Water tank drip problem (overflow?)

[ModernHouse]

Hi, my plumbing knowledge it pretty limited. I have a 10 year old Bryant home

There is a water tank in the loft (cold I think) covered in plastic wrapping.

Theres a long pipe (~3cm diameter) coming out of it which exits the house just under the guttering on the edge of the roof (ie where the roof meets the top of the side wall).

The problem is that the pipe it stays dry for a couple of weeks then drips non stop for a few days the (at a rate of a 2 drips per second) then goes dry for a while again. It drips right outside the patio door and gets you wet whenever you go out so is quite annoying.

Any ideas of what the cause could be, it was dry 100% of the time up until 6 months ago or so.

Any clues greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[TicklyT]

It may just need a bit of adjustment to the float valve feeding the tank.

If it is the cold water storage tank, adjust it so it closes when the water is a couple of inches below the overflow level.

If it is a small heating system expansion tank, adjust it so it closes when the water level is a couple of inches above the tank outlet.

That leaves room for expansion when the heating is running.

Some float valves have a screw adjustment, some allow the float to be slid along the arm, and others just by bending the arm up or down.

If the float valve doesn't close fully and reliably, it's probably time to replace it. It is possible to re-washer them, but for the price of them, it's hardly worth it.

 

[ModernHouse]

Thanks for the speedy reply - will give that a try.