Pressure testing of the heating system by air: SNiP, requirements, procedure, equipment

In a private house, the heating system is different from that installed in multi-unit buildings. This may sound funny, but systems in private homes are much more complex in design. After all, they can include a warm floor, and radiators with a large number of connections. Pressure testing of the heating system by air is carried out only after final installation. In order to perform this work, you need to use special equipment - automatic or manual. If one is available, then there will be no difficulties. But it is necessary when taking air or liquid into the system to take into account the fact that time intervals are specified in the standards.

Crimping - what is it?

Pressure testing of the heating system by air in a private house is needed in order to check the tightness of all connections. Once you have completed all installation work, you need to conduct a test and commissioning. But if leaks are detected, it is forbidden to use the system. Pressure testing is a test of the heating system by forcing air or liquid under pressure into it, which will exceed the working one by about two times.

In private households, all contours of radiators, underfloor heating, as well as connections, must be carefully checked. Be sure to pay due attention to boilers, electric pumps, water boilers, if any, in the system design. The requirements for crimping will be discussed later in our article.

Using crimping, you can determine the ability of all elements and materials to withstand high pressure for a long time. In the event that the tests were successful, you can begin to operate the equipment. If not, the defects are repaired and re-diagnosed.

When is pressure testing done?

All work is carried out strictly according to SNIP-41-01-2003, which clearly indicates when, by what methods, the heating system is crimped. In the same document you will find everything about the requirements for ventilation and air conditioning. There are three cases where a test is required:

1. Primary pressure testing - performed immediately after installation. Diagnosis is made before the pipes are plugged into the gates. The underfloor heating system must also be accessible - it must not be poured before crimping. It should be noted that it is allowed to re-diagnose all the contours after the manufacture of the screed and termination. In this case, you can get rid of trouble.
2. Periodic hydrotesting should be carried out every year before the start of the heating season and immediately after it. The purpose of the test is to pre-prepare the heating system for operation.
3. Extraordinary tests must be carried out after each repair or long downtime of the equipment. Diagnostics are especially important in cases when water is drained from the system.

In all these cases, crimping will be a tool that will allow you to diagnose the system and pre-identify all the problem areas in the equipment. Indeed, in the event that a leak occurs, in the cold season, heating will not be very effective.

Work Rules

And now let's talk about what are the requirements for crimping a heating system with air. Be sure to carry out all diagnostic work in the warm season. You can test heating at sub-zero temperatures, but only in emergency cases. In this case, it is necessary to maintain the temperature above +5 degrees indoors.

Tests can be considered successful if:

1. During the diagnosis, you did not detect sweating seams, leaks in radiators, pipes, boilers, fittings, and other devices.
2. Pressure reduction in 5 minutes of diagnosis no more than 0.2 bar.
3. In the case of panel heating, the pressure on the manometer did not fall by more than 0.1 bar in 15 minutes.
4. It is allowed to drop no more than 0.5 bar in 10 minutes in hot water supply systems using metal pipes.
5. As for plastic pipes, a drop is allowed within half an hour, but no more than 0.6 bar. Over the next two hours, the drop should not exceed 0.2 bar.
6. If tests are carried out with compressed air for panel and steam heating, the pressure drop in the first 5 minutes by more than 0.1 bar is not allowed.

Diagnostic Methods

In total, two methods can be distinguished according to SNIP-41-01-2003, with which it is allowed to perform tests of the heating system:

1. Water testing is the primary method by which all circuits are tested. In this case, water should be pumped into the lower part of the pipes through the tap. It is allowed to pump liquid by both automatic and manual pressure testing pump. The advantage of this method is that it is very simple to perform all the work, and the efficiency of detecting leaks at altitude. The fact is that traces of liquid will immediately appear on the pipes.
2. Testing with air is not a very effective method, since it is quite difficult to detect leaks. But it is allowed to use such a technique at low temperatures - the air will not freeze. To pump air into the system, a compressor is used. It is connected using an adapter to the pipeline. In order to find a leak, you need to listen. As soon as you find an approximate leak, use a solution of soap.

