OVERFLOW driving us insane!!!

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mapj1 said:
The real solution is a new rubber washer in the filler valve. - about 50 p for the rubber washer, and about 2 hours at £30 per hour or more to get the business part of the valve out and to pieces to reach it.
mapj1 - surely you can't be serious? Who in their right mind would do that when a new float valve is about a fiver and takes 15 minutes to change?

astraea - for the sake of the sanity of ChrisR and myself, please confirm whether or not the water is coming from the valve, or whether the level is just appearing to magically rise up in the cistern (albeit slowly)?
 
hi
right the water is coming from the valve albiet dripping slower than it is coming out of the overflow?
he has changed the whole valve seals everything and it is still dripping would getting an adjustable plastic valve help rather than the brass one??
we just got the brass one cause that is what was already there!!

i finally feel like we could possible get to the bottom of this with you guys help!!!
 
You seem to have two faults:

1. Float valve not fully closing.
2. Water entering the cold storage (aka big) cistern from elsewhere.

The important question now is: what is the temperature of the water in the big cistern?

If it's warm, then please tell us about what shower valves you have in the house. And kitchen mixer taps. And what connections you have to the washing machine.
 
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Did hubby bend the valve shaft to put the ball further down ????????

What about putting hubby on to let us give him the 3rd plumbing degree interogration?

Tony
 
right we have just checkjed everything step by step and the problem stops when we turn on the bathroom HOT tap we was just putting them both on before so we just tried it one by one and it is the HOT tap that stops the overflow is this really bad?????
 
also we dont have a shower we have a kitchen mixer and a bathroom sink mixer tap the washing machine is conected by a hot and cold hose from under the kitchen sink????

does this help?
thanks in advance :LOL: :confused:
 
Did hubby bend the valve shaft to put the ball further down ????????

Tony
 
OK I may have missed a bit, this is a long thread now, but the reason folk keep asking about the mixers and washing mash etc is only this - at any point where hot and cold water mix, if something is faulty and lets the high pressure cold mains water back up into the hot water system , it will keep filling the tank via what should be its outlet side even if the filler valve (the one with the float on) is fully off. Therefore any such tap or fitting or machine is a possible suspect until proved to shut off fully and correctly when not in use.
Thje other possible is a leak between water in your boiler/radiator loop and the water for the taps. In a 2 tank system its usually aranged so the radiator water pressure is not quite as high as the tap water (by using smaller lower tank) so there is no risk at all of drinking corrosion inhibitor. Rather if a leakdevelops water will flow out of the hot tap circuit and overflow the radiator heder tank. However, some boilers are pressurised (closed system), and then a leak between the two paths can be quite unpleasant - quite rare though, and probably not what you have in your case.
I'd bend the float arm so the valve shuts off at a lower level anyway - it can't hurt this far in to have the tank more or less stopping filling a few more inches below the overflow.
M.
PS - yes, I agree - I'd only really go to the hassle to dismantle and change the washer if it was a funny valve, and not easily replaced with a normal one - I was more warning what could happen. Depends on age of house and tank, and whose doing it - yourself on a bank holiday in your own time, change the washer, tradesman on a weekday, to be cost effective, more than likely just change the whole lump.
 
astraea said:
apparently when the ball is held up it doesnt stop the water???
does this mean it is something completely different?

Mike, you and many others are looking for something complicated!

She said the above ages ago! We have asked repeatedly if hubby bent the arm and also asked if he replaced all the ball valve but we have not got any definitive answers.

Until we know the ball valve is not the problem it must be the prime suspect!

Tony
G8ABQ
 
yes
we have replaced the ball valve and we have tried to bend the arm down but it is brass and i am woried about it snapping if i bend it??
 
If you are old enough to remember Yuri Gellar, you will be able to bend the arm.
Seriously., remember you are not trying to kink it sharply in one place, more bend it into a gentle bannana. Without practice it might take two of you to do it in situ, one to hold the valved end up, and the other to push the floaty end down a few inches. With the confidence of experiance it is an easy one man job, folding all fingers orf eachg hand round the bar, one at valve end one at float and then doing the strong man act, then shuffling the hands along a bit and repeating.
Yes, it takes some reasonable force, and yes they can snap if you are ham fisted, but it is rare.
regards M.
(have you got the old one to try it on?)
 
Before you go any further with this bending nonsense, please answer one question:

With one tap left running, and the mains stop cock open as normal, if you go into the loft and physically lift up the brass arm, in an attempt to stop the incoming water, then does the water stop? Or not?

If not, then the problem, as Agile intimated, is really very simple. If it does stop, and the water level still rises (even if you can't see it rise), then water is entering the cistern from one of the outlets.

Please please please answer this question before you go any further. If you don't understand what I'm asking then I'll happily explain a different way.
 
"""and the water level still rises (even if you can't see it rise)""".

How will he know that the level is still rising if he cannot see it rise ???

More interesting is if the flow does stop when the valve float is raised up?

Was the WHOLE valve replaced?

Tony
 
Agile said:
How will he know that the level is still rising if he cannot see it rise ?
I'm rather surprised that you imply that you're incapable of working that one out.

Agile said:
More interesting is if the flow does stop when the valve float is raised up?
This is why everyone has been trying to find out whether that's the case.
 

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