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Boiler leaking water drops since January 2021


plumbingo

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I have not called any professional because there is the Coronavirus "how long is a piece of string" Pandemic.

Since January 2021 boiler started leaking water drops after I saw heavy smoke coming from the flue, so I turned boiler off and took the bottom cover off to collect the drops.

I have put washing up bowl under the boiler to collect the water drops and then each day once or twice I empty it.

The boiler is a few years old and so part/s sourcing is a challenge and it probably requires a total boiler replacement.

From January 2021 to now I can see corrosion / limescale deposits and some rusty stains on the washing up bowl.

I have switched from gas central heating to electric radiators. To bathe I heat water pot and use bucket.

So I'd be grateful if professionals could tell me the steps on how to stop the boiler water drops until the coronavirus situation improves.

The system has hot water storage cylinder, cold water tank and is therefore called standard / regular / traditional / conventional boiler.

(i) Do I have to go into loft and do something at the cold water tank (large)?
(ii) Do I have to drain cold water tank (large), if so is this by siphon pump as using plumbing wrenches might be complicated because it could cause accident for layperson?
(iii) Do I have to shut the stopcock function in the cold water tank (large) - is there anything in the market to do it cleanly and for long time rather than using timber and string?
(iv) Do I have to insert a stopper / bung in the water outlet - how can I make sure that water flow does not shove-out the stopper / bung after a few days or weeks?
(v) Do I have an easier method - is there some pipe above the boiler that has a valve which can be switch off the water flow using a screw driver?
(vi) Do I have to do other stuff for doubly ensuring water drops whichmethod is used remains shut?
(vii) Do all registered plumbers / gas engineers have to carry gas masks by their regulation bodies, if eventually a professional has to be called?

Thank you.

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I would suggest the “smoke” seen was a heavy condensation plume from the boiler and not something to be concerned about. It sounds though that the condensate pipe in the boiler may have come loose - do you have any pictures of where the boiler is leaking from ..?

 

It sounds like you’re not entirely comfortable at what you are dealing with though so I would pick up the phone book - where are you located ..?

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Coronavirus ("how long is a piece of string" pandemic) vaccines as on October 24 2021 - are needed more for:
 

  1. eating - can't be masked,
  2. drinking - can't be masked,
  3. head face neck nose mouth ear eye cleaning / bathing in shared areas - can't be masked,
  4. dentistry work - can't be masked, and
  5. some medical work - can't be masked

Transmission is not being stopped by covid vaccines. This can be seen in the statistics. At all other stages, it is face masks and eyewear I'm afraid to say.

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If you are really worried at getting someone in to fix it,. then leave the window to that room wide open when he is there and leave the room. Wear your own mask.

 

I am sorry I am not going to live like a hermit in isolation. I have a life to lead and a living to earn.  I take it you never go out and live alone?

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we also lack other resources in the middle of the night – social connections, cultural assets, all the coping skills of an adult are unavailable at this time. With none of our human skills and capital, we are left alone in the dark with our thoughts.........mind.....concludes the problems it’s generated are unsolvable

https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-wake-around-3am-and-dwell-on-our-fears-and-shortcomings-169635?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

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If you really want a non contact resolution to this, then the only person that can do it is you, through a steep learning curve.

 

Post some pictures, lots of pictures, as best you can of what and where is leaking and all these valves you mention, together with a general view to put the detailed views into some form of context.

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8 hours ago, plumbingo said:

Coronavirus ("how long is a piece of string" pandemic) vaccines as on October 24 2021 - are needed more for:

  1. eating - can't be masked,
  2. drinking - can't be masked,
  3. head face neck nose mouth ear eye cleaning / bathing in shared areas - can't be masked,
  4. dentistry work - can't be masked, and
  5. some medical work - can't be masked

Transmission is not being stopped by covid vaccines. This can be seen in the statistics. At all other stages, it is face masks and eyewear I'm afraid to say.

 

We'll be living with Covid 19 for the foreseeable future and managing the risks, so I guess you've got to decide if you want a heating engineer to come round and fix your boiler, or come round for dinner, a shower, and a quick scale and polish.

 

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Sounds like a blocked condensate trap / discharge pipe etc. The "smoke" will be "plume", eg the steam created when excess levels of moisture meet the hottest parts of the heat exchanger. The condensate water is acidic, so is chewing through the steel case of the boiler as we type.

Google the manufacturers installation guide and in there it will tell you how the service the condensate trap. DO NOT run the boiler with the trap off, as that being removed opens a clear path to the burner chamber and there is a possibility that products of combustion may escape.

I'm not entertaining the covid jibber-jabber, but you need a plumber in ASAP to repair this, or one or two a little later to replace the rotten out boiler with a new one. Time to stop bathing with a thermos flask and get some degree of reality and a pragmatic solution to resolve this now.  

Edited by Nickfromwales
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The COVID risk of getting a qualified plumber to fix this is minimal.

 

Most of the risk would come from talking to someone not wearing a mask in a confined space. Open windows and leave him on his own to fix it if you are worried.

 

Messing around with a boiler whilst unqualified is a lot more dangerous than COVID.

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