bloody leaking central heating

[blinkythefish]

Hi all,

It seems my central heating has developed a leak. I have ruled out a dodgy pressure relief valve. The most obvious option to find the leak is to follow the pipes, bu 70%+ of the flat is hardwood flooring/tiles etc and I really don't want to haul it all up it in a search for a leak which could be anywhere.

Another option is to let the leak run until downstairs ceilling starts to leak...... For obvious reasons I am not keen on this approach.

I have seen people on the internet who use thermal imaging/fibre optic cameras to seek out leaks non invasivly. Has anyone used this kind of approach? How successful are they? In theory it sounds like a good idea, but if they cost a fortune and still doesn't find the leak, then I would have been better going with option 1.

Thanks

Graham

[PGM]

If you can't find the exact location and it is only a drip then this MAY work:

http://www.fernox.com/?cccpage=leak_sealer_ls_i&am...

I put some in because I had a small drip in a soldered joint in new plumbing I put in the heating system to a radiator. Didn't want all the hassle of draining/repairing/refilling/bleeding system so thought I'd give it a try thinking it probably wouldn't work but worth a try.

After a couple of days the leak was sealed. Always worth a try before having to smash things about.

[blinkythefish]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give that a go before trying anything more invasive....

[Simpo Two]

Ah yes, Radweld

[PGM]

Simpo Two said:

Ah yes, Radweld

Yes, I suppose it is

[blinkythefish]

Turns out the Radweld is unnecessary as option 2 was thrust upon me last night when the slight leak decided to break entirely. It seems I have installed a shower in the neighbours bedroom. At least I know where the leak is now..........

[PGM]

Oops, bad luck.

Insurance job then!

[Rgee]

I had a leak in the kitchen under the concrete screed at the start of year. The insurance company sent a firm round with thermal imaging and traced a 'hot spot' which another contractor dug up but no leak!. Cut a long story short they had 2 attempts with thermal imaging when that failed to find the source they drained and gas pressurised the system and still could not find it. Eventually they found it more by trial and error. My kitchen looked like trench warfare after they had finished all because of 3 poxy pinholes in the copy pipe.