My son with some learning difficulties lives in a 3rd floor flat which has a very slow running hot tap. In order to get enough water hot enough to wash up he has to leave the tap running for five minutes at a time. We own the flat and had a number of plumbers and it isnt the washer and apparently there is nothing manageable which can be done to improve the flow as it is a water pressure problem, but I am wondering if there is a device to put on the tap to make it cut off after 5 minutes as my son does forget the tap is on and at one point he went out and it caused a flood and damage to flat below? Can anyone suggest anything which could be done to the hot tap to make it stop flowing after about five minutes?
Is there a time out safety appliance for a kitchen tap?
- Thread starter doggyvonne
- Start date
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There are several taps that automatically shut down, like these.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/water-shut-off-tap.html
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/water-shut-off-tap.html
My plumber sent this from his phone just now
'The taps in the link are not designed for use at a kitchen sink they are for use on basins in public toilets ie restaurant's etc (I'm sure you have used them). Also they generally only run for 30-60 seconds them shut down. On a low pressure system such as this I would say the only realistic way of sorting the problem would be to install a pressurised cylinder. A pump would also work however I seem to remember the tank not being big enough. Sorry cant be of more help. I would say the cheapest and easiest way would be for your son to remember to turn it off. Ha!'
I imagine a pressurised cylinder is a very expensive thing..has anyone any experience of these..my plumber is informative but often chooses the most expensive solution?
'The taps in the link are not designed for use at a kitchen sink they are for use on basins in public toilets ie restaurant's etc (I'm sure you have used them). Also they generally only run for 30-60 seconds them shut down. On a low pressure system such as this I would say the only realistic way of sorting the problem would be to install a pressurised cylinder. A pump would also work however I seem to remember the tank not being big enough. Sorry cant be of more help. I would say the cheapest and easiest way would be for your son to remember to turn it off. Ha!'
I imagine a pressurised cylinder is a very expensive thing..has anyone any experience of these..my plumber is informative but often chooses the most expensive solution?
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self closing taps are standard in public loos, campsite showers etc. Any plumber's merchant should have them, but I can't quickly find mechanical ones with more than about 25 secs delay, so your son would have to hold it on.
http://www.sheardown.co.uk/Del-Clsg.html
http://www.eurotaps.co.uk/products.html
http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/Self_Closing_Taps.html
Electronically controlled ones probably can have a longer timer, but will be more expensive
http://www.radacontrols.com/home.htm
http://www.gentworks.co.uk/Sensor-Taps-c-473/
http://www.sheardown.co.uk/Del-Clsg.html
http://www.eurotaps.co.uk/products.html
http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/Self_Closing_Taps.html
Electronically controlled ones probably can have a longer timer, but will be more expensive
http://www.radacontrols.com/home.htm
http://www.gentworks.co.uk/Sensor-Taps-c-473/
if the problem is the delay in hot water getting from the vented hot water cylinder then a pump will speed that up somewhat. the size of the tank shouldn't be an issue for a kitchen sink tap - it might be if you were using a pumped rainfall shower.
An alternative is to have a return pipe from the tap to the hot water cylinder and a circulating pump, this means the water in the pipe at the tap is kept hot. it will increase heat losses from the pipes (less heat loss if they're lagged) and use some electricity.
An alternative is to have a return pipe from the tap to the hot water cylinder and a circulating pump, this means the water in the pipe at the tap is kept hot. it will increase heat losses from the pipes (less heat loss if they're lagged) and use some electricity.
in his last quote my plumber mentions a pump and says it cant be done in our case..
from his phone about the electronic taps
'These type of taps are designed only for modern high pressure systems and once again are more for commercial use rather than domestic dwellings. I would imagine the cost of installing such a tap over a kitchen sink would be very high so prob not affordable anyway.'
from his phone about the electronic taps
'These type of taps are designed only for modern high pressure systems and once again are more for commercial use rather than domestic dwellings. I would imagine the cost of installing such a tap over a kitchen sink would be very high so prob not affordable anyway.'
C
calorific
Assuming that he has mains cold water supply to the flat at a reasonable pressure, would it not make sense to install an under-sink water heater? This would mean that he wouldn't need 5 minutes worth of hot water due to the increased flow rate and in any case the timed taps already mentioned would then also be an optional backup.
The flat we bought is about 13 years old and all this has me pondering how a flat was passed by building control with such low pressure..it takes about 10 mins to fill a bowl with suitably hot water for washing up? Are there no regs about water pressure? Unfortunately we were not aware of this when we purchased the flat.
C
calorific
What is the cold water supply like?
C
calorific
OK - I was going along the line of the hot water being gravity fed but the cold water coming directly from the mains. FYI undersink heaters use electricity and so gas would not be required 
That's a good question I will find out..the pressure in the hot bathroom tap is slow too but the over bath shower which heats its own hot water is OK
C
calorific
If the cold water pressure and flow rate is fine, then my previous reply regarding undersink heater is still an option, since these are fed by the cold water mains. It would be entirely possible to run both the kitchen and bathroom hot taps from this same heater and do-away with using the hot water cylinder for anything other than a bath.
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