N
Norman
Hi,
Wondering if someone could help with the following.
For the last week or so I've had no/very low hot water flow from all taps (upstairs & downstairs). Sometimes it will sputter and then stop flowing, other times it will flow but very low (i.e. too low to run one of those pressure activated shower head units fixed to the bath tap to work).
The problem appeared after a week or two's absence from the house when the mains was left on but the immersion was turned off. The time also correponded with all the cold weather we've been having. We have a shower pump that seems to pump hot and cold water to all the taps around the house except the cold tap in the kitchen which is on the mains (? i.e. you hear the pump run anytime you turn on a tap except the cold water one in the kitchen).
The cold water runs fine and I've ruled out a leaking hot water pipe as far as I can tell (i.e. I checked all visible pipes incl. those in the attic and there's no visible water marks anywhere, even after a week). I checked the water levels in the tanks in the attic and they're ok. The stopcock fixed to one of the tanks also works fine (i.e. the tank fills ok).
I've had a plumber out and he did a couple of things. Firstly he tried to clear out the pipes of air blocks. This seemed to improve things slightly, the water flow was a bit better but by not normal. Secondly, he took a look at the cylinder where he noted one thing that could potentially be a source of the problem. Seemingly the a pipe leading to/from the hot water cylinder is missing a valve/connection that ensures the water is sucked by the pump from the bottom of the cylinder (where's there is a greater liklehood of there always being water). Instead he thinks ours is sucking a mixture of water and air (when the level is low) from nearer the top causing air blocks. All of which sounds very plausible, however I just have some nagging doubts. These doubts aren't cos I don't trust the guy - I do (e.g. he's registered and I got referrals etc.). It's just you tend to know your own house and things that may not have been quite right from the start. If this (missing valve) is the source of the problem why is it only happening now? The house is quite new (e.g <5 years old), we've been the only occupants and we've never had this problem before. I'd understand if the valve was there originally and it failed but its never been there.
Just looking for other suggestions as to what might be the problem - maybe something will spark something. He thinks the pump is ok and I tend to agree with him as the pump turns on ok for the cold water and at least tries to when you open the hot water taps on (i.e when the water flow is low but continuous the pump sounds fine - when there's very little hot water it turns on and off).
I just want to avoid having to get work done that might not fix it. Could it be something wrong with one half of the pump (i.e. that part that controls hot water?). Could it be a blocked or semi-blocked pipe/filter somewhere? Is the hot water cylinder filling ok? Is there anything I can do myself to test for these things in advance? (I'm not completely useless at DIY??!!)
Thanks
Wondering if someone could help with the following.
For the last week or so I've had no/very low hot water flow from all taps (upstairs & downstairs). Sometimes it will sputter and then stop flowing, other times it will flow but very low (i.e. too low to run one of those pressure activated shower head units fixed to the bath tap to work).
The problem appeared after a week or two's absence from the house when the mains was left on but the immersion was turned off. The time also correponded with all the cold weather we've been having. We have a shower pump that seems to pump hot and cold water to all the taps around the house except the cold tap in the kitchen which is on the mains (? i.e. you hear the pump run anytime you turn on a tap except the cold water one in the kitchen).
The cold water runs fine and I've ruled out a leaking hot water pipe as far as I can tell (i.e. I checked all visible pipes incl. those in the attic and there's no visible water marks anywhere, even after a week). I checked the water levels in the tanks in the attic and they're ok. The stopcock fixed to one of the tanks also works fine (i.e. the tank fills ok).
I've had a plumber out and he did a couple of things. Firstly he tried to clear out the pipes of air blocks. This seemed to improve things slightly, the water flow was a bit better but by not normal. Secondly, he took a look at the cylinder where he noted one thing that could potentially be a source of the problem. Seemingly the a pipe leading to/from the hot water cylinder is missing a valve/connection that ensures the water is sucked by the pump from the bottom of the cylinder (where's there is a greater liklehood of there always being water). Instead he thinks ours is sucking a mixture of water and air (when the level is low) from nearer the top causing air blocks. All of which sounds very plausible, however I just have some nagging doubts. These doubts aren't cos I don't trust the guy - I do (e.g. he's registered and I got referrals etc.). It's just you tend to know your own house and things that may not have been quite right from the start. If this (missing valve) is the source of the problem why is it only happening now? The house is quite new (e.g <5 years old), we've been the only occupants and we've never had this problem before. I'd understand if the valve was there originally and it failed but its never been there.
Just looking for other suggestions as to what might be the problem - maybe something will spark something. He thinks the pump is ok and I tend to agree with him as the pump turns on ok for the cold water and at least tries to when you open the hot water taps on (i.e when the water flow is low but continuous the pump sounds fine - when there's very little hot water it turns on and off).
I just want to avoid having to get work done that might not fix it. Could it be something wrong with one half of the pump (i.e. that part that controls hot water?). Could it be a blocked or semi-blocked pipe/filter somewhere? Is the hot water cylinder filling ok? Is there anything I can do myself to test for these things in advance? (I'm not completely useless at DIY??!!)
Thanks
