Leaking hot water tank - is this something I can fix myself?

[Sirbo]

Firstly I'd just like to say hi as this is my first post.

I've noticed a fairly constant drip coming from my hot water system that seems to be because of a loose fitting but I'm not sure if it's something I should risk tying to fix myself. The leak was noticed because it started coming through the roof below the tank!

This photo shows the part that's leaking. Water seems to be creaping through the bottom of the white nut. If I wipe it dry with tissue the water comes back staight away.



It's the top most pipe to the left of the tank


Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure if it's as simple as just tightening the white nut or if it's something more serious that could be made worse by me tightening things.

 

[gassafe]

The white nut secure the fill valve into the tank... You need to check the water level inside the tank first.

The nut that joins the water mains onto the valve appears to have some sort of black tape wrapped around it, so probably been leaking before & a DIYers tried to patch it!!

 

[Sirbo]

The nut that joins the water mains onto the valve appears to have some sort of black tape wrapped around it, so probably been leaking before & a DIYers tried to patch it!!

The black tape was actually put there by a friend 'just in case' so I can be sure that it's definitely not leaking from there

 

[gassafe]

Sounds like the water level in the tank is too high... If it is you need to replace the fill valve... Put your hand into the tank, if the water is up to the white nut it's too high... It should be about 4 inches down

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Agree with above

 

[WaterTight]

I'd also like to strongly associate myself with the above comments posted by my various colleagues and brethren.

 

[Sirbo]

Thanks for the replies. I think you were (all :wink5 spot on! I had a look in the top and the water level was right over the pipe.



I drained the water so it was much lower and left it over night to see if the valve stopped it like it should. Woke up to the same water level and the leak so I think I need to replace the valve.

Am I better off replacing the whole mechanism or do you think there's a washer in it that I can get away with swapping out?

 

[itcanbesoeasy]

No, it's a part 1 ballvalve, get a part 2 ballvalve, float and fibre washer Straight Tap Connector 15mm x ½" | Compression Tap Connectors | NoLinkingToThis as seen on here,the red washer,

if the original fibre washer looks okay leave it there as the red fibre washer doesn't fit if it's an old connector, you would need a grey fibre washer or alternatively some PTFE tape

 

[ShaunCorbs]

No, it's a part 1 ballvalve, get a part 2 ballvalve, float and fibre washer Straight Tap Connector 15mm x ½" | Compression Tap Connectors | NoLinkingToThis as seen on here,the red washer,

if the original fibre washer looks okay leave it there as the red fibre washer doesn't fit if it's an old connector, you would need a grey fibre washer or alternatively some PTFE tape

no always change the fiber washer and if it doesnt fit just use a round file on the fiber internal part wont be much

 

[Stigster]

Out of interest, where does the overflow terminate? That would have been running constantly at that level. They are supposed to terminate somewhere obvious and visible for just this reason, so that you know if your inlet valve has failed and the tank is overflowing (which it is).

What I'm saying is you must have water coming out of the overflow somewhere and this should be easy to spot.