Why is my central heating boiler leaking problems and cures

Have you just walked up to your boiler and thought to yourself, why is my central heating boiler leaking? This article is just about to answer most or all of your questions when it comes to central heating boiler leaking problems and there cures. When water leaks from the boiler, the first thing you need to worry about is the damage it is causing and the possibilities of any further problem to water leaking within the central heating boiler. The problem that often comes into the mind of the public and water leaks within the central heating boiler, you will most likely not be qualified and a member of the gas safe register, meaning, you will not even be allowed to inspect why your central heating boiler is leaking.

12 Common questions related to why is my boiler leaking

Why is there water dripping from my central heating boiler?
I have water coming out of the expansion pipe that is connected to the boiler, what should i do?
Why is there water pouring from my central heating boiler?
Water leaking from my central heating boiler and now it has stopped?
Can I inspect my own water leak on my central heating boiler?
Can a plumber fix a leak on the central heating boiler?
Do you have to be gas safe to fix a leak on the central heating boiler?
What are the common water leaks on the central heating boiler?
How much does it cost to fix a leak on a central heating boiler?
Who should I call when I have a leak on my central heating boiler?
Can the expansion vessel cause the central heating boiler to leak?
When filling my combination/pressurised central heating system up, my boiler leaks, what can this be?

Why is there water dripping from my central heating boiler

If you are finding that you have water dripping from your central heating boiler system then the cause of this can turn out very costly, there can be a number of reasons why you have water leaking from the central heating boiler. One of the main reason can be due to the expansion vessel collapsing and the water coming out of the auto air vent. If the water over pressurises due to there being no expansion, then more evidence can be found when the water comes out of the expansion pipe.

I have water coming out of the expansion pipe that is connected to the boiler, what should i do

If you have water coming from with the expansion pipe then it is very important to call a gas safe engineer. By trying to solve the water leak that is most likely coming from a pipe just outside your wall, you are putting your central heating system in a vulnerable way of exploding, which has been a common problem as experienced with plenty of emergency plumbers and gas safe registered engineers.

Why is there water pouring from my central heating boiler

If you are finding that you have water literally pouring from your central heating boiler, then the first thing you need to do is turn the leaking central heating boiler into the off position and turn the mains water stop valve off, there is still a good chance that there will be water pouring from the boiler as you have only isolated 50% of the plumbing, however, as the boiler relies on the mains water to pressurise a combination boiler or a pressurises system, you will find the water that is pouring from the boiler is only the remaining water from within the central heating system. If you are unable to stop any water from pouring out of your boiler, then the only thing to do is to call an emergency plumber that is gas safe registered.

Water leaking from my central heating boiler and now it has stopped

Have you had water leaking from your central heating boiler but for some reason, when you call someone out, there is no water leaking at all, just below are some of the reasons.

Maybe you have had bad weather and the rain water has been going down your badly fitted flue.
When water is at it’s hottest, it expands and if you have a leak upon expansion, then this will be the only water you will be able to find the leak on your central heating boiler.
Again, when the water expands and the expansion vessel is unable to expand and contract with the pressure of the water, there are only 2 areas that the water most like will escape apart from leaks that have occurred on parts and that is, either the pressure release valve or the automatic air vent.
You may get a water leak on the filling loop when trying to fill up the central heating system pressure to 1.2 to 1.5 bar on the filling loop itself. This can be that the filling loop is either damaged or isn’t connect correctly
If you are finding that you have water leaking from a pipe that is leading to the outside or nowhere at all, this can be that the pipe from the pressure release valve has not been correctly fitted due to either not completing the work or tightening up correctly.

Can I inspect my own water leak on my central heating boiler

If you decide to try and inspect your own central heating boiler leaking, then your putting yourself and others at risk of further complications and can even result in Injury or death. We are not trying to scare you but not even an emergency plumber that is not gas safe must not enter the boiler due to the dangers involved.

Can a plumber fix a leak on the central heating boiler

As explained in the above paragraph ‘can I inspect my own central heating boiler leaking’. The answer to this is no, unless you are gas safe register and proven competent to do so. If you or an emergency plumber that isn’t gas safe register start to fix a water leak on the central heating boiler, but then decide to pass this off to a gas safe engineer once you have decided that too much is too much, you run the risk of having the central heating boiler condemned and require a new central heating boiler to be fitted altogether.

Do you have to be gas safe to fix a leak on the central heating boiler

To fix a leak on the central heating boiler, you have to be gas safe registered, being gas safe registered proofs that the engineer who may be also a qualified plumber or just a gas engineer, that he/she is competent to work on gas appliances such as central heating boilers.

What are the common water leaks on the central heating boiler

Common leaks on the central heating boiler can be from the pump, heat exchanger, expansion vessel, auto air vent, pressure release valve or other valve related to having water pressure stored inside.

How much does it cost to fix a leak on a central heating boiler

To start with, when having a water leak on the central heating boiler, you will most likely find that you require a gas safe emergency plumber, this is to firstly investigate of where the leak is coming from and if your the lucky customer which is about 50% of them, the leak will be resolved there and then. The cost to fix this if using our service can be between £99 to £164 but if your like the other 50% of our customers that come to us, you can either pay £164 upwards to even having a new central heating boiler.

Who should I call when I have a leak on my central heating boiler

If you have a your central heating boiler leaking, you can either call an emergency plumber that is gas safe registered or one that you already know, you can also search around trying to find a gas safe engineer or you can call us on 07720 247 247 and we will arrange for an engineer to visit you in a plumbing emergency to your convenience.

Can the expansion vessel cause the central heating boiler to leak

If you have a leak on the central heating boiler and worried if it may be the expansion vessel, then the answer to this is most likely yes and even more likely if the water stops to leak when the gas safe engineer has turned up. Replacing the expansion vessel can be one of the worse jobs as in some cases it may involve a days work, however, a gas safe engineer can add an expansion vessel externally to the central heating boiler. It is always advised to inspect the auto air vent and the pressure release valve as these are common faults that occur when the expansion vessel collapses. To find out if the expansion vessel has collapsed, the gas safe engineer can place a pressure testing kit to test if there is any pressure coming out.

When filling my combination/pressurised central heating system up, my boiler leaks, what can this be

If you find that you have a leak when pressurising the central heating system, this can either be the filling loop, the pressure release valve could be faulty if the water is coming out of the expansion pipe and it not even reaching the maximum pressure. It is common for a leak to occur because the filling loop has not been correctly turned off and then the boiler is going past the 3-bar. To lower the water pressure, you will firstly need to turn the filling loop off and then start bleeding central heating radiator until the pressure goes down which can take about 10-minutes or more so be patient.

The least likelihood of finding a water leak once you have pressurised the central heating boiler back up can be, one of the parts in the boiler is leaking as mentioned in the paragraph ‘what are the common leaks on the central heating boiler.

If you have a central heating boiler leaking problem as such as explained above, then why not give us a call as your emergency plumber and gas safe registered.

If you are gas safe registered and would like to register yourself into our database when dealing with central heating leaking boilers, then please visit our plumbing register and download our latest emergency plumbing app.

Central Heating Boiler Leaking