Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

[kay-jay]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

one thats earned me an extra tenner before........

always carry a 2ltr bottle of water in the van. i produced mine on a callout to a leak under a bath that was resulting in water through the ceiling in the night so they had turned the water off for a couple of hours.

she nearly cried when i offered her the water saying 'i bet you must be thirsty with the water off all this time'

got extra tenner, and 3 repeat jobs from them since and one was a proper earner!

 

[Guest123]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Just bought a chemical toilet out of our local caravan showroom. I was getting fed up when on long bathroom jobs, having to stop early and temporarily fit the toilet each night so that the customer had a loo until next day. Now they can wee and poo all they like in the chemical loo and it gets lifted in place each day.
Will be handy too for back of van on fishing trips up the highlands!

 

[dannyleebrazier]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

always check bleed valves are CLOSED before re-filling the heating system and then bleed one by one

 

[WaterTight]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

And when getting bored waiting for a big old double to refill don't be tempted to do something else a few feet away - the second you do it'll urinate pitch black water everywhere.

 

[GQuigley67]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

anyone know of those tools that bleed the rads while catching the water in the container are any good ?

 

[dontknowitall]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

anyone know of those tools that bleed the rads while catching the water in the container are any good ?

Memory escapes me but I think they're called rags or towels ...

When servicing a boiler, just before starting, turn it on briefly to make sure it's working, no matter what the customer says.

 

[GQuigley67]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

this little bad girl

Plumb-Pak Radiator Drain Bleed Tool#

 

[R1CKY]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Not sure if it has been said.

But when servicing an Open-Flued Appliance, check the ventilation first. Nothing worst than wasting time servicing a BBU and finding out at the end of it that there is no ventilation!

 

[GrahamM]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

this little bad girl

Plumb-Pak Radiator Drain Bleed Tool#

They are rubbish. Only fit certain bleed valves and there is a rubber seal that never seals properly. Stick to good old brass key and rag.

 

[WHPES]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Here's a useful one I was told today by an old guy - To fix leaking Danfoss HSV HPV etc motorised valve bodies where the leak is from the spindle, you do not need to disconnect the valve from the pipework. Also it's very easy to do and saves replacing the whole valve.

Remove the actuator, then the four screws holding the valve plate on. Carefully remove the top section (some types including the mid position valves have small parts which will spring apart when removed so be careful). Remove the circlip and take the spindle out. Replace the 2 "o" rings with 4mm x 2mm o rings (found in the Holdtite Metric O Ring Box (kit 5)) and lubricate with silicone grease. Reassemble and job done.

May be possible to do the same with other makes such as the Honeywell but I haven't tried yet!)

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

If you use Hep and Speedfit push fittings and pipe and run short of one or the other you can use Hep pipe with Speedfit fittings and vice versa. However, make sure you use the correct liner/insert for the fitting being used. EG if using Speedfit fitting with Hep pipe ensure you use a Speedfit liner/insert and vice versa!

 

[Guest123]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

If you use Hep and Speedfit push fittings and pipe and run short of one or the other you can use Hep pipe with Speedfit fittings and vice versa. However, make sure you use the correct liner/insert for the fitting being used. EG if using Speedfit fitting with Hep pipe ensure you use a Speedfit liner/insert and vice versa!

No you can't. There is a small difference between the diameter of barrier pipe and fittings between different manufacturers. You should use a compression fitting with TS inserts for Speedfit and metal liners for Hep and use PTFE tape and only copper olives never brass ones. Use a quality compression with a deeper slip like Conex.

 

[Spanner2k7]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Came up with this one the other, call out to a bath mixer which would not turn off, 1/4 cerdisc insert had broke, could not isolate the tap as the floor had been laid to the panel, customer said it was ok, to leave as they would just keep turning the main stop tap off, after a coupler of minute thinking, I remembered I had a ballvalve washer kit in the van. Used one of the flat washers and screwed the tap insert back into the tap, stop the water completey.

I remember when I bought that ball valve washer box, and said to myself when the hell will i use those LOL.

 

[Ravenrider]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Probably too simple for you guys but i find the humble heavy duty rubbish bag is excellent for catching any water in awkward places where getting containers/buckets are too difficult. I use them mainly between joists, where pipes are too close to walls and even when emptying rads. Obviously check them for holes first.

 

[markfxy]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

The diameter of all pex pipe is the same as 15mm copper the internal diameter is different therefore you can use any fitting with any pipe but you can only use the inserts from the same manufacturer as the pipe you are using.

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

If soldering a fitting close to felt (say in a roof space) and you aint got a solder mat, wedge a normal joiners saw between the fitting and the felt. This will deflect the heat while soldering and stop the felt catching fire.

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

If you come across the old type black alkathene pipe and you aren't sure what size it is (5/8" for example), cut a piece off take it to your plumbing supplier and he will recommend which size of coupling to use to reconnect to your new MDPE (blue pipe) if thats what you are using.

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Yes you can but I should have stated to be used only in an emergency. You are right System3 there is a small difference in diameter and you have to force the inserts into the fitting. I have done it on 2 occasions on call outs in the wee hours sometime ago. If have since returned to these customers recently fittings showers/changing taps/general maint work etc and the fittings and inserts are good to this day! Thanks for pointing that out.

I've only used Hep on a couple of occasions, but do you not use plastic inserts for comp fittings and metal liners for push fit fittings?

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When powerflushing a htg system and there's no outside tap to connect your mains fill too, connect your powerflush unit mains fill to the cold mains from the washing machine.

 

[Guest123]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

I've only used Hep on a couple of occasions, but do you not use plastic inserts for comp fittings and metal liners for push fit fittings?

Yes you use TS plastic inserts for compression fittings when using Speedfit. With Hep use the metal liners. Not used Hep very much, I prefer JG Speedfit as I find it far more user friendly and cheaper to buy.

In a perfect world I'd use soldered fittings and copper all the time, but it's way to expensive right now.

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When using bungs on an open vented system to change a rad make sure you work on/open one tail at a time. Once that end is sealed/compressed only then open the other rad tail to work on.

 

[stevie t]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Don't throw out your old bath towels. Keep them in the back of your van, they come in handy when doing minor repairs/maint work like changing taps, removing rads to avoid water thats lying in the pipework spilling onto carpets etc..

 

[Ian10261]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

I always hang on to any used slip-on C/H pump valve nuts. When i go to change a pump and the nuts are siezed solid, i use a hacksaw blade in a holder to make a cut across the nut. Then prize the nut apart and off comes the pump. Slide on the new nuts, fit the pump, job done.

 

[Hybrid]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Not sure if this has come up already.

If you cut out an old stop tap with flared compression connections keep the nut and cone. When you're called out in the depths of winter to a burst on an outside toilet you'll be glad you did.

 

[armourer]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When working on 8mm pipework but find you have only got 10mm fittings (or rad valves).
Solder an 8mm straight coupler onto the pipe.
The outside diameter of an 8mm coupler is 10mm.