I Think I May Have a Leak > How To Shut Off Water Properly.

FreeBear

scoot65 said: Late last night the reading was 12.937 and first thing this morning before showers / baths etc the reading had increased to 12.953.....I think the toilet was flushed once or twice in-between those readings.

Do these reading look OK or has more water been used than would be expected? 

Incidentally, since yesterday I've no hot water because the boiler's ignition has gone out so I'll be calling the engineer today.......

0.016m³ or 16 litres - About right for two flushes assuming an 8l cistern or 6l per flush combined with a small leak.

Ask the engineer is he can do a pressure test of the heating system, hot water pipes, and cold water pipe (with the stopcock off). If you have a gravity fed hot water plus open vented heating, this may not be easy.

subjecttocontract

I agree, 16 litres is about right for a few toilet flushes. I'd be inclined to repeat the overnight test without any toilet flushing or any water usage. That would guarantee that the result would show whether there is a leak.

plumb1_2

Turn the stop tap off next to the meter in the garage, then get a screwdriver put the sharp end onto the pipe and other end plastic/wood to your ear. If you can still hear it hissing ,it’s a leak outside ie water main, if no hissing you have a leak inside.
If inside check the ball valves etc to wc,s and water tanks 

scoot65

OK, here's an update.

I've turned the water supply off at the mains by the footpath outside my house. I've also turned the water too at the inline stopcock (just after the water meter) in the garage. 

There's now no water coming out of the taps downstairs or upstairs when turned on. I've flushed the toilet and it is only refilling by a tiny dribble. There's no water overflowing. 

The muffled hissing sound continues unchanged! I'm wondering if it's something silly like a wasp / bee's next in the wall cavity or under the eves (I can't see anything or any wasps flying about)

The tank in the old airing cupboard has been blacked off a few years ago and no obvious leaks.  


 

cerebus

You say your ignition on your boiler has gone out at the same time you started hearing a hissing noise? 

Is your boiler a combi? What does the pressure gauge say? It's possible that they are related (unlikely as there is only so much water in central heating pipes and once the pressure has gone the hissing would stop) unless the fill loop has been left open slightly 

Other than that I can't see how it can be water related if you've shut off the water and confirmed this. 

You need to try and locate the source of the hissing although it's difficult to do at the best of times (nights I find is easier)

scoot65

Well, I have an update......... resolved!

Just by chance my neighbour popped by just as I was listening for noises on the mains stopcock. He's very knowledgable and had a look at the problem.

The outcome is that there's a leak on one of the pipes going into the boiler. This caused low pressure and therefore the boiler wouldn't fire up.

The muffled hissing noises (which he also heard) he said could be air in the system. Now that the pressure is correct in the boiler and it's producing hot water again, the hissing sound has gone.

I'm still awaiting a return call from the engineer and hopefully he'll be able to give the boiler a look over to make sure all's well. 

Thank again for all of the replies and suggestions. They're all very much appreciated!

     

 

FreeBear

scoot65 said: I'm still awaiting a return call from the engineer and hopefully he'll be able to give the boiler a look over to make sure all's well.

If you haven't had the boiler serviced in the last year, it would be worth getting the engineer to do one whilst he is checking things over - It won't cost much more than his call out fee, and perhaps gives you piece of mind for another year.

scoot65

FreeBear said:

scoot65 said: I'm still awaiting a return call from the engineer and hopefully he'll be able to give the boiler a look over to make sure all's well.

If you haven't had the boiler serviced in the last year, it would be worth getting the engineer to do one whilst he is checking things over - It won't cost much more than his call out fee, and perhaps gives you piece of mind for another year.

Actually to ensure the 10 years warranty is maintained, it gets serviced and recorded every year, usually October/November time....... The engineer is coming out tomorrow afternoon.  

ThisIsWeird

scoot65 said:

Well, I have an update......... resolved!

Just by chance my neighbour popped by just as I was listening for noises on the mains stopcock. He's very knowledgable and had a look at the problem.

The outcome is that there's a leak on one of the pipes going into the boiler. This caused low pressure and therefore the boiler wouldn't fire up.

The muffled hissing noises (which he also heard) he said could be air in the system. Now that the pressure is correct in the boiler and it's producing hot water again, the hissing sound has gone.

I'm still awaiting a return call from the engineer and hopefully he'll be able to give the boiler a look over to make sure all's well. 

Thank again for all of the replies and suggestions. They're all very much appreciated!

     

 

Good result!

Who fixed the actual leak - your neighbour? And are they settling down with a nice bottle of scotch as we speak? :-)

Tbh, if that is the issue resolved, there seems little point in having the GS come out to have a look too? And they'll be out later in the year in any case.

A couple of tips; if you don't already have one fitted, I'd recommend having a magnetic filter installed on the return pipe to the boiler - this can wait until the next service. And, with the loss of system water, good chance the inhibitor content of the system water is low, so this would also be worth checking and topping up (easy to do when a filter is fitted). Again, since your system is a sealed type, the actual water loss will not have been that great, so this can also wait until servicing time. But worth having both added to the GS's service visit.

scoot65

Final update.  All's well! 

Heating engineer came out this afternoon. Gave the boiler a check over and no further problems found

BTW the boiler has a magnetic filter already installed.  

So hopefully, I won't have a need to see the heating engineer until later in the wha the boiler gets it's annual service.

Oh and best of all, the engineer didn't charge any call-out fee or anything. So a very good MSE result!!!