hbooth Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Hi, I've taken it upon myself to plumb our new build and I'm using all hep2o push fit fittings and pipe. I decided to do a dry pressure test on both my hot and cold feeds and unfortunately there seems to be a slow leak on both hot and cold. What is the best way to detect the source of the leak? I've pressurised the system to 4 bar and in a few hours it's dropping to below 4 and when left over night it's down to 3bar. Does anyone have any advice they can give me to track down the leaks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 does the temperature drop overnight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenki Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 1bar drop due to temp change would seem excessive to me,. Soapy water in a spray bottle, and spray all joints. Make sure you spray the valve you are pressurising with😉. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted April 16, 2023 Share Posted April 16, 2023 Fit isolation valves into the system to break it down into smaller areas, these are also helpful for future maintenance use full bore type not crappy Screwfix 60pence ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Connect the pressure gauge to a short piece of pipe with a cap end on it and test the gauge before doing anything else. If the leak persists, then connect this lot to the cold mains and get some water into it at cold mains pressure. That's how I test, and you'll soon see where the leak is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberrys Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 Bear in mind wavin will want an 18bar wet test done for 45 mins. If there ever is a problem down the line and you wish to claim from them they have machines that can test if it has been tested correctly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbooth Posted April 17, 2023 Author Share Posted April 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Nickfromwales said: Connect the pressure gauge to a short piece of pipe with a cap end on it and test the gauge before doing anything else. If the leak persists, then connect this lot to the cold mains and get some water into it at cold mains pressure. That's how I test, and you'll soon see where the leak is. I was thinking to do exactly that. Testing the gauge will be easy enough, I just need to bring the mains water feed in from outside first which I was hoping could wait until after plastering but I'm thinking a full test with mains pressure will be the easiest way to track down the leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbooth Posted April 17, 2023 Author Share Posted April 17, 2023 2 hours ago, Huckleberrys said: Bear in mind wavin will want an 18bar wet test done for 45 mins. If there ever is a problem down the line and you wish to claim from them they have machines that can test if it has been tested correctly! I doub't it's an issue with threir products, I would suspect it's my dodge plumbing skills that are the issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberrys Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 1 minute ago, hbooth said: I doub't it's an issue with threir products, I would suspect it's my dodge plumbing skills that are the issue. I didn't mean it in thst way...just better to test how they recommend just incase there ever is an issue. At 18bar with water in you definitely find the leaks easy enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbooth Posted April 17, 2023 Author Share Posted April 17, 2023 51 minutes ago, Huckleberrys said: I didn't mean it in thst way...just better to test how they recommend just incase there ever is an issue. At 18bar with water in you definitely find the leaks easy enough! I don't have the equipment to do an 18bar wet pressure test. I'm thinking it may be best if I can find someone who can do it for me though. Like you say a wet test at 18bar will defo highlight any issues in the system . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonD Posted April 17, 2023 Share Posted April 17, 2023 41 minutes ago, hbooth said: I don't have the equipment to do an 18bar wet pressure test. I'm thinking it may be best if I can find someone who can do it for me though. Like you say a wet test at 18bar will defo highlight any issues in the system . Usual test procedure is 1.5x working pressure or 10bar for 45 minutes for standard fittings. It's just the slimline fittings that ask for 18bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbooth Posted April 17, 2023 Author Share Posted April 17, 2023 4 minutes ago, SimonD said: Usual test procedure is 1.5x working pressure or 10bar for 45 minutes for standard fittings. It's just the slimline fittings that ask for 18bar Ok thanks for the info. I've decided to get a plumber out who has all the right equipment and can do the necessary tests and checks and help me find the leak. At least the I can have high confidence in the pipe work that's there. For the sake of a few hundred quid I think it will be well worth it. Thanks to everyone for all the help and advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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