hi,drill your pilot hole first without the holesaw attached,re attach and proceed at slow speed with gentle pressure,until you establishyour groove,this will stabilize the hole saw,increase speed but keep pressure gentle,this will minimise breakout on the back of the hole,deburr hole with a small round file,as for plastic same method,but diameter of saw needs to leave a hole ideally as close to diameter of your tank connector,good luck,
Drilling two scary holes today - any tips?
- Thread starter FoxtrotOscar
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If your used to drilling holes, cutting the side of the cylinder & fitting the Essex flange does make you apprehensive but it's 90% fear due to the cost of getting it wrong! As stated pilot hole first, just relax & treat it like any other hole; once you’ve done one you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.
If this for a cold feed is for the pump, the take off for should be fitted at the opposite end of the tank to the ball cock in feed valve, as should the feed for the HWC. This is to reduce aeration in the supplies. I’ve also seen it cause rather strange phenomenon which sets the water in the tank sloshing from one end to the other when the tank drains to any extent & is filling in anger.
Opps think I got the wrong ball valve in my post
; but as echoes said only fit full bore isolation valves on any part of the pump pipe system, or you'll retrict flow.Sponsored Links
Also make sure the cold feed to the shower is lower than the cold feed to the
hot water cylinder on the DCWS cistern,
in the unlikely event of the cistern running dry the hot water will expire first
and will prevent anyone using the shower getting scalded.
hot water cylinder on the DCWS cistern,
in the unlikely event of the cistern running dry the hot water will expire first
and will prevent anyone using the shower getting scalded.
Depends if you like your water full of air, and want to replace your pump on a regular basis.
melting a hole is a very bad idea use a hole saw mate as seen in a previous post it will curl the edges and you need a flush fit same on the cylinder use a hole saw as for the speed of drilling whatever yuo feel confident with but i would start slow at first
hope this helps
hope this helps
Chisel!
Perhaps they don't teach it on short courses, but its been done like this for years.
Ok, I'll saddle up my horse, and ride on out!
it also explicitly states in the instructions for new plastic tanks not to use a hot pipe to make the hole
Hi guys,
Well, phase 1 is complete (run dedicated cold feed from cold water cistern to airing cupboard).
Now you can all laugh at the numerous plumbing noob mistakes I have no doubt made (1st time plumbing DIYer, all I've done before is plumb a dish washer in and that was with help from dad!).
Seriously, thanks for all your responses. I hate the part where you switch the water back on. I was convinced it was going to leak at least somewhere, but it didn't or hasn't yet!
I have yet to lag the pipes as you can see. The stuff I got from Screwfix is very thick, which I suppose is a good thing from an insulation point of view. However the way the pipe is routed in the attic, there's not much room left for it. Any alternative lagging techniques for where space is tight?
The connections are Cupro-fit, which I found *ok*, though the hardest part was working out how to disconnect the buggers. The tool came with no instructions and there are various adaptors etc. The valve at the end is a full bore ball valve, seems very robust and maybe slightly overkill.
All sorted though, here are some pics.
If the flange arrives tomorrow, I'll be performing phase 2, or maybe I should call it 'phase poo' since that's what my pants will be full of about the time I drill into the copper.
That's a Salamander CT50+ sitting on its rubber feet, some concrete, and a gardener's keeling pad.
Well, phase 1 is complete (run dedicated cold feed from cold water cistern to airing cupboard).
Now you can all laugh at the numerous plumbing noob mistakes I have no doubt made (1st time plumbing DIYer, all I've done before is plumb a dish washer in and that was with help from dad!).
Seriously, thanks for all your responses. I hate the part where you switch the water back on. I was convinced it was going to leak at least somewhere, but it didn't or hasn't yet!
I have yet to lag the pipes as you can see. The stuff I got from Screwfix is very thick, which I suppose is a good thing from an insulation point of view. However the way the pipe is routed in the attic, there's not much room left for it. Any alternative lagging techniques for where space is tight?
The connections are Cupro-fit, which I found *ok*, though the hardest part was working out how to disconnect the buggers. The tool came with no instructions and there are various adaptors etc. The valve at the end is a full bore ball valve, seems very robust and maybe slightly overkill.
All sorted though, here are some pics.
If the flange arrives tomorrow, I'll be performing phase 2, or maybe I should call it 'phase poo' since that's what my pants will be full of about the time I drill into the copper.
That's a Salamander CT50+ sitting on its rubber feet, some concrete, and a gardener's keeling pad.
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Have you fixed the leak on the cylinder connection?
Turning the water on is the fun bit. It is only water after all. I'd settle for that all day, than have to turn on a nuclear reactor and see if that leaks
Good work so far (you didnt need PTFE though). Looking foward to piccies of the Essex Flange.
Mr. W.
Its always nice to see the application of PTFE on a compression joint, lets plumbers know that it was a DIY job, is that a gas cock you have used for a ball valve?
only joking not a bad job Id be happy with that
only joking not a bad job Id be happy with that
Looking at your pics have you not just used the Essex Flange for your connection to the cold water storage cistern
a very expensive tank connector dont you think?.
Thanks newgasinstaller. I had no idea that PTFE on a compression joint was a noob thing to do. Will it worsen the strength of the connection, i.e. should I remove it and get new olives? Or is the worst thing that can happen that a plumber will ask who the hell did the joint
.Regarding 'is that a gas cock you have used for a ball valve', the ball valve says '1st, 2nd and 3rd gas families' on it. Aren't most lever ball valves rated for gas anyway? Have I bought the wrong thing, or just been ripped off again via being mis-sold an item over-engineered for purpose
?Thanks Mr. W. No I haven't yet fixed the leaky connection. I had a plumber round yesterday and he said at least one in five times the washer on the other side has disintegrated and falls into the tank when the joint is removed, at which point it's a few hundred for a replacement cylinder.
Indeed, £11.40. I asked for a cylinder coupler and that's what he bunged at me. Should have questioned it, but didn't notice the price until I left and I just assumed that was the safest connection to use. Live and learn!
Some more questions have come up, grateful for any help with them:
- Shall I remove the PTFE?
- What's the best way to connect the 22mm supply to the 15mm hoses on the pump?
- What's the best way to route the pipework between the pump and the plasterboard? It needs to interfere with the lower airing cupboard shelf as little as possible.
- Is there an easier way to drain down the hot water cylinder than connecting a hosepipe and sticking it in the bath?
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