Test pressure

According to SNIP 3-05-01-85, which was replaced in 2003, pressure testing must be carried out in accordance with the rules. When conducting work in apartment buildings, it is necessary that:

1. The pressure was more than 1 MPa (10 bar) - for hot water systems and heating circuits with heaters.
2. At least 10 bar for panel and convector heating systems.
3. At least 6 bar for circuits in which radiators made of pressed steel or cast iron are installed.
4. The pressure for hot water supply should be greater than the working one and 5 bar higher (but not exceeding 10 bar).

If panel heating and heat exchangers are used, the pressure should not have a pressure greater than the maximum permissible for devices. In the event that you carry out an air test in steam or panel heating, you need to check the pipes that are suitable for ventilation equipment. The air should have a pressure of 1 bar.

Testing Procedure

According to the rules for the technical operation of thermal devices, testing should be carried out in the following sequence:

1. The circuit is filled with water using a pressure tester. Fluid temperature should be around 45 degrees. Air must be vented through special vents.
2. Then, water is pumped with pressure for at least 10 minutes. During this time, you need to visually inspect all seams, pipe joints, connecting all equipment, fittings.
3. After the pressure, you can bring it to maximum pressure and hold it for 10 minutes. If pipes are made of polymeric materials, then tests should be carried out for at least half an hour.
4. In the event that the pressure does not change during the test, it can be judged that the defects are completely absent.

You can complete the tests and proceed directly to the operation of the equipment.

What kind of testing tool is needed?

And now let's talk about what kind of crimping equipment is used during the work. To perform hydraulic tests, it is necessary to use special design pumps (they are called crimping machines). You can find two modifications - electric and manual.

Hand pumps are a rectangle-shaped cell, water is poured into it, which is then pumped into the heating system. A plunger type pump is placed on its side, and a handle is located on top of it. It is with its help that the plunger of the pump is driven. There are pressure gauges on the case, with their help the pressure of the liquid pumped into the system is controlled. One shut-off valve allows water to be cut off after pumping is completed. The second valve allows you to drain the liquid from the tank.

In plunger pumps, the principle of operation is exactly the same as in simple piston pumps, which are used to pump bicycle or car chambers. But there is a difference - in the design of the plunger pump there is a cylindrical steel piston that moves in the housing with minimal clearance. It is with the help of this that it turns out to pump liquid into the heating system with a pressure of up to 60 bar.

The most important drawback of manual mechanisms is that it takes a long time to carry out pressure testing. Moreover, the time of the test depends on how long the heating circuits are. Sometimes it takes several hours to fully fill. Imagine how much effort you spend to pull the handle.

In order to reduce costs and automate the process, electric pumps are used by specialists. They work on the same principle as manual ones, only muscle power is replaced by an electric drive. Automatic systems are good in that you can set the desired level of pressurized pressure. As soon as it is reached, all equipment is switched off.

Automatic devices can pump liquid at a pressure of 40-100 bar. But there are industrial designs that can create pressures up to 1000 bar.

Please note that the Ministry of Energy sets the requirements according to which it is necessary to use pressure gauges for monitoring only the spring type, their accuracy class should be 1.5. The circumference of the housing should be more than 160 mm. The scale should be designed to measure the pressure, the value of which is at least 4/3 of the minimum, the division price is less than 0.1 bar.

Types of testing and crimping systems

As we were able to find out, in case of violation of the tightness of the heating system, heat transfer is significantly reduced. And the most important thing is that the working fluid is lost and it has to be constantly added. The norms that we talked about above should be taken into account when servicing heating systems with utilities and government organizations. As for private houses, adhere to, for example, SNIP 3-05-01-85 is not necessary.

Pressure testing should be carried out after the work is delivered to the customer. Tests should be carried out before commissioning. Further testing is recommended to be repeated every 5 years. When pressure testing a heating system with air, what pressure should be maintained? As in the case of the liquid method, it is necessary to double the value of the working pressure.

