Header Tank keeps filling?

[shamar333]

hope someone can help? Fitted a new bathroom and now my cold water gravity fed header tank keeps filling. Did the usual changed ball valve for filling inlet but thyis works fine. the water is coming back from the hot water cylinder and filling the header tank with hot water which flows out of the overflow and we have a lovely hot water waterfall outside.

 

[powell30]

Probably a ruptured coil...this allows water under gravity pressure from the bid cold water storage tank to be forced into the heating circuit and hence back up to the feed tank.

I assume you did mean the cold water storage tank rather than the smaller feed and expansion tank...if it is the later it's probably a blockage in the pipes after the pump.

The former will require a tank change i'm afraid

 

[shamar333]

Thanks, yes it is the larger storage tank, its been driving me crazy turning the stop cock on and off everytime I want some cold water. Recently bought an old house with a 1950's boiler, need a new central heating system.

do you know what the tool is called to turn off the mains water in the street, can't find it on screwfix site or ebay.. need to turn off so i can replace the leaky stop cock.

 

[powell30]

Then you will have to change the hot water cylinder i'm afraid, the key you need is a stop tap key, about 3ft long. Don't think screwfix sell em but plumbers merchants do

 

[powell30]

oh, just check your thermostat on the cylinder is working, possibly overheating and venting into tank.....be careful here...if your feed tank is plastic and the water eventually boils.......your tank may split. Check the cylinder stat.

 

[namsag]

If it has only occured since you fitted new bathroom suite first thing to check is you have not mixed up pipework ie mains pressure pipe into tank fed pressure pipe.

 

[gblades]

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/17971...st-Plumbing/Monument-Tools-Stopcock-Key-222mm

 

[seco services]

as namsag said
check any mixer taps you have fitted or mixer shower valve for cold mains passing to gravity hot. sounds like you have a faulty check valve on one of them.

by what you have posted is not a ruptured coil or blocked pipes.

 

[shamar333]

so many possible solutions ?, the only changes I made to the system when I installed the new bathroom is:
From the mains cold feed I have the sink, mixer shower, toilet and bath. The Hot water from the cylinder feeds the bath, shower mixer and sink.

Originally the bath and sink cold was fed from the header tank, but i have changed this to mains feed. The shower was an electric shower with cold feed from the header tank with a small pressure tank attached, but this has been taken out and the feed capped. There was a seperate radiator which was permanently hot when the hot water was run. The feed and return pipes for this have been capped, but the water was black so part of the central heating.

 

[seco services]

is your basin a mixer tap?
is your bath a mixer tap ?
your shower can you isolate the hot and cold feeds to the mixer.
your shower valve is it cold mains hot gravity ?

 

[heatingman]

Fit non-return valves on all hot & cold inlet pipes to taps/mixers

 

[shamar333]

The sink taps are not mixer but the bath is, there are isolator valves to all the taps but there are not non return valves. None of the instructions asked for non return valves to be fitted? All the cold feeds are mains fed.

 

[leakydave]

it could be the shower valve, mixing gravity and mains... isolate shower and see what happens.

The link someone posted from Screwfix for a stop cock key is for a very short one, about 250mm max, and useful for getting at taps in awkward places, but not those 2 ft down out in the road.

 

[shamar333]

Like this idea! thinking about it, there was no problem after fitting all the pipework for a couple of weeks the problem only occured 24hrs after adding the bath mixer tap and shower mixer. presumably the cold water mains pressure is greater than the tank pressure so with a mixer the cold water forces the hot back into the tank and through the venting pipe into the header. will isolate the cold on both and see what happens, hopefully will post back with a smiley face and a thank you

 

[shamar333]

almost bought the stop cock key (thanks for the link. (reasonable price) but will check the depth of the tap in the road first. Thanks again