is this a big job?

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I was at my grandma's house today, just checking up - they have gone away for 3 weeks, when i opened the airing cupboard and found the floor was wet. I found this was the cause, a rotten old seal of some sort. The pipe obviously goes nowhere (it used to feed an old shower, now replaced by an electric shower), so could this outlet from the cylinder be capped off somehow?

I have turned the water off at the mains, drained the feed cistern in the loft, and left it empty. I made sure the heating is completely off and the immersion is off too. Will the cylinder now be completely empty? Or is the water drawn off from the top? (theres that many pipes going up down and around this sylinder that its hard to tell)

I am going to get my uncle to see to this, he is a plumber of great experience, i was just wondering about how this will be solved.
 
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No, the cylinder is still full of water. There should be a drain-off at the bottom somewhere - usually at the back and inaccessible.
 
EliteHeat said:
No, the cylinder is still full of water. There should be a drain-off at the bottom somewhere - usually at the back and inaccessible.
thats where you're wrong - it is accessible, its at the front. I know this because my grandad, in his wisdom, left it open when he drained the system a few years ago when he went away. my mum and I went to refill it, and only realised it was open about 20 mins after we turned the mains on. :LOL: dont ask where the water went, but it never appeared downstairs. :eek: I have a feeling it went down the middle of the plasterboard partitions. :confused:


but at least if it does get worse now, theres only a bit of water left to leak out.
 
It's an Essex Flange and they used to leak because the washer was only rated to some low temperature like 55º. The new ones are a bit better, and that's probably the easiest thing to fill the ole with.

Turn the HW tap on and you won't need to drain much from the cylinder via the drain cock - a gallon would be more than enough. Or you could poke a thin hose down where that old valve is and syphon it out.
 
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The cylinder is very old and does not meet the current regulations for reheat or insulation.

Why not give your grandma a nice present and replace it with a new one. They are only about £109 inc vat.

The saving in heat loss will pay for it within a year or two.

Tony
 
Agile said:
The cylinder is very old and does not meet the current regulations for reheat or insulation.

Why not give your grandma a nice present and replace it with a new one. They are only about £109 inc vat.

The saving in heat loss will pay for it within a year or two.

Tony
heh, i doubt it, the only insulation in the loft is some old carpets draped thoughtfully across the joists.

Its not breaking any laws to simply repair this and leave in situ though, is it? And I thought the red jacket would provide adequate insulation?
 
Well its such a good photo even nice towles airing away.
but to be honest its time to fit a new cylinder.
not cheap but your best remedy.
 
out of interest, whats the difference between this 40 year old cylinder and a modern cylinder?

I know modern cylinders come ready insulated, but what other benefits are there of changing this?

And how can you tell its a poor cylinder just by that photo that only shows a few square inches of copper?
 
crafty1289 said:
out of interest, whats the difference between this 40 year old cylinder and a modern cylinder?

I know modern cylinders come ready insulated, but what other benefits are there of changing this?

And how can you tell its a poor cylinder just by that photo that only shows a few square inches of copper?
40 yr old @ scrappers =£25.....new from Plumbcenter=£100.....guess 3 years to payback saving of fuelcost..that`s a GUESS :LOL:AND I`ll bet it`s got an Annulus heat exchanger not a coil....cuz I saw the Flow connection @ high level from boiler an no sin of return..so must be @ low level.......elementary my dear Watson :LOL:
 

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