Leaking/Dripping VVB

[JamesR]

Hey Forum,

We recently had installed a 160l combi VVB combined with a RTB16 Pillefyr, and not long after i noticed some wet patches on the floor in the VVB room.  Since it was -5oC outside and +10 inside (with currently a hole in the floor where the old olifyr stood) I thought it was some condensation.  I however noticed 3 days ago there coming drips from the VVB.

The drips vary, from sometimes nothing to quite a bit (i think when the furnace is heating the water up?).  In total it is 2-3 liters per day which I catch with a bucket underneath at the moment.

Can anyone advise on what the problem could be?  Here are some pictures to show the leaking pipe.

I think it has something to do with the pressure, maybe its a simple setting i could change.

http://s33.postimg.org/bjdrptutr/image.png
http://s33.postimg.org/vtb34yvyn/image.png

Thanks!

[michael f]

This is normal.
This is because water expands when heated up.
Place a bucket under.

[JamesR]

Ahh okay, that's good to know :p

Thanks Michael!

[J-B]

The dripping is from a safety valve, it might be a 6 bar valve you have, the normal is a 10 bar safety valve.
The installer/dealer might have chosen the lower one by accident, the only problem with that is the loss of Water when heating up the new Cold Water.
Cheers J-B.
PS sorry for some misspelling

[Leif P]

Before i saw your grafs i would give J-B right, but with that much water heated up each day, and heated up with about 18 degrees
each time it looks like normal

The dripping is from a safety valve, it might be a 6 bar valve you have, the normal is a 10 bar safety valve.
The installer/dealer might have chosen the lower one by accident, the only problem with that is the loss of Water when heating up the new Cold Water.
Cheers J-B.
PS sorry for some misspelling

[cejstrup]

Hey Forum,

We recently had installed a 160l combi VVB combined with a RTB16 Pillefyr, and not long after i noticed some wet patches on the floor in the VVB room.  Since it was -5oC outside and +10 inside (with currently a hole in the floor where the old olifyr stood) I thought it was some condensation.  I however noticed 3 days ago there coming drips from the VVB.

The drips vary, from sometimes nothing to quite a bit (i think when the furnace is heating the water up?).  In total it is 2-3 liters per day which I catch with a bucket underneath at the moment.

Can anyone advise on what the problem could be?  Here are some pictures to show the leaking pipe.

I think it has something to do with the pressure, maybe its a simple setting i could change.

http://s33.postimg.org/bjdrptutr/image.png
http://s33.postimg.org/vtb34yvyn/image.png

Thanks!

We had the exact same problem as you. It's not the safety valve or the temperature difference. Problem will go away if you fit an expansion tank on the hot water tank.

Here's a picture where I've marked where we installed the expansion tank and where it's connected to. Also marked our safety valve and where the water used to leak as you can see it's the same place yours is leaking.

[JamesR]

Before i saw your grafs i would give J-B right, but with that much water heated up each day, and heated up with about 18 degrees
each time it looks like normal

Its particularly bad at the moment since we just had a circulationspumpe installed (31-05-2016).  According to the pumps manual (Grundfos up 15-14 ba pm), it takes 2 weeks to learn and adapt to the users routine.   This means for the first 2 weeks it will be pumping hot water through the system every X minutes.   This is why I have noticed more water than usual, but I hope it will go down when it isn't heading up so often.

[JamesR]

We had the exact same problem as you. It's not the safety valve or the temperature difference. Problem will go away if you fit an expansion tank on the hot water tank.

Here's a picture where I've marked where we installed the expansion tank and where it's connected to. Also marked our safety valve and where the water used to leak as you can see it's the same place yours is leaking.

Hmm interesting... i'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.  Thanks for the info.

Am I too naive to say I would have expected the professional VVS company we used to anticipate this kind of thing, and installed it from the start?

[michael f]

It is not normal to mount the expansion tank on the hot water.
Normally, there is a pipe for drainage or a bucket below.

[cejstrup]

Hmm interesting... i'll see how it goes over the next few weeks.  Thanks for the info.

Am I too naive to say I would have expected the professional VVS company we used to anticipate this kind of thing, and installed it from the start?

Yes, unfortunately you are    We thought so as well. I had to search the internet to find a solution which was the expansion tank on the HWT.

[cejstrup]

It is not normal to mount the expansion tank on the hot water.
Normally, there is a pipe for drainage or a bucket below.

nevertheless, I found others having done the same on the 'net . And it has worked 

We had several liters pr day coming out until we got the expansion tank installed .Since then, not a drop