IS YOUR BOILER LOSING PRESSURE BANBURY?

Boiler pressure is the pressure of the hot water in your system. Your
boiler heats up cold water and pumps it through the pipework in
your home to heat up radiators and your hot taps. It’s vital that the
right level of pressure is maintained in order for this hot water to
reach all the pipes and radiators in your home to heat it properly. If
your boiler pressure is too high, there may be too much water in the
system causing it to overload and turn off. A good way to try and
combat high pressure is to bleed your radiators to release some of this
pressure build up. If your boiler pressure is too low this could indicate
there is a leak somewhere in your system causing you to lose water
and therefore lose pressure.

Boiler pressure will fluctuate as your central heating is used as it heats
the water in the system up but it should return to a more stable level
when the heating is switched off and the water begins to cool. A normal
boiler pressure should be between 1 and 2 bars, which will be displayed on
your boiler’s pressure dial or on a digital screen. It may reach up to 2.5
bars when the central heating is on or hot water is being used, but this should return to between 1-2 bars once the water cools back down. Any higher or lower than this and it indicates a problem with your boiler pressure.

Although a leak is the most common reason for a boiler to lose pressure there may be a few other reasons for it such as if you have recently bled your radiators you may have let too much air escape leaving less pressure in your central heating system. You can fix this by adding more water into the system via the filling loop until the pressure is returned to normal. There may be faulty components inside your boiler like a faulty pressure relief valve or your boiler may just be old and worn out and in need of replacement.

The best way to check if your boiler pressure is low is by locating the pressure gauge on your boiler. On most modern boilers like a combi boiler the pressure gauge is usually a round dial on the front of your boiler or control panel. Older boilers may have their gauges underneath or amongst the pipework. Your pressure gauge should be between 1-2 bars with the ideal pressure often marked on the gauge in green and red indicating too low or too high pressure. Some boilers have a digital screen displaying the number of bars and an error code if its not within the normal amounts.

If your boiler has a digital display indicating the bar level it will show you fault codes if there is a problem present in the system, including if there is low pressure detected. These are a great way to help diagnose the issue before it becomes a big problem. These fault codes will vary with each make and model of boiler. It’s always a good idea to refer to your boiler’s manual if a fault code is present as each make and model of boiler will have different meanings for different fault codes. There are the most common fault codes for the top UK boiler manufacturers that show a drop in boiler pressure:

• Worcester bosch – 1017 W
• Alpha – E10
• Biasi – ER04
• Ariston – 108
• Baxi – E119
• Ideal – F1
• Vaillant – F22