what's the little red tank next to my potterton boiler?

[neemic]

I have a Potterton suprima L100 boiler which has stopped working - it's only a year or 2 old. Next to it is a little red cylindrical (water?) tank with a gauge. The red indicator is pointing at 1 point something, the max on the gauge would be 4.0, and the black arrow is close to zero. I'm thinking this may be something to do with the problem! You may have noticed I'm not competent to do much more than press the reset button on the boiler (which doesn't help, by the way), but just wondering how this is all supposedd to work...explanations need to be basic, obviously!

[alan30]

I believe the systen runs slightly pressurised. In my system there is a pipe to add water via a couple of valves.  When they explained the system I was told there were a number of pressure sensors on the system any one of which one could shut the system off if pressure dropped.  In my old house I always had to get someone out to repressurise, they told me here just to top it up but I am not sure how straightforward it is.

[Buenchico]

There's water leaking from your system and it needs recharging. (Contact the installer).

I don't know anything about boilers either, but I've been reading page 3 of your boiler's handbook:
http://www.potterton.co.uk/products/literature/Potterton _Suprima_L_User_Guide.pdf

Chris

[Hammer]

The red tank is an expansion tank and will 'soak up' any excess pressure within the system.

The guage should be somewhere around the 1 bar point, and you can re-pressurise it very easily yourself. If it keeps dropping though, you have a bigger problem.

To increase the pressure, find the filling loop (usually has a vale on a flexible bit of piping) and turn the valve. You will hear the water entering the system and see the guage moving up.

Look here for some generalised advice.

[neemic]

Thanks for the advice guys - plumber on the way (can't risk the wrath of wife by messing it up completely!)

 

Cheers!