Central heating leak sealer

MOTM · 18-11-2013 3:13pm #1

We've a leak somewhere in our central heating system. Losing .1 bar every couple of days. If I can't find the leak, is it worth trying leak sealer in the system (as suggested by our plumber)? Are there downsides to using it. The house is about 7 years old.

corkgsxr · 18-11-2013 3:22pm

They do work but some are crap some are brilliant.

I use repa-r 200 leak sealer. Its twice the price of most but iv seen it work on big leaks.

Only thing is it needs to be put in left to work then flushed out. Or else it does stuff like stop pumps

Billy Bunting · 18-11-2013 3:24pm

Get shane0007 out, he has a thermal camera that will locate the leak. He will also give you 30% discount if you mention me.

shane0007 · 18-11-2013 8:12pm

Billy Bunting wrote: »

Get shane0007 out, he has a thermal camera that will locate the leak. He will also give you 30% discount if you mention me.

Funny, but wearing thin now.

OP, has the expansion vessel pressure being checked & confirmed to be ok, i.e. water drained & vessel pressure checked with no system pressure against it?

anthonyos · 18-11-2013 8:19pm

I think seak sealers are a mugs game there is only one way to fix a leak and that is to find it and repair it or find the area that it possibly could be and replace the pipe work

Billy Bunting · 18-11-2013 8:33pm

shane0007 wrote: »

Funny, but wearing thin now.

k, we'll stick to the 20% then

.

Show your amusement

shane0007 · 18-11-2013 8:37pm

Billy Bunting wrote: »

k, we'll stick to the 20% then

.

Show your amusement

Have you relocated to Cork or somefink?

:D:D:D

MOTM · 18-11-2013 8:53pm

shane0007 wrote: »

Funny, but wearing thin now.

OP, has the expansion vessel pressure being checked & confirmed to be ok, i.e. water drained & vessel pressure checked with no system pressure against it?

No, not yet. I'll mention it to the plumber. Thanks.

MOTM · 18-11-2013 8:56pm

anthonyos wrote: »

I think seak sealers are a mugs game there is only one way to fix a leak and that is to find it and repair it or find the area that it possibly could be and replace the pipe work

In what way are they a mugs game? Unfortunately the boiler is in the detached garage and replacing pipework might be a bit difficult. Is it that leak sealer just doesn't work?

anthonyos · 18-11-2013 9:01pm

I have used it loads of time and not once has it worked for me but worth a shot if your stuck

shane0007 · 18-11-2013 9:05pm

MOTM wrote: »

No, not yet. I'll mention it to the plumber. Thanks.

That's the first thing I would check.

Leak sealers are very hit & miss. They react with oxygen & can be problematic for many systems. Many boiler manufacturers will void the warranty if used.

I would always only use a leak sealer as a very last resort, & even then it generally doesn't work.

18-11-2013 10:45pm

I hate leak sealer, selling a dream but tends to end in a nightmare.

corkgsxr · 18-11-2013 10:46pm

In fairness the cheap ones iv never seen them work. Repa-r is the only one id use.

Had one aunt in law thats half broke. 3 rads pinholed. 300 euro worth of rads. 70 euro bottle of repa and all sealed. Still holding 2 years later. Handy cheap solution.

MOTM · 19-11-2013 8:03am

Update: found a small leak on one rad connection and possibly one (also small) in the hot press. Will fix those first and see if that solves it.

mrcheez · 04-07-2014 12:58pm

Sorry to open an old(ish) thread, but I have a similar problem where the pressure is dropping in my system every few days.

The plumber suggested that he use Fernox Leak Sealer (http://www.fernox.com/products/water+treatment+chemicals/leak+sealers)

Is this any good?

I'll also contact Worcester Bosch to ensure that using this won't void my boiler warranty.

Dtp1979 · 04-07-2014 1:20pm

mrcheez wrote: »

Sorry to open an old(ish) thread, but I have a similar problem where the pressure is dropping in my system every few days.

The plumber suggested that he use Fernox Leak Sealer (http://www.fernox.com/products/water+treatment+chemicals/leak+sealers)

Is this any good?

I'll also contact Worcester Bosch to ensure that using this won't void my boiler warranty.

The fernox one isn't great to be honest. The only time I've had success is with oxypic but you should put it into the system after its cleaned. But the best advise is to try and find the leak

04-07-2014 1:29pm

mrcheez wrote: »

Sorry to open an old(ish) thread, but I have a similar problem where the pressure is dropping in my system every few days.

The plumber suggested that he use Fernox Leak Sealer (http://www.fernox.com/products/water+treatment+chemicals/leak+sealers)

Is this any good?

I'll also contact Worcester Bosch to ensure that using this won't void my boiler warranty.

