Worcester Greenstar Heatslave Combi: Pressure Gauge

[Corinda]

Hello,

I have a Worcester Greenstar Heatslave Combi boiler for my oil-fired hot water/heating.

It's been ages since I've needed to alter the pressure and - being a real non-techie/impractical person - I've forgotten what I need to do to increase the pressure.

Just as background, when I checked recently, the pressure had dropped, so I opened one of the two taps on the pipes to increase it. However, the tap was very tight and I managed to over-pressurise. I bled the radiators, but now the pressure's too low. (What seems to haooen is that the poressure is too low when the systenm is off, but, when I fire up the central heating, it moves past the red cut-off point and into the 'danger' zone', if you see what I mean. Water then leaks from the outside combi to reduce pressure etc.)

I'm not sure if the taps/valves (or whatever they're called) are set correctly. Should they be parallel to the pipes to which they're attached? Or vertical - at 90 degrees?

I think I'm right in saying that if I open the tap on the right of the gauge, it increases the pressure. But do I need to open the other tap? (The last time I did, the pressure shot up too high. The tap on the left of the gauge is incredibly stiff. Once I move it, I can't move it back quickly.)

I'm sure I've got confused and done something (or not something) I should/shouldn't. Please forgive my ignorance.

Before I call in a plumber, I thought I'd ask here in the hope that the solution to my problem is simple. (Ie that someone can give me simple instructions as to what I should be doing with the taps. It's best to assume I know nothing and I'm doing everything wrong. 🙂 )

Many thanks in advance, if you are able to help me.

James

 

[kris]

Hi there James , its gonna have to be an GSR engineer you need as your system has problems on the pressure side and unfortunately theres nothing we can say that you havent done already, as long as youve taken the pressure to the stated 1 or 1,5bar and when on the needle shoots up towards the red, then defo pressure fault inside the boiler and its not coping with the expansion, contact your local engineer or put a thread on here for need an engineer, good luck,

 

[lame plumber]

Hi there James , its gonna have to be an GSR engineer you need as your system has problems on the pressure side and unfortunately theres nothing we can say that you havent done already, as long as youve taken the pressure to the stated 1 or 1,5bar and when on the needle shoots up towards the red, then defo pressure fault inside the boiler and its not coping with the expansion, contact your local engineer or put a thread on here for need an engineer, good luck,

massive case of read the instructions here Kris ! re the original question, its likely theres an issue with part of the boiler that an OIL technician can sort out fairly easily.

 

[Corinda]

Thanks for the replies. I've contacted my oil technician, but he's away for a few days. Fortunately, it's not the middle of winter yet! 🙂

By the way, since my first post, I managed to re-set the gauge to 1.5 bars. However, overnight, the pressure dropped below that. When I fired up the central heating, the gauge went well beyond where it should - leading to the usual loss of water from the outside boiler.

A shame, because I thought I'd solved the problem.

 

[Best]

Your engineer might as well give the boiler a full service when they come to sort out the over pressure problem. It's very common fault & needs checked / fixed once a year to prevent it happening.

 

[SimonG]

A foot pump or new part required. Which is why I always check it on a service.

 

[Corinda]

Thanks, again, for the replies. The boiler did have a full service in August. Just my bad luck, I suppose, that something's gone wrong so quickly.