To conduct a diagnosis, you do not need to have special knowledge and skills, so anyone can perform it. It makes no sense to purchase an electric or manual unit, since the most primitive one will cost you at least $ 100. If you wish, you can rent a device, in big cities this opportunity is often provided by private individuals or companies.

In that case, if you do not want to take risks and conduct tests yourself, you can hire specialists. Upon completion of the procedure, they will give you an act of crimping the heating system, which will indicate how and under what conditions the work was carried out. But the cost of the services of such specialists is quite high - you will have to pay about 2,000 rubles for each hour.

Tests in apartment buildings

In apartment buildings, pressure testing of the air heating system can also be carried out. Necessary conditions for the work we will now consider. In the event that you find water leaks, they must be eliminated. But often without high pressure in the system, finding thin gaps in the seams is quite difficult. In apartment buildings, it is necessary to crimp both individual apartments and all highways.

It is necessary to complete the preparation:

1. Inspect all locking fittings. If the valves are made of cast iron, then be sure to replace the glands with them. Replace gaskets on flanged joints. All bolts that have lost their original appearance must also be replaced. Be sure to install new pressure gauges, it is recommended that you send the old ones for verification in order to decide whether they can be further used for measurements.
2. Visually inspect all pipes, fittings to detect even minor defects, damage. If you find problem areas, you need to quickly repair them.
3. Check the condition of the insulating material on the highways laid in the basement and between floors.

After preparation, you can begin to conduct direct crimping operations:

1. Fill the entire circuit with water with low hardness (so that scale does not appear). It is better to pump it into the system, of course, by an electric pump. Pressure - 6-10 bar. In a container with liquid, you need to lower the hoses - drain and feed. Next, connect the pump to the heating network and turn on the crimp. It is necessary to set the pressure in advance.
2. Observe for half an hour - during this period, the pressure should remain almost at the same level. In the event that the pressure does not drop, the test can be considered completed. You can fill the system with a working fluid and begin active operation.
3. If the pressure drops, then there are defects in the heating system. The procedure for pressure testing the heating system with air is about the same, but you will have to use a soap solution - without it it is difficult to find a leak. Once you find the defects, you can begin to empty the system and repair. After carry out a repeated diagnosis of all heating.

The input unit is carried out in the same way - the pressure should be about 10 bar.

Testing in private homes

It should be noted that in autonomous heating networks that are used in private homes, the pressure is usually not more than 2 bar. Therefore, in order to conduct tests, it is necessary to pump liquid into the system at a pressure of 3.5-4 bar. It is allowed to use both the air method of crimping and the hydraulic.

Testing sequence:

1. First, drain the coolant and pump pressure water into the heating circuit. Be sure to add the additives that are used when flushing the system. Water fills the circuit through a pipe located at the bottom.
2. Filters must be thoroughly cleaned before flushing. Rinsing is recommended at least once a year.
3. Then drain the flushing fluid and fill the system with clean fluid. You can skip this step if you let the flushing liquid cool down to 45 degrees. After that, it is necessary to pump more water with the pressure testing device to bring its pressure to 4 bar.
4. If you use a manual crimping machine, then fill the tank with liquid, then connect it to the drain pipe of the heating circuit. Next, you need to open the taps and pump water. This is done simply - you need to raise and lower the handle of the device. As soon as the required pressure is reached, close all valves.
5. Leave the entire system in full for about half an hour and watch carefully for pressure. In the event that a drop of less than 0.2 bar occurs over a period of 30 minutes, we can talk about the absence of leaks. If the pressure drop is too large, then you need to find and eliminate the defects.

Remember that it is imperative to comply with the permissible pressure standards when performing crimping operations. It should also be noted that there is a high probability of leaks inside the walls. In this case, a heat radiation meter is needed. Only he is able to detect the presence of leaks of hot fluid in the walls or under the floor.

Some may wonder: "What pressure do you need to maintain when pressure testing a heating system with air?" Air is not a liquid, therefore it is allowed to pump about 2 bar into a system whose length is not more than 10 meters. But it all depends on the specific heating system, its length and volume. If it is relatively small, pressure can be reduced during testing.