Plumbing Question

[Svalbaard]

Why not try a plumbing forum?

(meant as a reasonable reply rather than sarcasm)

I guess there are plumbing contractors out there.

[Drewster]

Why not try a plumbing forum?

(meant as a reasonable reply rather than sarcasm)

WARNING - Reasonable Reply Found in General

[Platypus]

African or European?

European. And before you ask, unladen.

[TykeMerc]

Tank fed.

Is the problem limited to the bathroom or happens in the kitchen too? Do you just have one bathroom? Do you have a shower that's fed from the hot water system or is it (they) electric and cold fed?

Sorry to ask apparently random questions, but I've had to deal with a similar issue myself in the past.

[DaveB]

Sounds like an airlock somewhere. One thing you can try before calling out the plumber.

Connect a length of hose or similar from the cold to the hot tap. Turn on the hot tap, then the cold. Pressure from the cold should force water up the hot pipe and force out the air.

If you have a combi tap rather than seperates try blocking the outlet then turn on the hot tap followed by the cold. This version carries greater risk of getting you wet though

[TykeMerc]

Sounds like an airlock somewhere. One thing you can try before calling out the plumber.

Connect a length of hose or similar from the cold to the hot tap. Turn on the hot tap, then the cold. Pressure from the cold should force water up the hot pipe and force out the air.

If you have a combi tap rather than seperates try blocking the outlet then turn on the hot tap followed by the cold. This version carries greater risk of getting you wet though

What he said.

Also check that the cold header tank has a good feed and that the ball valve on the cold tank isn't knackered or sunk.
Are you in a hard or soft water area? If hard water there's an outside chance that the feed or outlet pipes from the hot tank are full of lime crud, but that's less likely than an airlock.

[lilelvis2000]

A clog in the tank? have you checked it to make sure it is filling?

[Platypus]

Is the problem limited to the bathroom or happens in the kitchen too? Do you just have one bathroom? Do you have a shower that's fed from the hot water system or is it (they) electric and cold fed?

Sorry to ask apparently random questions, but I've had to deal with a similar issue myself in the past.

Thanks for the sensible reply!

I haven't noticed the problem in the kitchen. I have two bathrooms, one on the top floor (of my 3 storey house) which I don't use so I haven't noticed the problem up there.

The hot water tank is adjacent to the bathroom on the middle floor and that's where the problem is seen because it's the bathroom which gets all the use. The shower is over the bath and is connected using one of those combination taps/shower changers. Lever flipped one way, water comes out of taps. Flipped the other way, diverted to the shower. The pressure is now poor whether diverted to taps or shower. Recently I became convinced that flipping this lever back and forth a few times improved things, but that's no longer the case (if indeed it was ever true).

[Sausage Surprise]

A clog in the tank? have you checked it to make sure it is filling?

Shirley a clog would float...

[Mr Crosby]

What he said.

Also check that the cold header tank has a good feed and that the ball valve on the cold tank isn't knackered or sunk.
Are you in a hard or soft water area? If hard water there's an outside chance that the feed or outlet pipes from the hot tank are full of lime crud, but that's less likely than an airlock.

I've had this sort of problem recently, had a bad case of water hammer. It was caused by a faulty ball valve in the cold water header tank.