Temperature pressure relief valve dripping

Lulu58

ThisIsWeird said:

The release valve has clearly operated on your system, since you saw the drips in the tundish. Why this happened is not known, but it could be a faulty PRV which allowed too much pressure in. Or he could be replacing it because, as said before, once the safety valve has opened, they tend to not seal up properly again.

Whilst I'm waiting for the heating man to get in touch with a date to do the work I've been keeping an eye on the cylinder etc.

The drip from the EV appears to have stopped completely since he tightened it which is good news.

Also, I haven't seen any drips through the tundish for the last day. I'm not sure if it's stopped completely or has much reduced. The pipe which goes into/comes out of the tundish appears to be completely dry. I'm not entirely sure if that's good news or not! 

The not so good news is that the wooden base on which the cylinder sits is wet whilst it was dry previously. I've put a dry tissue round every single joint, valve etc and there doesn't appear to be any leaks. I'm hoping this doesn't mean that the cylinder has got a leak.

The boiler pressure has dropped slightly to just below one, but the heating is on at the moment.

ThisIsWeird

Eek! HOW wet?
When's he due to come back?
Wrap a towel tightly against the cylinder base, and push it in firmly against any gap there. Check it in an hour.
If it's literally a few drops - a small isolated damp patch, just replace it and keep monitoring. If it's at all 'wet', then call him up right away and let him know.
Photo?

ThisIsWeird

Use a bright torch, ideally one with a focussed beam, to look closely around as much of the cylinder as you can. Look for glistening. Run your fingers over everything - see if they're wet. 
Can you see round the back of the cylinder?
Start at the bottom, and work up! Even look above the cylinder!

Lulu58

ThisIsWeird said:

Use a bright torch, ideally one with a focussed beam, to look closely around as much of the cylinder as you can. Look for glistening. Run your fingers over everything - see if they're wet. 
Can you see round the back of the cylinder?
Start at the bottom, and work up! Even look above the cylinder!

Thanks, ThisIsWeird. He's hoping to come back some time this week. I've sent him a note and some photos.

I've put towels tight up to the cylinder. 

The wooden base is damp to the front half of the cylinder where all the pipework is, but it's not soaking wet. The right side is more damp than the left. The back half appears to be bone dry at the moment.

In the photo below you can see a paler section of the wooden plinth to the right in front of the Cold Feed - this is the colour the wood is when dry. 

I've checked everything with my hands and then used a dry kitchen towel and can't feel/see anything wet or glistening including the top of the boiler. 

ThisIsWeird

Lulu58 said:

Thanks, ThisIsWeird. He's hoping to come back some time this week. I've sent him a note and some photos.
I've put towels tight up to the cylinder.
The wooden base is damp to the front half of the cylinder where all the pipework is, but it's not soaking wet. The right side is more damp than the left. The back half appears to be bone dry at the moment.
In the photo below you can see a paler section of the wooden plinth to the right in front of the Cold Feed - this is the colour the wood is when dry.
I've checked everything with my hands and then used a dry kitchen towel and can't feel/see anything wet or glistening including the top of the boiler.

It's significant, but not dramatic :-)

Tuck them towels back in tight!

Can you see into the gaps in that wooden plinth, to check if there's any water dripping through to the actual floor? What room in your house is below this?

If you have cardboard, then you could try cutting some strips as wide as the plinth gaps, and slide them right in - check to see if they get wet from water dripping through.

The visible water on there wouldn't concern me too much, but you never know if there's more getting through unbeknownst...

Lulu58

ThisIsWeird said:

It's significant, but not dramatic :-)

Tuck them towels back in tight!

Can you see into the gaps in that wooden plinth, to check if there's any water dripping through to the actual floor? What room in your house is below this?

If you have cardboard, then you could try cutting some strips as wide as the plinth gaps, and slide them right in - check to see if they get wet from water dripping through.

The visible water on there wouldn't concern me too much, but you never know if there's more getting through unbeknownst...

I used kitchen towels round the cylinder. I've just checked it and the dampest part is below the Cold Feed. However, that is probably the wettest part of the wood so it may just be soaking up the water. I'll check it again in another hour, but it doesn't seem to have got worse.
The cylinder etc is in the garage on the ground floor. There doesn't appear to be much if any water below the plinth that I can see but I'll double check using cardboard as you suggest.

ThisIsWeird

Lulu58 said:

The cylinder etc is in the garage on the ground floor. There doesn't appear to be much if any water below the plinth that I can see but I'll double check using cardboard as you suggest.

Cool. No further damage can be caused, then?

FreeBear

Lulu58 said: The cylinder etc is in the garage on the ground floor. There doesn't appear to be much if any water below the plinth that I can see but I'll double check using cardboard as you suggest.

It could just be condensation forming on the cold water pipe that is dripping down. Garages are never a good place for stuff like this - Some days during the winter months, my toys machine tools will be dripping with water and I have to coat everything with a generous layer of oil, wax or grease.

I'd recommend building an insulated cupboard around the cylinder and any pipework. That should help reduce the condensation as well as cut down on heat losses.

ThisIsWeird

Good call.
Are they in the open, Lulu?
The boiler is in the garage too? Adjacent?
Ideally cupboarded in together, but allowing good access for when required. 

Lulu58

ThisIsWeird said:

Lulu58 said:

The cylinder etc is in the garage on the ground floor. There doesn't appear to be much if any water below the plinth that I can see but I'll double check using cardboard as you suggest.

Cool. No further damage can be caused, then?

There was no water that we could find under the plinth. However, the wood is very damp this morning and the leak has progressed onto the garage floor.

I've checked every single joint etc this morning and they all seem to be bone dry.

Is it possible that the leak is coming from the bottom of the cylinder?

They are in the open in the garage, no cupboard. The boiler is alongside the cylinder.