Combi Boiler

Jeepers_Creepers

Fair do's - such a catastrophic occurrence would often hide the cause. Thankfully rare.

All I'm saying is, if the job has been done 'properly', then the person who did the work was clearly competent. And I'd be happy to see them prosecuted.

If a GasSafe turning up to service a boiler discovers an obviously incompetent installation - could be anything from a loose or leaking flue to a capped-off safety discharge outlet - they are free to (and should) report the matter. If it turns out to have been DIYed, then the full weight should fall, just as it should on an incompetent GS.

Sitting a test or carrying a cert does not, in itself, competence make.

southcoastrgi

No it relies on a test every 5 years & paying a fee every year because for some reason if you don't pay this fee you are suddenly not competent 🤷‍♂️

Jeepers_Creepers

Tee-hee

kev2009

Hi all,

Just to update, I'm not sure I mentioned but I turned the 2 valves to add water and the pressure went up to about 1.2 bar, that was about 2 weeks ago I believe.  Since then the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar whilst off.  When the heating comes on, it goes up to about 1.8 bar.  When it goes off, it drops to 1.2 bar.  Is this ok? within acceptable limits? or is this a sign of a issue I should get checked out?

I can't say what the pressure was before as I very seldom ever looked at it and the boiler has never given any error codes, just works so don't have a base line to compare it to.

I also found the small (very small) pipe coming out the property and it does indeed bend back on itself towards the wall.  I've not placed a bag on this as I've not seen any water on the ground and so far the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar.  If it drops, then I'll place a small bucket underneath it and see if any water is coming out.

Thanks

Kev

Jeepers_Creepers

kev2009 said:

Hi all,

Just to update, I'm not sure I mentioned but I turned the 2 valves to add water and the pressure went up to about 1.2 bar, that was about 2 weeks ago I believe.  Since then the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar whilst off.  When the heating comes on, it goes up to about 1.8 bar.  When it goes off, it drops to 1.2 bar.  Is this ok? within acceptable limits? or is this a sign of a issue I should get checked out?

I can't say what the pressure was before as I very seldom ever looked at it and the boiler has never given any error codes, just works so don't have a base line to compare it to.

I also found the small (very small) pipe coming out the property and it does indeed bend back on itself towards the wall.  I've not placed a bag on this as I've not seen any water on the ground and so far the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar.  If it drops, then I'll place a small bucket underneath it and see if any water is coming out.

Thanks

Kev

Going up to 1.8 from 1.2 is fine, well within most parameters. Is there a coloured band on the pressure dial that covers this range?

I'd start getting concerned if it went significantly over 2bar, certainly if approaching ~2.5 - the EV would really need attention then.

Placing a container underneath is fine, provided it doesn't rain :-) A wee clear plastic bag secured with a rubber band is more reliable, but whatevs.

neilmcl

kev2009 said:

Hi all,

Just to update, I'm not sure I mentioned but I turned the 2 valves to add water and the pressure went up to about 1.2 bar, that was about 2 weeks ago I believe.  Since then the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar whilst off.  When the heating comes on, it goes up to about 1.8 bar.  When it goes off, it drops to 1.2 bar.  Is this ok? within acceptable limits? or is this a sign of a issue I should get checked out?

I can't say what the pressure was before as I very seldom ever looked at it and the boiler has never given any error codes, just works so don't have a base line to compare it to.

I also found the small (very small) pipe coming out the property and it does indeed bend back on itself towards the wall.  I've not placed a bag on this as I've not seen any water on the ground and so far the pressure has remained at 1.2 bar.  If it drops, then I'll place a small bucket underneath it and see if any water is coming out.

Thanks

Kev

No that's pretty well within reasonable limits and often to be expected. Hot water expands therefore it's normal to see an increase in pressure. If it continues to increase, rather than drop when cold, then that's when you have a problem, and as suggested probably an issue with your EV.

Grizzlebeard

Jeepers_Creepers said:

neilmcl said:

How can a combi boiler have a completely sealed combustion chamber via it's casing when there's open access at the bottom for getting access to the filling loop for example? Also, I've never seen seals on WB combis.

..........

Inside there's a secondary cover which is 'sealed', although to a generally perfunctory standard. It's secured with two screws, has a foam strip around it, and the pipes which pass from this compartment to the lower 'outside' part of the boiler pass through rubber grommets. These are all 'low-key' seals, and unlikely to be fully airtight (eg where the pipes pass through the grommets).

I think the idea is that the fanned air intake to the 'proper' combustion chamber (further inside again) is taken from this sealed-off area, and obviously most of the air is drawn in from the outside flue pipe.

...........

As a not-safe gas-unregistered Jack-of-some & master-of-none I'd suggest the cover with foam strip etc is for nothing more than stopping sudden droughts from disturbing the air intake. Can't really be part of the 'critical' gas safe precision adjustment hands off stuff.

Same idea as on a flueless Gas Fire where there mustn't be room ventilation anywhere within a meter. I don't think it can have any effect on static air pressure as it's not actually "sealed".

Just adding more noise to the debate.

kev2009

Hi,

Thanks, no coloured bars @Jeepers_Creepers, I've attached a couple of pics I took of the pressure gauge

Kev

 

Jeepers_Creepers

Anything between 1 and 2 bar is fine and can be considered normal. Some manufacturers are seemingly happy with swings up above 2 bar, but others tend to have 'ok' zones up to around 1.7-ish.

The safety valve pops open at around 3 bar to dump the excess water - anything getting close to that would definitely indicate attention is needed, mostly likely to the EV.

Just keep half an eye on it and see if it starts to creep up over time :-).

kev2009

Thanks for your help.  Yes, plan to keep an eye on it for  a bit and then maybe check it once a month.  As we hopefully getting towards summer months, heating will likely not be on much so will see how it goes and pop back if anything changes.

Many thanks again for your help and time.

Kev