kitchen tap airlocks when i run a bath?!!!!!

[adrok]

Hello all

ive just bought my first house and recentley moved in, alls fine apart from the plumbing seems to be a bit of a botched diy job,

every time i run a bath or use the hot water tap on the basin for a while the tap in the kithcen airlocks, is this something that can be easily rectified??

i had a look at the plumbing and it looks like the 22mm pipework goes from the top of the hot water tank down to the bath and in turn to the basin, but t'd of of that pipe it goes up into the loft of the bathroom accross the ceiling and down to the kitchen sink.

oh forgot to mention its all on the ground floor, i'm sure you know the score, terraced house 1900 ish later added bathroom on the back.

any help would be greatfully recieved

cheers

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Is the gatevalve feeding your cylinder fully open ???????

 

[kevplumb]

can you raise the header tank ????

 

[adrok]

i cant raise the header at all cos its only got a tiny roof, havnt checked the gate valve but i will do now!

 

[Nige F]

Vent pipe?? the one t`d off and into roof.? Should be near cylinder.

 

[kevplumb]

i had a look at the plumbing and it looks like the 22mm pipework goes from the top of the hot water tank down to the bath and in turn to the basin, but t'd of of that pipe it goes up into the loft of the bathroom accross the ceiling and down to the kitchen sink.

dont think thats the vent nige

 

[adrok]

no its not the vent,....... what is the thinking about the header tank height / gate valve???

is the general thought that the tank empties quicker than it acn be filled meaning the pipes end up sucking air?????????


in which case i read about a surrey/ essex flange that fits in the tank and has a lower pickup point thingy, is this a solution or am i being a div?????

please be honest.

cheers

 

[bradleybear]

You need to check as previously mentioned that the gate valve is fully opened. If it is ok, then change the seating in the ball valve to a low pressure, thus allowing the feed tank to recover water more quicker than it is being drawn off at, and stop air being sucked in.

 

[adrok]

thanks brad i'm going to give it a go this weekend !

 

[kevplumb]

You need to check as previously mentioned that the gate valve is fully opened. If it is ok, then change the seating in the ball valve to a low pressure, thus allowing the feed tank to recover water more quicker than it is being drawn off at, and stop air being sucked in.

yeah then the mains press starts it overflowing

fit a bigger tank

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

Casting my mind back 23 years I came across a similar thing where someone had fitted an iron tee with a drain off valve on it below the gatevalve and near the inlet to the cylinder. Over time this iron fitting had rusted and clogged up internally giving the same effect as having the gatevalve partially open.

The syphonic action of the water coming out at a greater volume than the water could get into the cylinder resulted in a pull on the vent and subsequent ingress of air.

It would be wise therefore to check that the pipe feeding your cylinder from the tank has no blockages in it assuming that the system once worked ok.

This pipe should be at least 22mm and is 28mm on a lot of modern installations.

Also check from the top of your cylinder across to the tee where the vent comes off as a blockage here would have a similar effect.
its possible that a bit of flotsam inside your cylinder is causing a blockage so look out for that as well

Your idea of a flange on the side of the cylinder is a feasible way of rectifying the problem if the system has never worked ok once the supply pipe issue has been checked but shouldn't be necessary. Increasing the supply pipe to 28mm would be my preferred solution in this case.

 

[adrok]

thanks slug

i'm gonna bust some moves on the system this weekend, what i have found is that the gate valve is proper seized and it's got a broken knob, i think someone has tried to bust some moves on it before!!!

I think the first job is to replace the gatevalve as there only cheap, I also like the idea of replacing the feed for larger 28mm!

If i get any probs you can bet im gonna pick the brains of the forum again!