Boiler and water pressure question

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 2023-03-19T08:04:53+00:00

Hi there I woke up this morning and my boiler had no pressure, so I had no hot water. I turned the little taps under my boiler and brought the pressure back up. Lovely, all warm again…. but, now my water pressure has significantly dropped and my hot shower and taps are less powerful than previously. Cold are fine. It would happen on a Sunday and Mothers Day! Any one with any experience or advice? Obviously I’ll call someone when I can, but I’d like to know what to expect in terms of fixing it. Thanks

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 19/03/2023 08:50

@PigletJohn can you help OP please?

IClaudine · 19/03/2023 08:58

Could there be a leak somewhere?

Violaviolin · 19/03/2023 08:59

Sounds like a leak

Starseeed · 19/03/2023 09:00

Check your water company for any local pressure problems? (Seems to happen regularly where I am!)

Other than that I’d check round the boiler and house for any leaks.

Xrays · 19/03/2023 09:01

Leak. You need to check all the radiators - this is the most common cause. Failing that it might be a leak inside the boiler or an issue with the expansion vessel.

User6495321 · 19/03/2023 09:12

Get a bit of paper towel so any wet shows and go round and check all the radiators, it's usually a pipe join, valve or where you bleed the radiator a leak occurs, it may be on the boiler though. We have had a couple of leaks on radiators pipes and valves as our radiators are about 25 years old though our boiler is fairly new

Original poster

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 19/03/2023 09:22

Hi all, thank you for your help.

I went around all of the radiators and there are definitely no leaks.

There is however the tiniest leak coming from the black ring in the photo below, show by the red arrow. It’s a one drip per minute sort of leak. Carpet underneath feels slightly damp, in a small area, but nothing massive (yet 😬).

Other than that, DH has been playing with the blue taps. Turned them to this direction (in photo). Pressure seems a little better. I’ve forgotten where the taps were, so now I’m worrying about those.

Boiler seems fine. Fires up when hot water is on. Goes off a minute after water is turned off. Pressure hovers between 1 (turned off) and 2 (turned on for a while).

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Original poster

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 19/03/2023 09:22

Oops! Best add photo…

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PigletJohn · 19/03/2023 11:09

The leak may look small because the pressure is now low. It may get worse when the pressure is raised.

If the black nut is leaking it might be loose. Tightening it may help. But if it was incorrectly fitted tightening it may not help. It looks quite new. Can you get the installer back?

When looking for leaks, go outside. A small metal pipe comes out of the back of the boiler and goes through the wall. It squirts out (usually hot) water if the pressure is too high. It is bent round to squirt against the wall to avoid scalding anyone. Once it has released it is liable to drip.

whatdoidonowffs · 19/03/2023 11:43

Low pressure or low flow ?
turn your cold tap on and put your finger on it if you can stop it you have low pressure
if you can’t stop it check your internal stopcock is fully open sometimes bits of debris can get behind the tap and reduce flow
check the refill valves on the boiler are where they should be
a small drip shouldn’t make that much difference to the water at your taps

Original poster

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 19/03/2023 14:35

PigletJohn · 19/03/2023 11:09

The leak may look small because the pressure is now low. It may get worse when the pressure is raised.

If the black nut is leaking it might be loose. Tightening it may help. But if it was incorrectly fitted tightening it may not help. It looks quite new. Can you get the installer back?

When looking for leaks, go outside. A small metal pipe comes out of the back of the boiler and goes through the wall. It squirts out (usually hot) water if the pressure is too high. It is bent round to squirt against the wall to avoid scalding anyone. Once it has released it is liable to drip.

Thank you for the detailed response! I’m going to get my husband to check the pipe and I’ve tightened up the black nut, so I’m waiting to see if it keeps dripping.

The boiler came with the house, which was a new build in 2017, so it’s newish, but I’m not sure about getting someone back to reinstall. If DH can’t sort it himself easily, we’ll just have to bite the bullet tomorrow and call an engineer.

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Original poster

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 19/03/2023 14:41

whatdoidonowffs · 19/03/2023 11:43

Low pressure or low flow ?
turn your cold tap on and put your finger on it if you can stop it you have low pressure
if you can’t stop it check your internal stopcock is fully open sometimes bits of debris can get behind the tap and reduce flow
check the refill valves on the boiler are where they should be
a small drip shouldn’t make that much difference to the water at your taps

Sorry, low flow is probably more accurate. I definitely can’t stop the cold tap. It sprays everywhere. I don’t think there’s debris. It just seems to have affected all hot taps and the shower.
The cold taps are absolutely fine, super powerful.
Which is weird because I have mixer taps!!

I’ve checked the valves. I heard a little water flow/ a pressure change hiss sound as I turned it and the hot taps seem to be a little closer to normal….the shower however is still not the power shower it was just yesterday. 🤔

Thank you for the detailed response. It’s really appreciated as well.

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MargotMoon · 19/03/2023 15:36

My plumber told me to always bleed the radiators after topping up the pressure in the boiler

Original poster

Iwannabeacrocodilehunter · 19/03/2023 15:37

MargotMoon · 19/03/2023 15:36

My plumber told me to always bleed the radiators after topping up the pressure in the boiler

I’ll get DH to give that a go!

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