What is causing water to come from overflow pipe

[Paul Langley]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this site so I hope I am posting on the correct forum. I just bought a house with u8nderfloor heating serviced with a Vaillant Echotec plus boiler. It is a pressurised system (no tanks in the loft) but it has a stainless hot water cylinder so it is not a combi boiler heating hot water direct from the mains. The house was built 11 years ago so I guess everything is that old. As background, I have just replaced a faulty pressure vessel in the boiler (I was slowly losing pressure and water came out when I checked the shraeder valve) and that problem now seems solved. I am a competent DIYer and not a plumber by trade though I did install a complete central heating system in my previous house.
The problem I have is about 0.5 litres of water comes out of an outside overflow pipe when the shower is used and is running for 5 minutes or so. As I did not have the house built and the majority of the pipework is underfloor or boxed in, I am uncertain where the source of the overflow pipe is. Anyone got any ideas as to what the problem is likely to be. I suspect the overflow pipe also discharges water if a hot tap in a sink is left running for several minutes but I have not yet checked this.
When hot water is drawn off from the system and cold water from the mains replenishes it, I am guessing there is some sort of pressure increase that may activate a pressure release valve somewhere in the system but this is only a guess. Any ideas and help will be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance to anyone who can help

 

[SimonG]

get a g3 unvented registered engineer

 

[Riley]

And you should not be replacing the expansion vessel in your boiler as the cover forms a combustion seal.

I would say likelihood is that your shower mixer is passing and forcing water back up into your loft tank causing it to overflow

 

[SimonG]

And you should not be replacing the expansion vessel in your boiler as the cover forms a combustion seal.

I would say likelihood is that your shower mixer is passing and forcing water back up into your loft tank causing it to overflow

Took as unvented hot water.

 

[Riley]

G3 is technically vented too 😀

 

[SimonG]

G3 is technically vented too 😀

smart rs 😛😛😛

 

[Riley]

Well I was backing you up you could’ve got away with it if it wasn’t for those pesky kids

 

[Burger]

Do you know it’s definitely an overflow pipe? You said you don’t know where the source is, do you mean where it’s located or what’s causing it?

Could be as Riley said, mixer passing.

 

[Paul Langley]

CBW1982 - pretty sure it must be some sort of overflow pipe. It is a 15mm copper pipe boxed in on the inside of the house, exiting the exterior wall about 800mm above outside ground level with an elbow and 300mm of vertical 15mm copper pipe. I assume therefore it is to discharge something outside if there is a fault. The problem is it is not easy to trace where it comes from.
Rily - Can you expand on your first paragraph as to why I should not change a defective expansion vessel?
Thanks Paul

 

[Riley]

I gave you the reasoning. If it’s in the boiler you can’t touch it legally. If it’s on an unvented cylinder you can’t touch it legally. Give us a pic of the overflow

 

[Paul Langley]

Riley - I now understand that what you are saying is it is illegal for me to do it. Useful info for me as I have just returned from living abroad for over 30 years and was not aware of this regulation. Thanks

 

[Paul Langley]

Riley - Sorry; missed off the bit about the pic. It would only be a pick of a brick wall with a bit of vertical 15mm copper pipe venting into the open air outside the house.

 

[Riley]

Ok but ignorance is no excuse my friend. It’s been illegal for some years for unqualified or non competent persons to work on gas appliances. I would recommend a gas engineer visit to check that the seals have been replaced correctly to prevent risk to you and your family. Whilst there they may be able to advise on your overflow problem.

 

[Riley]

Riley - Sorry; missed off the bit about the pic. It would only be a pick of a brick wall with a bit of vertical 15mm copper pipe venting into the open air outside the house.

Is the boiler on the other side of the wall?? Are you often topping up pressure on your system? Or is it a vented system?

 

[Paul Langley]

Riley - The boiler is, in fact, on the first floor landing with the hot water cylinder and associated pipework etc. Before the boiler expansion vessel was changed, the system lost pressure over a couple of weeks and needed topping up to prevent the boiler going into fault mode. Since the expansion vessel was replaced, the system now maintains pressure and no longer needs topping up.

 

[Riley]

Can we get a pic of your cylinder please

 

[Paul Langley]

Riley - I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it if I can find out how I do that on this forum. In the meantime, if it helps it is a Kingspan Range Tribune HE stainless cylinder. The secondary flow and return are not used and are capped off. The central heating system was designed by Nu- Heat who are bound to be known to you I suspect.

 

[Riley]

Unvented cylinder. Based on description. Sorry @SimonG was right. Doh. 😀

I think you have an underlying problem here which again sadly you are not qualified to work on. You require an engineer with G3 ticket

 

[Paul Langley]

Riley - Thanks for everything. Not easy here on the Isle of Wight. Only been here a short while. Emailed the gas engineer whose sticker was on the boiler as the company who serviced it in the past together with one other I got from the internet. That was over two weeks ago and I am still awaiting a response! Maybe a member who has a G3 ticket an who is on the island will see this post; here's hoping!

 

[Riley]

Take a look on the gas safe site. Many engineers on. There hold G3

 

[Paul Langley]

Thanks Riley; will do and hopefully I will find someone on the island who wants a job.

 

[John.g]

Doesn't the unvented hot water cylinder have a E.vessel and a TPRV?.

 

[Riley]

Yes but can’t be worked on by op

 

[John.g]

Agreed, but surely he can look at the tundish and see if the TPRV is discharging water, for whatever reason.

 

[SimonG]

if its piped correctly. which from the description it possibly isnt