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In most cases, you begin to deal with a leak when water is already dripping from the pipe or, even worse, a fistula appears. However, to restore small defects in the early stages is much easier, and therefore the timely diagnosis – is to reduce the risk of all sorts of options for utility disasters of local and, unfortunately, inter apartment scale, reducing the material costs. At a minimum, you will only have to pay for the repair of the pipes, and not to restore the apartment after water damage.
How to find a leak in the heating system?
– If there is a trace of rusty undercurrents on the threads of the connections;
– Swelling appears on the surface of metal-plastic pipes;
– Areas appear on the pipe that do not dry out for a long time;
– After wrapping the pipe with toilet paper some parts of it quickly get wet;
– Droplets of water appear under the pipe or a thin trickle oozes from the crack.
In this case, it remains to determine the degree of violation, choose how to fix the defect and proceed to work.
Much more difficult situation when the leak is hidden in the floor screed or in closed areas. However, and in this case, the leak can be detected, with the help of a manometer – water leak detection, which measures the pressure. And the method itself of finding the defect is sometimes called the method of opening taps in turn.
The method has several steps:
- pipes, radiators are completely filled with coolant. Working pressure is set;
- Water flow is blocked, valves and taps on all sections are screwed;
- System is stagnating for two-three days.
- Gradually open the taps, from the point of water outlet from the boiler. After each node is opened, the pressure gauge readings are recorded. If after opening the shut-off valves the pressure drop is noted – you are on the right track and this is the section that should be carefully inspected for leaks.
If you are convinced that the leakage of coolant water in the heating system is possible exactly in the closed section of the screed monolith of a warm floor – it is necessary to dismantle the floor covering, to inspect the pipes inside the screed.
In order not to disassemble the entire area it is worth finding out how the pipes are laid in the contour of the underfloor heating. The method is simple enough – the entire surface of the floor is wet with water, connect the boiler, start heating. Places on the floor, under which the pipes are laid, dry out most quickly (in some cases, at the same stage identify and leak – this area can dry out more slowly).
After determining the location of pipes, partially remove the coating and open the screed. In most cases, the leak is already visible here and appears as a wet damp area.
Leaking heating pipe what to do?
So, if you have detected the first signs of a leak – it is worth trying to restore the integrity or stop the leak yourself, home, available at hand means or special factory devices for sealing pipes.
In the case of a large hole, the action is very simple, but here you will definitely need the help of a professional for heating services canberra, so before all active interventions call emergency services. And only then begin to take action to eliminate: try to shut off the heating medium.
If the leaking section or a radiator at the inlet and outlet have stopcocks – shut off the problem area. In a private house such actions are quite harmless, but if you live in an apartment building, and you know exactly what your part of the heating system is not installed bypass line – do not forget to inform the neighbors about the shutdown, ongoing work and the reason for overlapping heating.
How do I fix a leak in my home heating system?
So, the problem is established, but while it is only the initial stage, dripping without pressure and the water is not hot – minor repairs can be carried out without disconnecting the system.
The most reliable and simple way of action – the application of a clamp.
As an insulating material, you will need a strip-cut rubber. You can use rubber from bicycle cameras, car chambers, rubber boot shirts, rubber gloves. The main thing is that the width of the cut strips completely overlap the leaking place.
We wrap the pipe, tighten the bandage, so that the layers of the bandage fit tightly together. If there are no signs of leaking, we fix the resulting structure – tighten it with wire, car clamps or a strip of tin and tighten it with bolts.
All these operations are performed faster and easier if you buy special clamps for factory-made pipes. These devices vary in diameter and width, you can easily choose the right size for you, and most importantly – the appearance of this “bandage” on the pipe will look aesthetically, accurately.
Ideally, if time permits and additional material costs do not bother you – replace all problematic areas.
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