Central Heating Leak Detection
If you are topping the boiler up every few days, the heating system is leaking. Tracer gas in the circuit and a thermal camera on the pipe runs show us exactly which length of pipe or which joint has failed.
Central heating leak detection, step by step
A sealed heating system should hold its pressure for months. When the gauge keeps falling and there is no water at any radiator valve, the leak is in a hidden part of the circuit: under a floor, inside a wall chase, in a screed or behind a bath panel. The boiler is usually blamed, but in our experience it is far more often a pipe joint or a corroded length of copper somewhere on the run.
We start at the boiler with a pressure test and a look at the pump, the expansion vessel and the pressure relief pipe, so a boiler fault is ruled in or out before anything else. Then we run the heating and scan every pipe run with the thermal camera: warm pipes show clearly through floors and plaster, and a wet patch beside one shows even more clearly. Where the run is buried or the leak is small, we drain the affected section and charge it with hydrogen tracer gas, which finds its way up through the floor to the detector directly over the leak.
Once the leak is marked we open only that spot, cut out the failed section and refit it in copper or barrier pipe, refill, bleed and pressure test the system again. Photographs of the leak before and after go into your report.
Heating leaks in our own photos
From your first call to a leak you can see in the report
Call or WhatsApp with a few photos and a line about the symptoms. We ask a handful of questions, agree a fixed price and book the survey, usually for the same or the next day.
On arrival we pressure test the mains, hot water and heating, check the meter and test the escaping water, so we know what we are looking for before the detection starts.
Thermal imaging, the acoustic ground microphone and tracer gas are used as the pipework dictates until the leak is marked on the floor or wall.
You get a written report with readings, thermal images and photographs, ready for a trace and access claim. If you want the leak fixed, we open that one spot and repair it.
A report your insurer can act on
Most buildings insurance policies include trace and access cover for finding a hidden leak and making good the way in. Our report is written for that claim: what we tested, what we found, where it is, with photographs, thermal images and readings.
- Turn off the stop tap or the heating and stop topping up
- Photograph the damage, the boiler gauge and the meter
- Tell your insurer a leak is suspected and detection is being arranged
- Trace and access pays to find the leak and make good the access
Heating leaks: questions answered
My boiler keeps losing pressure but I cannot see a leak. Is it the boiler?
Sometimes, but more often it is a pipe or joint hidden in the floor or a wall. We check the boiler, pump, expansion vessel and pressure relief pipe first, then trace the pipework, so you get a definite answer rather than a replaced boiler that still loses pressure.
Can you find a heating leak under a concrete or screeded floor?
Yes. Heating pipes run warm, so the thermal camera shows the run through the screed and any wet area around it. For small leaks we add tracer gas to the circuit, which rises through the screed to the detector directly above the leak.
Do I need to turn the heating off before you arrive?
No. Please leave it on if you can. Warm pipes are far easier to see with the thermal camera, and we need the system running to reproduce the pressure loss.
Will you repair the heating leak on the same visit?
Usually, yes. Once the leak is located we open a small area, replace the failed section, refill the system and pressure test it. If the repair needs a part we do not carry, we make the system safe and return.
Is a central heating leak covered by home insurance?
Many buildings policies include trace and access cover, which pays for finding the leak and making good the area that had to be opened. Our report gives your insurer the evidence they need. Cover for the repair itself and the water damage depends on your policy.
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Think it is a heating leaks problem?
Call now and we will tell you straight away whether it needs a same-day visit. Or send a photo of the stain, the meter or the boiler gauge on WhatsApp.
07516 755 680