Leak in Heating System - Help

NickSantigo

I am currently living in a 1970s bungalow. A couple of months ago I switched from a gravity fed system to a pressurized system as part of a number of upgrades I was doing around the house e.g. new oil boiler, new hot water cylinder, heating control upgrade etc. My plumber told me that if I had a leak (which he suspected I may) it would show up once the system was pressurized. It now appears that I have a serious leak. I am losing 1 bar of pressure within 6 hours. I have tried putting products like Oxypic and Miracle Seal into the system to clog the leaks but this has failed.

I am wondering what my options are now as I put down new flooring throughout the house only six months ago and my wife is due with our first child in 8 weeks’ time. I am very reluctant to pull up the floors but realize that the problem will only get worse with rising damp, floors warping, etc. coming down the line.

I feel my options are:
1. Excavate – re-plumb the whole house. – Really reluctant to do this as mentioned above
2. Re-plumb above ground – box in the piping, won’ look as nice
3. Relining of the pipes, seems to be common in North America and in sewer systems but can’t seem to find companies or customers who have had it done in Ireland
I would appreciate any suggestions or advice anybody can give me

chicorytip

Locating where exactly the leak is the next step. Is there one particular radiator not heating up? It is probably a faulty valve or joint rather than a damaged section of pipe. You won’t need to take up entire floors in order to investigate the issue just around the edges nearest the skirting where the pipes are located. Adding those sealants to the system is a waste of time. Any good plumber should be able fix the problem, regardless.

rightjob!

NickSantigo wrote: »

I am currently living in a 1970s bungalow. A couple of months ago I switched from a gravity fed system to a pressurized system as part of a number of upgrades I was doing around the house e.g. new oil boiler, new hot water cylinder, heating control upgrade etc. My plumber told me that if I had a leak (which he suspected I may) it would show up once the system was pressurized. It now appears that I have a serious leak. I am losing 1 bar of pressure within 6 hours. I have tried putting products like Oxypic and Miracle Seal into the system to clog the leaks but this has failed.

I am wondering what my options are now as I put down new flooring throughout the house only six months ago and my wife is due with our first child in 8 weeks’ time. I am very reluctant to pull up the floors but realize that the problem will only get worse with rising damp, floors warping, etc. coming down the line.

I feel my options are:
1. Excavate – re-plumb the whole house. – Really reluctant to do this as mentioned above
2. Re-plumb above ground – box in the piping, won’ look as nice
3. Relining of the pipes, seems to be common in North America and in sewer systems but can’t seem to find companies or customers who have had it done in Ireland
I would appreciate any suggestions or advice anybody can give me

Where are you located?
Google leak detetion,if in dublin A Team are good.

agusta

chicorytip wrote: »

Locating where exactly the leak is the next step. Is there one particular radiator not heating up? It is probably a faulty valve or joint rather than a damaged section of pipe. You won’t need to take up entire floors in order to investigate the issue just around the edges nearest the skirting where the pipes are located. Adding those sealants to the system is a waste of time. Any good plumber should be able fix the problem, regardless.

If the leak is not showing up anywhere where is a good plumber going to find it?,its a job for a leak detection company

NickSantigo

rightjob! wrote: »

Where are you located?
Google leak detetion,if in dublin A Team are good.

I'm based in East Cork

NickSantigo

Thanks for the replies.

The rate at which I am losing pressure indicates that if it was above ground (around radiators or boiler) I would see it by now.
All of the radiators are opened correctly at both ends.
I have bled them a number of times.

My fear with the leak detection is that there has been air getting into the system and this has been happening for years. I only noticed it now becasue the system is pressurised. The copper piping has been corroded over the years and I may have more than one leak. Even if it is one leak when I lift up the floor where it is and solve it another one will occur (in a few months or years) as the pipes have been damaged over the years.

Feeling my best option at present is to replumb above ground. Run it through the attic and drop it into each of the rooms where needed. Box off the piping and paint.

Don't think there is any easy solution here but I am open to suggestions