New hot water cylinder?

Ok thanks, I'm getting the idea now. In terms of pressure some boilers need a certain amount of water pressure to run. Its that because you need to have a certain flow rate of water through the boiler? How often should a closed system need topping up and do you do it when the boiler is running? (While you can read the pressure gauge on the boiler?) I have a manual valve to put water into the heating system.
 
You have a sealed system. no small tank in attic. Best to read gauge when system is cold as water increases in volume (it expands) when hot. For example if your system is set at 1bar it will increase to 1.5bar when hot and return to 1bar as it cools. You should only top it up once in a blue moon. If you do it a lot, it can mean a leak or a problem with the expansion vessel.
 
I've only done it once about 2 yrs ago. Had someone in sorting out other problems and he noticed the pressure was low. Then realised there was no way of getting any water into the system by the original plumber (house bought from new), so a valve etc for that was added. Need to do it again, now. It was suggested to put an automatic valve on it. I didn't think it was needed. I generally look at the pressure from time to time anyway. There maybe a small leak in the system. I haven't tracked it down yet.
 
That is very strange as presumably the first plumber filled the system with water first day. I have found filling loops/Automatic filling valves in very unusual places. Attic, behind cupboards that were not there when system installed etc.

I,m with you on thinking an AFV is unnessary, they canmask leaks . By the sounds of it your system is ok. If there was a small leak, your gauge would have dropped to zero after time certainly months. If you suspect a small leak now, check any works that have been done recently like the filling loop.
 
I know theres one rad weeping a tiny bit. There was another leak which I need to lift a floor board to access, but it seems to stop on its own. Nothing the original plumber has done would surprise me. He was useless.
 
The previous owner of my house was and still is a plumber. Some of the bodges in it make me shudder. There is a structural beam upstairs which was cut half way through to install central heating. I spotted it when I had a look under the floor boards, it is now categorised as 'out of site, out of mind'. It holds up the bathroom and back bedroom floors. Problem is, the wife wants the bathroom tiled, but I dont want the additional weight on it! The filling loop is hidden under the floor boards, under the stairs. The hot water cylinder is down stairs (was back boiler), first in the circuit and there was no valve to the coil in it! So I could not balance the system. This meant that two radiators would not heat, in an extension he added. He even made attempts to fix this! I added a valve to the feed to the cylinder, closed it half way and hay presto. Hot radiators. My fix also allowed me to stop the upstairs radiators heating, then the central heating was off and the immersion was set to bath! The system leaked in 3 places (that I know of). One is a Blank from him moving a radiator. I went to tighten it and a half turn later. Sh*t the blank and olive came off the (22mm copper) pipe, along with half the water in the system. The second leek is at an other junction were the pipe does through a wall, so I cant get at it. The third is a faulty stop cock at the pump, I have had a new one for the last two years, but yet to install it. To top it all off, when he moved a couple of the radiators he used standard plastic cold water pipe.
 
aircobra19 said:
I know theres one rad weeping a tiny bit. There was another leak which I need to lift a floor board to access, but it seems to stop on its own. Nothing the original plumber has done would surprise me. He was useless.
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Best to tighten fitting under the floor, as i said earlier, when water heats it expands. this expansion can seal small leaks but they may return when volume decreases.
 
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