my parents recently had a vaillant combi boiler fitted in their loft (as advised by plumber)but the pressue gauge as dropped several times already,leaving them with out any hot water,central heating or both & my mum who's in her late 60's keeps having to climb into the loft & turn certain taps/valves to rectify the problem.i cringe at the thought of my mum having to do this but she's very independent,surely either "vaillant" or the fitter could come up with a better solution,i'd go ape if i had to keep messing about like that,plus it's just not reliable,can you suggest a solution please?

mrs j revill, August 2008

first, if the pressure keeps dropping there is a leak on the system somewhere, check all radiators and pipework you can see, look for patches on the ceiling, the smallest of leaks will cause pressure loss, (only a few pints need to be lost for the pressure to drop), second, a filling loop and pressure gauge can be installed somewhere more accessible on the system, this will cost money but will be cheaper than moving the boiler as even a system with no leaks has to be topped up once or twice a year

tojo, August 2008