Educate me about this pretty standard plumbing connector..?

[dpm_dpmartin]

Good afternoon,

I noticed that the pipe leading to my washing machine had a little leak (just a drip-drip) and I decided to try and remedy it.

I think I have succeeded, in the end, but I wanted to ask a little bit more detail about the actual connector used (one that I did not fit and don't know much about) to try and increase my knowledge. It is this...

...I turned the isolation valve on the copper pipe and managed to get the blue bit off by depressing the yellow thing, this allowed me to unscrew the blue connector while keeping the beige barrel in place.

Once off, I thought I could just disconnect the blue thing from the beige thing, but this did not prove to be the case. I could turn the blue connector - if I depressed the yellow tab then it was free-moving and silent - if I didn't depress the yellow tab then it turned but with a clicking... it didn't loosen or tighten regardless of which direction or how much I turned it.

I could not pull them apart. I tried with some force. I noticed the clear bit of plastic in-between, that has cut-outs of some kind, possibly for a tool to use. I obviously did not have the right thing.

I eventually unscrewed the screws at each side of the beige thing and manage to pull the end off that - inside was a rubber seal (which looked OK) and something that looked like a flow restrictor or something.

I re-assembled it, put the blue connector back onto the copper pipe, re-opened the isolation valve and no leak (for now).

Are these two parts supposed to separate? If so, how do you go about it? Is there anything useful / serviceable in-between the beige barrel, the clear collar and the blue connector? Maybe a washer or seal?

What do we call this type of connector?

I'm just trying to get my head around things, so any information would be quite useful to me, even though I may not still have (fingers-crossed) an immediate water problem.

 

[TheVictorian]

Its an Aqua Stop hose I think:

http://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/aqua-stop-hoses/

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Yes, I concur, it absolutely is. Thank you!

I'll do more research now, but I don't suppose you know more about them and whether they're maintainable or replaceable? I've gone and taken another look and there is now a small (very small) puddle of water in the bowl I'd kept under it, so it's obviously still drip-dripping a little bit - the drip seems to drop from where the clear plastic collar is... often actually dripping from the yellow tab itself.

These three pieces (the blue connector, the clear collar and the beige housing) do not seem to separate... at least they do not separate easily.

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Ah, searching eBay for "40010188" brings up this, so that might imply you need to get the whole thing replaced - valve, connector and hose!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aquastops...sgeräte_Backöfen_Herde_PM&hash=item19f5db0e85

Is anyone able to confirm my assumption?

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Reading up on these Aqua Stop valves, I read that they should really only be fitted vertically, with the pipe its connecting to above it. This fitting is connected to the copper pipework horizontally... is that a darned good reason it might've started to leak, because there's some unexpected pressure from it being situated horizontally when it's not designed that way?

I suppose a right-angle female to male piece of copper pipe is something that exists and is easily found? Or a plastic variant?

 

[mfarrow]

So it had a leak but didn't work - just goes to demonstrate the effectiveness of it then!

 

[dpm_dpmartin]

Well, there is that aspect, yes, but I'm much more interested in the best way of ensuring there is no leak and gaining a bit of knowledge about the part... is it serviceable in any way, should I bite the bullet and buy a complete hose, housing, connector replacement? Also whether I should ensure it's mounted vertically as opposed to horizontally?

I didn't invent the thing, so I'm not upset by any criticism of it.

 

[picasso]

Its not an anti leak valve its anti flood, if the hose inside the grey plastic outer hose splits it fills with water and the valve shuts off , some have a solenoid that kills the power to the machine or runs the pump and others that just stop the water, they are unservicable and have to be replaced.

 

[mfarrow]

In the link TheVictorian put in it says leaks:

"If the inner hose ever leaks, then a device inside this housing is able to detect the incident and prevent further water getting into it."

Surely most hoses will go at the fitting or where the installer has screwed them up too tightly and the connector nut has split?

 

[frank999]

I took a hammer and chisel to one of these to find out why it was leaking from around the blue top part.

A german made part - very tough. AEG spares reference: 3792785028
https://www.espares.co.uk/product/es1405845/washing-machine-inlet-hose

Repair should be much simpler than one might think, and an all round wind up - prompting me to post this.

I believed a rubber seal had perished somewhere inside I couldn't get to - ie under where the ratcheted blue and cloudy white plastic components spin around (with yellow latch pushed in), I put my mouth over the blue component and finger over the other end - and blew - air escaped when I turned the ratched blue part.

But I was wrong , and need not have smashed mine apart.
Having chiselled off the blue component - it appeared that the blue part is threaded, and screws onto a split plastic component that acts as a retainer (the cloudy plastic part in my finger).

I couldn't see any 'hidden' rubber seals that allowed the blue part to rotate but hold back the water pressure, it was much simpler than that.

Once removed - you can see that the simple rubber seal with gauze that sits inside the blue part - is pressed against the top of the lip of the lower part that the retainer fits around.

It appears this rubber part had stiffened and perished over age.

I have Googled to find a genuine replacement (EPP-WS 40010188)
- but so far no joy.

Ebay has equivalents:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Washing-Machine-Hose-Filter-Mesh-Gauze-Washer-3-4-BSP/1088260955

Hope this helps someone keep some of our crap out of landfill.