caravanj Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 We rent out a 2-year-old house which has a sealed pressurised heating system & today the tenant has texted to me to say that the boiler has stopped working because the gauge is showing 0.4 bar so I've replied rather sarcastically saying that at 0.4 bar it will stop & why hasn't he been keeping an eye on the gauge & re-pressurising it as per the instructions left for them. On checking the tenancy agreement I've found that the boiler isn't mentioned in the list of items that the tenant should do so I phoned the agent & was amazed to be told that they don't expect a tenant to re-pressurise the boiler as they could damage it. What's your take on this please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 We rent out a 2-year-old house which has a sealed pressurised heating system & today the tenant has texted to me to say that the boiler has stopped working because the gauge is showing 0.4 bar so I've replied rather sarcastically saying that at 0.4 bar it will stop & why hasn't he been keeping an eye on the gauge & re-pressurising it as per the instructions left for them. On checking the tenancy agreement I've found that the boiler isn't mentioned in the list of items that the tenant should do so I phoned the agent & was amazed to be told that they don't expect a tenant to re-pressurise the boiler as they could damage it. What's your take on this please? Unless your tenant is confident in re-pressurising the system and knows how to do it then it becomes the landlord's responsibility. Over pressurise the system and the relief valve will blow and you will have an even larger bill for call out and repair. Could you not have talked them through the re-charge process on the phone with your tenant? Your LA is correct in what they are saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 I agree with Mel on this one. Anything not as simple as can be trusted by a numpty is best left a lone by T's (and their mates). A T called to say she had repressured the boiler but now nothing was working. She had forgotten to turn off the fill valve. I'm sure the 3 bar relief had worked but often these things then don't reseat again resulting in a new one being needed. In this case the pressure had blown off a HEP elbow so the system relieved itself that way. Then there is checking for gas in the system (build up of hydrogen). Temperature rises so does pressure and relief valve relieves. System cools, now low pressure and fails to fire up (as yours perhaps). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 There seems to be some advantages with storage heaters & conventional gas central heating......there is certainly little or no maintenance required and hardly anything for tenants to screw up. Oh well !!! Thats progress eh ? My New Year resolution will be.............must TRY to be less cynical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Given choice between pressurized sealed system or loft header tank prone to risk of freezing and bursts, I'd definitely opt for former. Modern flats and houses that I know of have sealed systems rather than tanks. I wouldn't expect a need to check pressure more than once a year. It could be combined with the annual gas check and other servicing/ inspections. If pressure drops more often I would suspect a leak somewhere*. I also wouldn't expect or tenant or agent to attempt this without adequate instruction and knowledge. *Has the tenant been bleeding the rads? This lowers the pressure. If so either tell them not to, or instruct how to repressurize after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 Given choice between pressurized sealed system or loft header tank prone to risk of freezing and bursts, I'd definitely opt for former. Modern flats and houses that I know of have sealed systems rather than tanks. Well I expect if one has experienced frozen/ burst pipes it is likely to colour ones opinion of the risks. In 40 years and on many, many different properties, I have never had a frozen or burst pipe/ tank. I guess having a suitable installation & sufficient insulation mitigates the risk of freezing. I wouldn't expect a need to check pressure more than once a year. It could be combined with the annual gas check and other servicing/ inspections. If pressure drops more often I would suspect a leak somewhere*. I agree. Its just something else to potentially go wrong with these new systems that don't exist on older systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted December 27, 2012 Report Share Posted December 27, 2012 My New Year resolution will be.............must TRY to be less cynical Anyone up for a sweepstake on RL ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caravanj Posted December 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thanks for your replies. I did talk the tenant through the re-pressurising the system & stayed on the phone while he did it, the whole process taking less than a minute. I've checked with the heating installer who says that over-pressurisation won't cause any damage to the pressure valve which will just shut once the excess pressure has been vented so that's reassuring. Our agent does, however, make the tenant liable for maintaining the water softener system where the room for causing damage is quite high if granule salt is used instead of block salt. It's the inconsistency between the two appliances that puzzled me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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