How to Find a Water Leak in a Central Heating System
Water leaks in central heating systems are the last thing anyone wants at this time of year. No matter whether you’re an insurance company that’s inundated with calls from clients who suspect they have a water leak or you’re a home or business owner that’s facing day after day of frustratingly low temperatures because of a problem with your heating system, you’re in the right place.
It’s a fact of life that water leaks in central heating systems are a common occurrence in winter months. Most leaks are caused by sudden low temperatures leading to frost-related damage. But the other factor is that we expect a whole lot more of our heating systems in the depths of winter than the start or the end – and this puts extra pressure on the system.
In this article we want to help you trace a leak if you think you have one and let you know what to do if you can’t find it.
Signs that you might have a water leak in a central heating system
The first indication you might have a leak is when you notice your boiler needs constantly topping up or re-pressurising. So if you’re in a situation where your system is frustrating you because it’s calling for excessive top ups or re-pressurising, you should give some thought to the risk of a water leak.
Finding a water leak in your central heating system
leaking pressure relief pipe from central heatingUsually the first port of call if you suspect you have a water leak is to call in a heating engineer to check for faults on the internal components. Things like faulty PRV valves (Pressure Relief Valves) or diaphragms are the usual culprits. When these are damaged, they result in the boiler dumping water out of the system via the pressure relief pipe.
Your pressure relief pipe is more than likely protruding from an external wall and when you’ve located it, you should look for drips coming from it (shown right). If there are visible drips or stains down the wall, then the chances are that your PR Valve is faulty. If you’re not sure, a top tip is to tape a small see through food bag to the pipe, leave it overnight and see if there is any water in it the following day.
What to do if you can’t find the leak in your system
If you’ve tested your pressure relief pipe and your heating engineer has inspected the boiler and assured you there is no fault there, then it’s more than likely that you have a leak in the central heating pipes. Some such leaks can be very small and often go undetected for months. The water that’s escaping from the system is usually hot and will evaporate off, below floor level leaving no visible trace – which makes it even more difficult to find. The hot and cold expansion that your heating pipes go through can also play its part in making leak detection tricky as some joints will only leak as they cool down or vice versa.
Contact the experts before it’s too late
Faced with this problem it is clear that expert advice from experienced contractors with first class leak detection equipment is required. At Paradigm we have this in abundance. Out expertise and state of the art equipment such as acoustic microphones, correlators, tracer gas, borescopes and infrared cameras give us a huge advantage when tracking down leaks. We’ve carried out thousands of leak detection jobs and have a 100% record of success. When you call on Paradigm, you can be sure we’ll arrive when we say we will and that your water leak is traced and fixed with the minimum of fuss and damage.
We Can Help Find and & Fit It
If you suspect you may have a water leak in your central heating system, get in touch now and we will find it and fix it for you.
