - good luck!

scd3scd4

I use the stuff you add to the system. Less than £20. Leak stopped and that was 3 years ago.

joe134

I have had a leak for over twenty years in my pipes somewhere.
I have tried everything to locate it to no avail.
I just top the system up when it drops below 1 bar, when required, which is infrequent,and forget it.
Like one poster said, it is probably an evaporation leak, more the likely a rad valve , which you won’t see, when warm, but possible ?
When cold.
I don’t turn my valves at all, except the tvr’s, as they are beggars for leaking at the top ,the packing .
It doesn,t take much to lose a quarter of a bar pressure.
It drove me crackers trying to find it, just live with it.
There is a preventative you could put in the system, but it doesn’t always work, it didn’t for me.

[Deleted User]

scd3scd4 wrote: »

I use the stuff you add to the system. Less than £20. Leak stopped and that was 3 years ago.

I ve also got a long standing pressure leak somewhere .no signs of water leakage anywhere. When pressure drops to around 0.6 bar I top up to 1.2 . I will try this remedy to see how it go s.
Sounds bit like the old leaking car radiator gimmicks which never worked, eg radseal etc but i m willing to try it prior to calling out the money suckers.. the central heating so called experts..who I consider to be up there at the top of the fraudsters/tradesmen who come into my property to relieve me of my hard earn t money.

chrisw99

Houbara wrote: »

I ve also got a long standing pressure leak somewhere .no signs of water leakage anywhere. When pressure drops to around 0.6 bar I top up to 1.2 . I will try this remedy to see how it go s.
Sounds bit like the old leaking car radiator gimmicks which never worked, eg radseal etc but i m willing to try it prior to calling out the money suckers.. the central heating so called experts..who I consider to be up there at the top of the fraudsters/tradesmen who come into my property to relieve me of my hard earn t money.

Won't help with major leaks, but is supposed to be good for the tiny ones. It's just micro-particles that solidify on contact with air.

Some people say they can clog up your boiler, but I think that's just scare-mongering. It's just a dormant liquid until it comes into contact with the air at the leak.

https://www.sentinelprotects.com/uk/products/domestic/central-heating-systems/sentinel-leak-sealer

scd3scd4

Houbara wrote: »

I ve also got a long standing pressure leak somewhere .no signs of water leakage anywhere. When pressure drops to around 0.6 bar I top up to 1.2 . I will try this remedy to see how it go s.
Sounds bit like the old leaking car radiator gimmicks which never worked, eg radseal etc but i m willing to try it prior to calling out the money suckers.. the central heating so called experts..who I consider to be up there at the top of the fraudsters/tradesmen who come into my property to relieve me of my hard earn t money.

In fairness things have moved on a lot since the 80s and rad-seal.

It's no con, I know numerous people who have used it. It was in fact British Gas leak team who added it after they found the leak too small to find after adding an inert gas to sniff.

Of course its used for very small leaks. I was at my wits end and like I said. It worked as that was 3 years ago.