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3 minutes ago, curlass24 said:

Hello, we recently replaced our water pump which was leak in several places.

 

it now goes off probably 4 / 5 times a day. Is this normal? or is it likely we still have a leak?

 

Thanks,

 

Malcolm

 

 

You could have a leak elsewhere.

 

Have you had a gander in the cabin bilge?? If yours is a narrowboat the builders often put an inspection plug as far back in the cabin floor as possible. Pull it out and have a look as any water leaking from the pipework should gravitate there.

 

On some systems the pump will run in response to water in the calorifier cooling too.

 

 

Edited by MJG
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2 hours ago, MJG said:

 

You could have a leak elsewhere.

 

Have you had a gander in the cabin bilge?? If yours is a narrowboat the builders often put an inspection plug as far back in the cabin floor as possible. Pull it out and have a look as any water leaking from the pipework should gravitate there.

 

On some systems the pump will run in response to water in the calorifier cooling too.

 

 

Ok thanks, I've been through all the pipework and can't find a leak anywhere other than the previous at the pump join that we've fixed. 

 

Re calorifier - is that due to the pressure changing depending on water temperature? We have and eberspacher which runs every morning for an hour. 

1 hour ago, Machpoint005 said:

Is the bog flush system leaking into the black water (holding) tank?

We have cassette so no

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Happened to us last year, checked for leaks and it transpired it was a symptom of batteries getting low and not delivering sufficient leccy to the pump. Checked the batteries using my idiot proof tester and 2 of the batteries failed. They had been in for a while  so fitted new and lo and behold no more water pump noises. Probably get lots of electrical boffins disagreeing now but new batteries certainly did the trick. I, by the way, am a complete numpty on the electrical front.

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Might be a slow backleak from the accumulator through the valves in the pump to the water tank. Try isolating the tank and see if the pump is still cycling. Probably not a big deal unless it gets worse.

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3 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Give the PRV close to the calorifier a few twists. They can scale up and when you twist them you jump the valve up and down so the rush of water often flushes any scale away. Monitor its outlet for dribbles/drips.

If your PRV is not leaking, then leave it alone. Operating it manually, if it has been in some time, is likely to dislodge something that does not yet leak, but it will do after that and will need replacing. Are you sure you don't have a leak from this?

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Could be a leaky expansion tank (like an accumulator). I had a leak for a year before I found it. There was an expansion tank after the calorifier (that I didn't even know was there) which had corroded through.

20180523_115330.jpg

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1 hour ago, Ssscrudddy said:

There was an expansion tank after the calorifier

There always should be if the cold inlet has an NRV (which most have). 

 

I appreciate you might already know this, I’m posting simply for those who may not know. 

  • Greenie 1
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On 22/05/2018 at 13:57, curlass24 said:

Hello, we recently replaced our water pump which was leak in several places.

 

it now goes off probably 4 / 5 times a day. Is this normal? or is it likely we still have a leak?

 

Thanks,

 

Malcolm

 

Mine,like yours on some days goes off four or five times,and on others doesn't go off at all [except when turning the tap on]

There is no sign of a leak anywhere,so I am assuming that the system is de-pressurising itself due to scale or something not allowing the non return valve to function properly.

Try turning the tap on full blast for a few seconds,to see if that works.

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The sight of the corroded expansion vessel shows why a fresh water one , either white or blue, should be used. Red ones are for primary water in heating systems where they only show symptoms like this when there is a leak on a system and fresh water is continually introduced.

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When I had a similar problem it was a leak from the immersion heater connection to the (brand new) calorifier, which was being largely released as steam. A replacement immersion heater element was required to resolve this as sealant was unsuccessful.

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1 hour ago, Furness said:

Mine,like yours on some days goes off four or five times,and on others doesn't go off at all [except when turning the tap on]

There is no sign of a leak anywhere,so I am assuming that the system is de-pressurising itself due to scale or something not allowing the non return valve to function properly.

Try turning the tap on full blast for a few seconds,to see if that works.

Ok thanks, we also find that if the tap is not on full blast the pump jitters / goes on and off. Could this be related to scale in pipes etc?

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If you mean cycling when the pump turns itself on and off at regular intervals all it means is that the water flow from the tap is less than the volume produced by the pump so the pressure rises, the pump cuts ff, the pressure drops so t cuts back in again.

 

It might be sale n the pipes but I don't think that I have ever seen that - in the calorifier yes, but it wont make any difference to water flow in there. It could be long or undersized supply pipes or restrictions in the tap design. More likely just a slight;y oversized pump.

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1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

If you mean cycling when the pump turns itself on and off at regular intervals all it means is that the water flow from the tap is less than the volume produced by the pump so the pressure rises, the pump cuts ff, the pressure drops so t cuts back in again.

 

It might be sale n the pipes but I don't think that I have ever seen that - in the calorifier yes, but it wont make any difference to water flow in there. It could be long or undersized supply pipes or restrictions in the tap design. More likely just a slight;y oversized pump.

Or incorrectly pressurised accumulator 

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Another leak I had was on the threads of the immersion heater. Very intermittent. It would sometimes trip the rcd for the immersion heater. Water was seeping out around the threads but only if the tank was completely cold, being liveaboard on shore power is didn't usually get cold enough to leak. Ptfe tape solved that.

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25 minutes ago, Ssscrudddy said:

Another leak I had was on the threads of the immersion heater. Very intermittent. It would sometimes trip the rcd for the immersion heater. Water was seeping out around the threads but only if the tank was completely cold, being liveaboard on shore power is didn't usually get cold enough to leak. Ptfe tape solved that.

Same as my issue in post 13. Was yours a Surecal? Mine was brand new when it leaked and the reason water was only apparent when it was cold was due to it being released as steam when hot. I needed a replacement immersion to resolve it and the chap who fitted it said he had another one similar.

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2 hours ago, rgreg said:

Same as my issue in post 13. Was yours a Surecal? Mine was brand new when it leaked and the reason water was only apparent when it was cold was due to it being released as steam when hot. I needed a replacement immersion to resolve it and the chap who fitted it said he had another one similar.

I often found that with domestic immersion heaters.

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If there is no leak try letting out plenty of water from all taps and shower in case of trapped air or try adjusting the pump cut in pressure slightly.

Check the pump for any very slight leak. If a slight leak is present O rings on the inlet and outlet may need replacing.

Check the electrical connections to the pump for corrosion. 

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I had this experience - regular, short runs of the newly replaced water pump but no leaks - and the reason, it turned out, was that the new pump was rated at a higher pressure than the one it replaced.  This was just enough to make the pressure release valve on the calorifier to vent, which then caused the pump to run again ... and so on.  I put a pressure gauge on a suitable point in the system (might have been the washing machine fitting) and then adjusted the water pump until it was back within the limits of the calorifier vent. This sorted it out. Might be worth checking?

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