Hi guys, I have recently replaced an old dripping ‘float valve & ball’ in my loft ‘Domestic Hot Water’ feed tank with a complete new assembly and whilst testing the ‘soundness’ of the connection through the plastic wall of the tank by holding the ‘ball’ submerged and filling the tank above the level of the valve, I was horrified to note that the overflow pipe/assembly was not coping with the water ingress at all. The tank rapidly filled, and even with the outlet completely submerged the water ‘outflow’ was very sedate ! – the tank continued to fill rapidly. My immediate reaction was that the pipe was blocked and I duly replaced with a new 90 degree tank connector and 21.5mm standard solvent weld pipe. However it made no difference. Further investigation showed that if I lightly used the palm of my hand as a ‘plunger’ against the overflow pipe (when it was completely submerged) then it appeared to release a slight air lock and the water would gush out like a fire hose. The water receded rapidly until the level allowed air back into the overflow pipe at which point it would revert back to its very sedate outpouring and the tank would again rapidly start to fill.
The overflow pipe and the float valve connection are both about 8cm below the rim of the tank. The overflow pipe is a straight run (no bends or angles except the 90 degree connector) approx 3m long, across the roof space approx 30 degrees below the horizontal and it emerges outside under the eaves.
This overflow pipe arrangement is original (25yrs from the house being new) as is the plastic tank, so I guess this overflow issue was a potential flood disaster waiting to happen.
How can I solve this problem? Any help from you wonderfully knowledgeable people would be gratefully received and many thanks in advance.
Regards
The overflow pipe and the float valve connection are both about 8cm below the rim of the tank. The overflow pipe is a straight run (no bends or angles except the 90 degree connector) approx 3m long, across the roof space approx 30 degrees below the horizontal and it emerges outside under the eaves.
This overflow pipe arrangement is original (25yrs from the house being new) as is the plastic tank, so I guess this overflow issue was a potential flood disaster waiting to happen.
How can I solve this problem? Any help from you wonderfully knowledgeable people would be gratefully received and many thanks in advance.
Regards