Slow flow on new bath taps?

Ruggers · 19 Apr 2009

I've got a baxi platinum 33 he and had a flow test done and im getting the full 13 litres a minute or whatever its meant to be, but ive just fitted a new bath and new taps and it seems to be running really slow and taking ages to fill.

I picked some taps that had a good large internal dimameter through the tap for the best unrestricted flow,I know it's only 15mm pipe feeding it from the boiler but i didnt want to fit any iso valves inbetween as i thought it would reduce the flow with them only having a 10mm internal hole. I had these on my last taps and it seemed faster, does fitting the iso valves make much difference or does anyone have a solution?

mogget · 19 Apr 2009

Usually the service valves don't get in the way too much, but full bore isolators are available if you need them.

Is the new bath bigger than the old one?

What is the flow rate from the bath hot tap?

Is your main stopcock fully open?

Ruggers · 19 Apr 2009

no i only opened the stop tap until the flow stopped increasing on the kitchen taps next to the stop tap as i was told not to have it full ope as we have high pressure water mains in our area.

at the moment i have no isolators the bath is upstairs and the boiler in the loft, my new bath is smaller 1500mm not 1700 like it was.

when i first knock the tap on in the bath it goes quick for a second or 2 then slows down.

mogget · 19 Apr 2009

Sounds like a restricted stopcock with a bit of air in a pipe somewhere. Leaving the stopcock partly open will reduce the flow but not the pressure. Try opening the stopcock all the way and see what happens.

Ruggers · 19 Apr 2009

ok gonna go try it now, hope it works

seco services · 19 Apr 2009

have the others taps got a restricted flow same as the bath ?

Ruggers · 19 Apr 2009

ive opened the stop cock fully now, i don't think its made a great difference but is hard to tell without the flow cup. one thing different is that when you knock the hot tap on it doesnt go fast then back to slow anymore. The kitchen downstairs still has good flow, but if i knock the kitchen hot taps on it takes away the hot water from the bath taps, it used to just slow it down a lot.

apart from the taps the only things ive done are remove the reduced iso valves just before the bath taps, and i drained the radiators down. I forgot to lock the flow and return so had no hot water, ive now filled the system to regain my boiler pressure but not the radiators as they need drained again soon. only 1 is full.

swbjackson · 20 Apr 2009

Before you go any further check the flow rate on the new taps. A tap with a larger bore can make the flow appear less than a tap with a smaller bore. You don't need a flow cup, just time it into a jug or bucket. You don't even need to do any calculations, just time it at the kitchen sink and then at the bath.

Ruggers · 20 Apr 2009

I'll try that and get back to you, it is alot slower though as the smaller bath takes longer to fill up.
Where do you buy full bore isovalves i've never seen them before? Do they have the same size nut 24mm and a larger body or a larger nut? Just wondering if trying full bore and small bore valves would make any difference.

mogget · 20 Apr 2009

If you've got no isolators on the tap at present, it can't be the isolators causing the problem

The full bore ones have a larger body but the same size compression joint as the reduced ones.

Ruggers · 20 Apr 2009

mogget said:
If you've got no isolators on the tap at present, it can't be the isolators causing the problem

The full bore ones have a larger body but the same size compression joint as the reduced ones.

No but i did have them fitted before i replaced the bath and added the new pipes.

I measured into a bucket how much came from the bath taps in 30 seconds and then the kitchen and they are the same, 4.5 litres, which means im only getting 9 litres per minute so it's nowhere near my 13.7 i used to have.

mogget · 21 Apr 2009

Just to clarify, do you mean that the kitchen tap is also flowing more slowly than it was?

Ruggers · 21 Apr 2009

Well to look at it doesn't look any slower, but it's the same flow 4.5 litres over 30 seconds. When Baxi came they told me i was getting full flow which is 13.7 litres per minute for the 33HE.

mogget · 21 Apr 2009

Hmmm... I think I'd notice a drop from 13.7 to 9 litres per minute. Have you checked the flow rate of the kitchen cold tap?

Ruggers · 22 Apr 2009

yeh the kitchen tap puts out the same as the bathroom one, the bathroom is 1st floor, kitchen on ground floor. If i open the kitchen hot tap when the bath is running hot the water will go from the bath, it used to just slow down a lot. The boiler is in the loft so is feeding down to them both. I havent put all my radiators back on only one so havent bled the air out the system yet will that make any difference to the boiler?

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Slow flow on new bath taps?

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