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drop in water pressure. Reasons? Easily fixed?

17 replies

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 09:40

We have had problems with our boiler. We suspect it is due to some eff up caused by our old turkey builder.

The boiler pressure drops from time to time, turning everything off. Our plumber has shown us how to re-pressurise, which is fine. He is reluctant too diagnose without checking, but suggested it can be caused by a leak somewhere, usually when a new radiator is put in wrong or a radiator moved (we have had both done). Which worries me in itself.

However, second to this, our hot water pressure has dropped in the last day to nothing. It slowly started, thought it might be the washer, but its the same in the bathroom too, the water dribbles out there, and has stopped coming out completely in the kitchen. We has this problem when the builder was here doing work, while his plumber son farted around with stuff, and he said it was the tap that was a problem, and offered to change it, we never got around to chosing one, and the problem cleared up after a week (had some pressure then), so we realised he was talking shit at that point.

Please tell me there is a simple explanation to this which we can easily fix without having to call out our plumber....ergain. It is close to christmas, we have a baby due any day, and have used all our savings to pay a new builder to fix damage caused by another builder, and to take old builder to court. I could really do without the headache of having to pay our pricey but good plumber to fix this.

Simple problem? Yes?

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PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 09:49

bumping!

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CarGirl · 21/11/2009 09:53

must either be a blockage somewhere or a mains pressure problem.

Is the cold water pressure okay?

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 09:57

thanks for replying cargirl! yes cold is fine.

I have been googling and the only thing i can come up with is a blockage, but cannot see how easy that is to fix. If it is a blockage, where would it be? can we fix it ourselves? or will we need our plumber back?

There is low boiler pressure too, but that does not occur at the same time, if that makes sense? When the hot water stops working, the boiler pressure is fine.

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CarGirl · 21/11/2009 10:07

sounds like some sort of valve in the boiler or blockage or something.

You need a registered engineer I'm afraid someone that is gas safe or whatever the equivalent of corgi is called now.

Sorry

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 10:10

oh well, was hoping i could diy it!

My plumber is ace, fully corgi registered, i guess we will just have to call him . will have to wait til monday though!

He was reluctant to diagnose when we spoke last time, and that worried us, as it means it might be worse than that!!! Or at least some of the problem might not be that simple.

Oh its neverending! I guess its taking my mind off the fact that this baby is late though!

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catinthehat2 · 21/11/2009 10:11

Check back from HW tap along all pipes to tank or boiler and ensure all taps/stopcaocks are in the ON position. THen check from the HW tank to ensure that there is water going TO the tank. Not explained well, but you get the idea.

It could be you've had HW as you have been draining a full tank or your pipes.

MAybe someone's turned off a tap to do work and not turned it on again.

Even call your plumber and ask for advice over the phone, ask him what diagnosis he would give, but only once you have familiarised yourself with your system and kn ow what you are talking about.

CarGirl · 21/11/2009 10:13

there could be an air bubble in it somewhere causing the problem but no idea how you can get rid of it.

RorysRacingMa · 21/11/2009 10:16

Could try bleeding the radiators to get air bubbles out, but having written that i realise that's not the HW system - might not hurt anyway.

jeanjeannie · 21/11/2009 14:20

Do you have a combi or a hot water tank...just that you'd need to give us more info.

Is your system pressurized or do you have a header tank int he loft?

A Pressurised system means it's normal to top up time to time.

If however when you top it up and the heating or hot water comes on and at the end of the day the pressure gauge shows zero it's likely that the air in the expansion vessel needs to be repressurised. If the vessel is within the boiler then you do need an approved (Gas Safe) bloke to deal with it.

If the expansion vessel is outside the boiler (red metal thing / looks like a balloon!) then you can do it with a foot pump!! YOu can probably find the instructions for this sort of thing on the net(DIYNOT.com is good)

Sorry for typos....I've just typed as DP talked!

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 14:36

OK, combi boiler.

When the boiler pressure itself drops to zero, and we repressure it, we turn a little metal thing to 'top it up', should have a black bit on it apparantly but does not, DH used a whatsitcalled last time. He turns it, it goes 'shhhhhh' for a second, pressure goes up, he turns it back. All ok. but it does nothing to the hot water pressure.

The red balloon thingy, can't see one of those. Does that mean its inside the boiler then? DH thinks it is that the pipe/cap/whatever it is is blocked. I hope that is easy to fix. Whatever it is, think we will need to get our plumber out.

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PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 14:37

oh, and its a pressurised system, boiler is 3 years old, serviced each year promptly, and it drops pressure probably every 2-3 days atm.

Currently we have no hot water at all.

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jeanjeannie · 21/11/2009 14:52

Yep - DP agrees...Looks like it's the plumber Sorry about that...we've been no help at all! Says possibly due to perhaps the diverter valve (?) in the boiler.

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 15:21

jean you all been lots of help. At least i feel like we need to get the plumber out now, rather than thinking 'could we do it ourselves?'.

I can't have a bath either right now, as i am on my own, dd and dh have gone to a birthday party and i can't get out of the bath on my own due to a big football of a 3 days late baby in my belly! I was hoping for a shower, but alas, methinks I will wait til they get back!

What is a diverter valve? Not serious? I might send DH on a plumbing course, could save us a lot in the future! Or at least we should probably get plumbing insurance seeing as we have several floors of radiators now, and a boiler no longer in warranty.

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CarGirl · 21/11/2009 15:39

diverter valve presumably diverts the water (or something else) between one place or another! Which would make sense as it's either the hot water working or the heating but not both.

I hope it's not too expensive....

PavlovtheForgetfulCat · 21/11/2009 15:48

cargirl see, that demonstrates you have a brain . Mine is fried!

It won't be cheap, this guy charges £100 just for popping in! But, at least we trust him.

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CarGirl · 21/11/2009 15:53

sadly my brain still isn't what it used to be and my youngest is 4 and at full time school!

It's def the pregnancy hormones, lol!

eandh · 21/11/2009 16:01

we have a british gas policy costs around £16 a month but covers boiler/hot water/radiatirs etc labour/parts and they service once a year. When I came home from hospital after dd2 was born (in January and it was cold) there was no heating, we called them at 5pm and explained situation by 8am the next morning 2 engineers fixing the problem (had a few problems over the years and if you have children under 5 they try for same day or next day visit) one problem the part was £279 on its own so its been well worth it

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