Leak from cold water tank

[TNDU]

I am looking to check if the leak into my bathroom is from the cold water tank. I think it is as when I empty the tank, the leak stops and when I fill the tank, the leak starts again.

I want to pour die water into the tank and see if the water that comes out of the leak is also coloured as a sure check. The water travels from the tank and accumulates in a void above the bathroom ceiling, which is made of concrete so would die water be good enough for this leak check?

 

[Notch7]

I’m not sure what you are going to achieve.

All that’s going to tell you is the leak is not from the mains water pipework in…..you can find that out by turning the mains off and waiting

If water from the tank is leaking it could from any joint or pipework or the tank.

Can’t you access where the tank is and look for the leak

 

[TNDU]

I’m not sure what you are going to achieve.

All that’s going to tell you is the leak is not from the mains water pipework in…..you can find that out by turning the mains off and waiting

If water from the tank is leaking it could from any joint or pipework or the tank.

Can’t you access where the tank is and look for the leak

It isn't from the mains as I emptied the tank more than a week ago and the leak has stopped so it is from the tank. But the supply pipe from the tank into the bathroom goes inside a concrete service riser and then into the void above the bathroom so it is not easily accessible. If I can be absolutely certain it is this pipe, I can ask someone to drill the concrete and replace the pipe as it looks like the leak is inside the concreted area so it will probably be easier to replace the whole pipe as you can't fix what is hidden.

Last time I had a leak it was from another flat where the water had leaked into this void so I want to make sure that it is from the cold water tank as when I filled it, the leak started again but that may be co-incidental as it took an hour for the water to come through, but there is a void above the bathroom so it can take a bit of time for water to accumulate before it makes its way down.

 

[Notch7]

It isn't from the mains as I emptied the tank more than a week ago and the leak has stopped so it is from the tank. But the supply pipe from the tank into the bathroom goes inside a concrete service riser and then into the void above the bathroom so it is not easily accessible. If I can be absolutely certain it is this pipe, I can ask to someone to drill the concrete and replace the pipe as it looks like the leak is inside the concreted area so it will probably be easier to replace the whole pipe as you can't fix what is hidden.

So what you mean is the leak is either the tank itself or subsequent pipework.

Looking at your other pics it shows the tank is an old galvanised tank….in which case you are best to just replace the tank and the cold water feed from it

Annoyingly galvanised tanks are often fitted whilst the loft was being built and they can’t come down through the hatch, so cutting them up is usually needed, easy with an angle grinder but risky due to the sparks.

 

[TNDU]

So what you mean is the leak is either the tank itself or subsequent pipework.

Looking at your other pics it shows the tank is an old galvanised tank….in which case you are best to just replace the tank and the cold water feed from it

Annoyingly galvanised tanks are often fitted whilst the loft was being built and they can’t come down through the hatch, so cutting them up is usually needed, easy with an angle grinder but risky due to the sparks.

the leak is not from the tank as there is no traces of water in the cupboard where the tank is housed. it is a split level flat so the tank is in a cupboard on the first floor and the bathroom is on the ground floor. the pipe from the tank goes all the way to the floor of the cupboard and then it goes inside the concrete service riser.

the pipe in the cupboard is dry so neither the tank nor the pipe is leaking at this point. it is after this point, which is where the difficulty is.