Help needed, how can you tell if you've put a nail through a central heating pipe?

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said:

Good point, Freebear.
What type of CH do you have, Swafe? Combi boiler or conventional? Does it have a pressure gauge?

Up until May/June this year, I had an open vented Baxi back boiler that was installed late last century. It has now been replaced with a pressurised combi boiler - The plumbing for the new system had been pressure tested for an extended period at 60 psi before the boiler was fitted.

I would suggest that the OP does a pressure test of the system, but few people will have the necessary equipment, and an open vented system may need some changes before it can be tested - If there is a tap (valve) between the header tank & boiler, close it off. The overflow pipe will need a fitting on the end to attach a hand pump & pressure gauge - Access will probably be the biggest issue as this stuff is often located in a loft with limited light & flooring. 

Section62

Swafe said:

Hi guys, I've had a broadband company install fibre and told them to avoid my old radiator microbore pipework...

If the pipework is copper then a electrical continuity test between the nail head and an exposed part of the pipework could give you a reasonable amount of confidence... although builder's metalwork embedded in the wall and/or plastic pipe fittings could give you a false positive/negative, so this isn't a foolproof method.

But if you got positive continuity between the pipework and the nail head then that might be sufficient evidence to worry the broadband company into getting a professional to take a look before their potential compensation bill escalates.

ThisIsWeird

In a previous house, a damp patch appeared on the kitchen ceiling a good few months after we'd moved in - and after I'd refurb'ed the bathroom above :-(

I couldn't bear to lift the new floorboards in the bathroom even tho' I'd feared a plumbing error on my part, so cut a hole in the ceiling - to expose an old copper pipe with a small screwhead stuck to its side, and an obvious weep around it. I touched the screw and it fell off - it had finally rusted through after how many years?

The screw must have been placed there deliberately, presumably to seal a hole made by a nail...

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said:

In a previous house, a damp patch appeared on the kitchen ceiling a good few months after we'd moved in - and after I'd refurb'ed the bathroom above :-(

I couldn't bear to lift the new floorboards in the bathroom even tho' I'd feared a plumbing error on my part, so cut a hole in the ceiling - to expose an old copper pipe with a small screwhead stuck to its side, and an obvious weep around it. I touched the screw and it fell off - it had finally rusted through after how many years?

The screw must have been placed there deliberately, presumably to seal a hole made by a nail...

You need some of these in your box of spares - https://www.screwfix.com/p/flowflex-clickfix-copper-pipe-repair-patch-15mm/5962v These are cheaper - https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-solder-ring-equal-slip-coupler-15mm/56343 and if a blowtorch is out of question - https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-compression-pipe-repair-fitting-15mm/85529

Doesn't help the OP as all of the above are for 15mm copper, not micro-bore.