Losing water pressure

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maverick784
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Post by maverick784 » Sun. Oct. 29, 2017 8:14 pm

Hello Everyone,

Trying to diagnosis why I'm losing water pressure on my EFM coal stoker (hot water system).
This has been happening for the last year or so.....I can go days without having to add water and the next time I might have to add water a couple days in a row, It's never a lot of water that needs to be added and it does not change in the summer or winter. I don't see any run off on the floor. I have duel zones and in both cases a portion of the copper heating tubing had been run under the concrete basement floor, not sure if it could be leaking there?
If anyone ever ran into anything like this before or would have any ideas on what I should be looking for, your advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

 
ziggy87
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Post by ziggy87 » Sun. Oct. 29, 2017 8:44 pm

Copper under concrete is never a good thing. I have seen oil supply line between tank and burner leak under concrete before.
Check all your soldier joints. Make sure that you don't have bad automatic air vent hidden that is seeping water. Make sure the vessel itself is sound especially coil gasket!
If you are not finding anything I would highly suspect the pipe buried in the concrete possibly leaking. You would possibly get a wet spot in the area of leak on the concrete but not always. Can you isolate the boiler from the rest of the system?

 
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StokerDon
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Post by StokerDon » Sun. Oct. 29, 2017 8:45 pm

Loosing water pressure most likely means there is a leak somewhere. If you have the metal jackets on your EFM it could be leaking at the DHW coil gasket. Most of the time you will not see this under the jacket. The heat from the boiler can evaporate it before it gets to the floor.
I think it is worth checking the copper pipes in the concrete. Do you have a way of isolating them from the system to see if this problem goes away?

-Don

 
lzaharis
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Post by lzaharis » Sun. Oct. 29, 2017 10:20 pm

If he has a mechanics stethoscope he will be able to find the leak if its in the concrete provided the circulator is shut off.


 
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Post by fifthg » Mon. Oct. 30, 2017 7:43 am

Due to the pressure loss being consant year-round,I suspect the dhw coil gasket on the back of your boiler being the culprit.You might not see the leak due to evaporation.It is a very common problem,and all you need to do is snug the nuts tighter on the studs.I would do this in an x-pattern,starting at the corners,and be careful not to over tighten.You will proba bly notice they arent too tight when you put a wrench on them.Try this first,is my advice.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Oct. 30, 2017 8:20 am

I agree on checking the coil gasket. If that checks out, you will have to do some additional troubleshooting. Letting the boiler cool to room temperature and valving off the rest of the system is a good way to determine if the leak is on the boiler side, or three rest of the system.

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Oct. 30, 2017 9:06 am

Check the ends of you baseboard radiators for signs of leakage. They typically have a vent at one end and may begin to leak at some point. It can be hard to detect with the covers in place.

 
maverick784
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Post by maverick784 » Sun. Nov. 05, 2017 3:04 pm

Thanks for all the replies.....The gasket had been replaced only a few years ago and I kept the cover off and I have not noticed any leaks at it. I also checked all the air vents and they are all closed. One think I told you wrong has that the pipe that runs under the concrete is not copper but steel, don't now if that would make any difference?
This maybe a dumb question, but since i'm losing pressure all year around and the system is not calling for heat in the summer, is there still water running through? If anyone would have any new advise, I would be happy to hear it.....Running out of ideas.

Thanks Again,


 
lzaharis
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Post by lzaharis » Sun. Nov. 05, 2017 3:33 pm

1. Your domestic hot water coil my have a hole in it.

2 the steel buried in the concrete my have a pin hole.

Can you shut off the DHW and still have hot water from another source?

You would need to purchase a Schraeder valve, a reducing busing and a pipe plug to match the N.P.T.
tapping size of the coil to test it for pressure.

If it starts pushing water after you remove the DHW piping to the coil you have found the leak of course.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Nov. 05, 2017 6:39 pm

Pardon me for asking since I don't have any experience with a boiler but, if the domestic coil had a pin leak, wouldn't that cause the boiler pressure to increase? Since DHW pressure is generally a lot higher than boiler pressure?

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Sun. Nov. 05, 2017 6:48 pm

Yes, a leak anywhere within the DHW coil will over-pressurize the boiler.

 
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Post by ziggy87 » Sun. Nov. 05, 2017 10:39 pm

Do you have zone valves or a flow check valve installed by the boiler? Remember high pressure always goes to low, so if there is a leak in the system it could be going out the return side of the boiler to seek equal pressure that or seeping out of the flow check if you have one on the supply side.

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