Potterton 30 HE advice

[Blimeyo]

Having read a few posts from here & elsewhere, I was looking for advice on here, that I appreciate may need professional help in due course, even though I'm a tight Yorkshire bloke...

I have the above boiler and the pressure gauge had dropped right to the bottom at the weekend. I topped it up using the filling loop to what was reading between 1 & 1.5 bar and as soon as I fired the boiler up, it started leaking from the pipework in the boiler somewhere.

Having done a few things suggested (bled the rads etc.) I then had the pressure reading at around 1 bar (when cold), which seems to be correct. The HW functions OK, nothing to speak of in the way of leaks etc. But having fired up the CH to see if the pressure gauge & whatever was causing the leak had stabilised the water started running out again. The Q's I have, if there's someone can offer advice;

1. Does this appear like a classic case of the PRV failing & needing replacing?
2. Is it possible that with the gauge being at total zero (i.e. in the 6 o clock position), it was actually the gauge that was reading incorrectly at that point and maybe there was 0.5 - 1.0 bar in the system? By me then using the filling loop to top it up, it appears to have taken me over the 2.0 bar threshold into the red zone (which was when it started leaking)

Or put another way, have I over-pressurised this & caused the PRV (or something else to fail)?

If it helps any further, as it stands, HW is fine, both in the tank & the couple of taps that are on-demand. It does appear to be linked to things over pressurising once I put the CH on. At present I've switched off the CH & the boiler has returned to just below 1.0 bar of pressure & the leaking has stopped. Also I've noted that the needle on the pressure gauge has a very slight wobble as it's sat at 1.0 bar. Nothing major, but would expect the needle to remain static once the pressure has settled. Not sure if that wobble indicates something related to the PRV or just something that I can ignore.

Thanks in advance for any replies & apologies for the long winded note...

 

[quality]

sounds like you need a gas engineer to take a look

 

[Blimeyo]

Thanks Quality...

I'll happily replace the PRV given it's going to cost me somewhere between 10-20 quid for the part & my own time. I just wanted to see if the characteristics seem to suggest that's a sensible first pass. After that, if it's not fixed I'll probably get someone in, but at this stage want to avoid call out fees etc...

Anecdotally, I found my way onto that 'just answer' mullarkey yesterday, but after it wanted some cash for a response, I thought I'd join here & post where I'm likely to get some sensible advice and not from a site that's commission based. I will always offer advice free where I'm able to and always work on the principle that the bartering system always works well with normal folk...

 

[quality]

thats fine but we don't give advise to non gas safe registered people. It appears the is a problem but it is a gas fired appliance ultimately

 

[Blimeyo]

Ah I see, thanks for clarifying. I'll go ahead and get the PRV changed and then see if I need to get someone out to have a look if that doesn't do the trick.

Hopefully you appreciate that I'm not trying to circumvent the rules & fair play for having this particular rule. I wouldn't get involved in anything more complex than swapping the basic (& wet) parts...

If there's a cheap W Yorks based plumber, feel free to PM me about a call out/price for this - Huddersfield area.

 

[Gotcha]

Do not get plumbers to fix/install your boiler. They havent got a fkn clue on what the stuff inside a boiler is. I had 2 boilers that had been visited by plumbers before, one was installed on a timber covered wall with the flue only half a brick away from a vent, and the other had the case sealing panel at half inch distance from the case rubber seals. These really really are no big deal, if you listen to your plumber...

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Do not get plumbers to fix/install your boiler. They havent got a fkn clue on what the stuff inside a boiler is. I had 2 boilers that had been visited by plumbers before, one was installed on a timber covered wall with the flue only half a brick away from a vent, and the other had the case sealing panel at half inch distance from the case rubber seals. These really really are no big deal, if you listen to your plumber...

That's why you need to use a registered gas safe engy

 

[rpm]

If there's a cheap W Yorks based plumber, feel free to PM me about a call out/price for this - Huddersfield area.

There is one up there who drives a Banana Yellow sports car. Em who could that be I wonder, dunno about cheap though.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Ah I see, thanks for clarifying. I'll go ahead and get the PRV changed and then see if I need to get someone out to have a look if that doesn't do the trick.

Hopefully you appreciate that I'm not trying to circumvent the rules & fair play for having this particular rule. I wouldn't get involved in anything more complex than swapping the basic (& wet) parts...

If there's a cheap W Yorks based plumber, feel free to PM me about a call out/price for this - Huddersfield area.

Circumvent the rules. Surely this is what you are doing if you intend to remove/replace a safety device on the boiler?