pressure valve under cylinder??

igorbiscan

Hi, first we have underfloor heating,three thermostatically controlled zones downstairs and rads upstairs on a single thermostat.There is a valve under the hot water cylinder with a pressure gauge which should have a bar reading of 1 or more if I'm correct.Every so often in terms of 8-10 months the pressure on the gauge slowly drops to zero and I need to open the valve to re-pressurise it.

The truth is I'm not sure what effect this has on my heating/water system and why it happens,I was just advised this by a friend who looked at it a few years ago.The boiler has tripped a couple of times in a few years but I put that down to putting the heating back on after the summer.Maybe this is a symptom of something else.
I'm thinking of getting a plumber to look at it just in case but would like to have a bit more knowledge of whats going on before I do as its a very slow occurring issue and I'm not sure if its an issue at all or not.There are no other issues that I see,the heating and hot water work fine,just know I probably shouldnt have to be re-pressurising the system every once ina while or do I?

Any knowledge imparted would be gratefully appreciated.

sullzz

Hi what do you mean by " boiler tripped" ?
Is your boiler gas or oil ?
How often are you repressurising it ?
Can you put up some pics of the valve/gauge you are mentioning? , and of the rest of your cylinder/ hotpress.

igorbiscan

Hi Sullzz,
Well basically the boiler cut out and you have to press a tiny button on the stat inside the boiler cover to reset it.Its a an oil condensing boiler and is about 4 years or so old.It has only cut out or "tripped" maybe once or twice a year.

I check the valve in the hotpress every so often if I think of it and probably repressurise it every 10 months or so.

I have attached some pictures of the valve,the valve behind a big red "yoke" :pac: and the hotpress itself.Hope this makes things clearer.Like I said it doesn't seem to affect the heating much but think something is just not quite right.Thanks for your input.

sullzz

Hi are you pressing the button on the front of the burner (a red illuminated button) or a button on the stat (located on top of the boiler itself ).
That valve in your picture , is an auto filling valve , which is not recommended to be fitted on a system as they generally are fitted to cover a leak , I presume you are turning the black knob to the right of the valve to repressurise it , if so your valve is turned off , every 10 months to top up a system is not much to worry about , does it drop to zero before you top it up ? I would recommend you get that valve replaced for a filling loop .

igorbiscan

Yeah its the tiny little button on the stat at the top on the boiler.

Yes I turn the black knob on the valve and can hear air escaping,the needle on the valve goes back to over 1 bar and then I close it again.I check it every now and again if I think of it but the last time it was at zero.Why does this happen and is it bad if I forget to check it.Thanks again.

sullzz

Well you are introducing fresh water into your system which is no good for your system , look up threads for sludge and powerflushing , having to introduce fresh water to your system means that water has gotten out , which means a leak , it might not be as bad as it sounds , get a plumber in to check your system eg the safety valve and the expansion vessel , having to press that button on your stat is generally a sign of an overheat issue or circulation issue