Telling Worcester Bosch you're refilling your system every few days will have a bigger impact on your warranty than the leak sealer.

I wouldn't use leak sealer as it's cack and can at times impact on the boiler.

Find it, fix it, is the overall message from this thread, yes you may get lucky with a leak sealer but your still pouring cack in to your heating system.

mrcheez · 04-07-2014 1:35pm

Is there a way to detect where the leak is without lifting up all the carpet/floorboards/smashing through the concrete floor etc?

That would be a fun few days!

corkgsxr · 04-07-2014 2:57pm

Re-pa 200

70 euro a bottle but it really works

mrcheez · 04-07-2014 3:00pm

Cheers, back to the original question in #18, is there a detector that can find a leak without having to rip up boards/concrete?

Sleeper12 · 04-07-2014 3:52pm

Yes there is. There are dedicated companies that do leak detection. They charge €70 per hour (plus gas) & a lot of them charge a minimum of 4 hours.

I'd try rad seal chemicals first.:)

mrcheez · 04-07-2014 3:55pm

Cool, I'll get the RGI company to pay for it as the installation is less than a year old.

Dtp1979 · 04-07-2014 4:51pm

mrcheez wrote: »

Cool, I'll get the RGI company to pay for it as the installation is less than a year old.[
Did they install everything? As in the boiler, rads and all the pipework?

mrcheez · 04-07-2014 5:40pm

yessir

SmallBalls · 05-07-2014 5:05pm

Oxypic is good gear, always had success the few times I've used it.

mrcheez · 18-07-2014 12:02pm

gary71 wrote: »

yes you may get lucky with a leak sealer but your still pouring cack in to your heating system.

I'm going to go ahead with Oxypic, but I'm kind of worried about the mention of "your(sic) still pouring cack in to your heating system."

What is the "cack" in Oxypic? Is it not supposed to be a good thing to put in to the system?

Will it need to be redone in a few years, or are the fixes permanent?

I heard that it's best to put into the smallest rad in the system, I have one in the bathroom on a tiled floor, so I guess this will suffice?

I also have a Magna clean & inhibitor installed on the line, will this get damaged or interfere?

18-07-2014 12:39pm

mrcheez wrote: »

I'm going to go ahead with Oxypic, but I'm kind of worried about the mention of "your(sic) still pouring cack in to your heating system."

What is the "cack" in Oxypic? Is it not supposed to be a good thing to put in to the system?

Will it need to be redone in a few years, or are the fixes permanent?

I heard that it's best to put into the smallest rad in the system, I have one in the bathroom on a tiled floor, so I guess this will suffice?

I also have a Magna clean & inhibitor installed on the line, will this get damaged or interfere?

Leak sealer can at times have a negative impact on a gas boiler which can leave a warranty null and void.

I wouldn't use it in my house.

mrcheez · 18-07-2014 1:22pm

gary71 wrote: »

Leak sealer can at times have a negative impact on a gas boiler which can leave a warranty null and void.

I checked with Worcester Bosch last week and they said it wouldn't affect the warranty.

Why wouldn't you use it in your house? What specific damage could it cause?

18-07-2014 1:36pm

mrcheez wrote: »

I checked with Worcester Bosch last week and they said it wouldn't affect the warranty.

Why wouldn't you use it in your house? What specific damage could it cause?

Different manufactures have different opinions.

A gas boiler has the smallest thruways on a heating system which a sealant can at times have a impact on, also you find auto air releases can block.

I'm not a fan where others are so the choice is yours.

mrcheez · 18-07-2014 1:43pm

gary71 wrote: »

Different manufactures have different opinions.

A gas boiler has the smallest thruways on a heating system which a sealant can at times have a impact on, also you find auto air releases can block.

I'm not a fan where others are so the choice is yours.

I'm just making sure I'm asking questions now so I have a better understanding (I feel a forum with experienced plumbers would be better than spending hours searching the internet).

Assuming that the boiler itself doesn't become blocked, is there anything else that could potentially be damaged by a leak sealant, or could I assume it will run as normal?

I'm guessing such a blockage would be pretty evident, or would it be something subtle that I wouldn't see, but could be damaging the system slowly?

Dtp1979 · 18-07-2014 1:58pm

mrcheez wrote: »

I'm just making sure I'm asking questions now so I have a better understanding (I feel a forum with experienced plumbers would be better than spending hours searching the internet).

Assuming that the boiler itself doesn't become blocked, is there anything else that could potentially be damaged by a leak sealant, or could I assume it will run as normal?

I'm guessing such a blockage would be pretty evident, or would it be something subtle that I wouldn't see, but could be damaging the system slowly?

Another issue that would concern me is that you have inhibitor in your system. You're now going to add another chemical and mix both. Nobody knows how they will react I'm afraid

Central heating leak sealer

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