OVERFLOW driving us insane!!!

[bab]

well put Softus . This site is for help not p*ss takin.

 

[astraea]

right getting back on topic i dont know whats been happening!!!!

when i turn the cold tap on and look in the big tank the water level doesnt move - when i turn the hot tap on the water level starts dropping

i would say the water in the tank is cold its not freezing but its not tepid either????

we have turned the hot water off upstairs but it is still pouring out of the overflow?????

 

[OllieN]

right getting back on topic i dont know whats been happening!!!!

when i turn the cold tap on and look in the big tank the water level doesnt move - when i turn the hot tap on the water level starts dropping

i would say the water in the tank is cold its not freezing but its not tepid either????

we have turned the hot water off upstairs but it is still pouring out of the overflow?????

Can you follow these steps and get back to us with answers to the Qs.

1) Have someone hold ball up so no water fills tank from ball valve.
2) Switch on hot tap and let it run for a while. If the level is dropping it will drop past the overflow exit from the tank and the overflow will stop running
Q) Does the overflow stop running at this point?
3) Now the overflow has stopped, switch off the hot tap but keep someone holding ball up so no water enters through the ball valve
Q) Does the tank level rise?

 

[astraea]

the answer is yes to the first one ill get back to u asap on the 2nd question

 

[Softus]

1) Have someone hold ball up so no water fills tank from ball valve.
2) Switch on hot tap and let it run for a while. If the level is dropping it will drop past the overflow exit from the tank and the overflow will stop running
Q) Does the overflow stop running at this point?

I don't mean to be offensive OllieN, but this is a pointless question - if a hot tap is opened then the water level will fall, and this had already been confirmed before you asked.

What we still don't know is whether or not any water passes through the float valve while the float arm is being help up to close the valve.

Something that's also beyond me is how the poster could have carried out the first test, in order to answer your first question, and then been unable to progress to the second test there and then.

 

[Agile]

Be aware that the poster has got into apparently serious financial difficulties.

Be gentle that they are not answering the very simple questions that we repeatedly ask them. When people are under stress they do not always respond logically.

Based on the apparent facts a new ball valve has been fitted and the valve shaft has not been bent to ensure that the closing level is 50 mm below the overflow outlet level.

This is all very simple to us but to a non diyer it may seem like very technical and tedious questioning when they have to decide if the caller at the door is a Johovas Witness or a Bailiff, both wear ill fitting suits and carry briefcases!

With the right advice, I dont believe they even have to lose their home. The part ownership schemes usually have a built in fall back position of a rent only situation for anyone in these difficulties.

Tony

 

[Softus]

Be aware that the poster has got into apparently serious financial difficulties.

... and they are getting out of them by moving.

Be gentle that they are not answering the very simple questions that we repeatedly ask them. When people are under stress they do not always respond logically.

I find this more than a little hypocritical - you were the first to demonstrate insensitivity and imply criticism, and I can't find any apology for that.

Based on the apparent facts a new ball valve has been fitted and the valve shaft has not been bent to ensure that the closing level is 50 mm below the overflow outlet level.

Valve shaft? Do you mean the float arm? And why would a Part 2 float arm need bending anyway?

This is all very simple to us but to a non diyer it may seem like very technical and tedious questioning when they have to decide if the caller at the door is a Johovas Witness or a Bailiff, both wear ill fitting suits and carry briefcases!

Life is complicated for all of us. Most of the questions have been reasonable, patiently put, and, generally, jargon free, so I refuse to use baby talk just because the OP is not a plumber.

 

[astraea]

right!!
the reason i could answer the first question was because i had been up in the loft earlier in the day and had checked which tap made the water level drop - now i have been back in the loft the water goes down when the float is held up and the hot tap turned on when the hot tap is turned off and the float held up it did not seam to rise i held it for a couple of minutes and the water level did not move.
My hubby thought maybe it was coming from the hot water tank (he thought the coil could have gone and the hot water wash pushing into the cold water tank) but the hot tank has been turned off for two days and the tank is cold but the overflow is still dripping

hope this helps you to help me!!

thanks in advance
vikki

 

[astraea]

sorry meant to add when the ball was held up when the tap was swithced off it didnt look like the water level was rising but i could hear an occasional trickle???

 

[Softus]

sorry meant to add when the ball was held up when the tap was swithced off it didnt look like the water level was rising but i could hear an occasional trickle???

If you can hear a trickle then this indicates that water is probably still entering the cistern.

Thanks for answering some of the burning questions Vikki, but another one of the long-standing question is: when you're holding up the float arm, does ANY water still pass through the valve and into the cistern?

Also, when you say that the cylinder has been "off" for two days, what do you mean?

Regarding the question about the water in the cistern being cold/tepid/warm, do you feel the temperature when the cylinder was cold, or when it was still warm?

It's still possible that you have a faulty shower mixer valve, and I can't see anywhere that you've told us whether or not you have a shower mixer valve anywhere.

Do you have a shower mixer valve?

To summarise the questions in this post:

1. When you're holding up the float arm, does ANY water still pass through the valve and into the cistern?
2. How did you "turn off" the cylinder?
3. Do you have a shower mixer valve in the house?

 

[Agile]

The answers have demonstrated that the cold in the house is supplied from the mains as only the hot tap causes the cistern level to fall.

We dont know if the heating system is pressurised but probably not as I think a small tank was mentioned.

My best guess if the situation with the ball valve is either ignored or clarified as correct ( we have asked enough times but have received incomplete or conflicting information ) is that a mixer tap or valve has been fitted without a non return valve on the hot feed and is allowing mains pressure water to cross over to the gravity fed hot water.

Tony

 

[Softus]

My best guess if the situation with the ball valve is either ignored or clarified as correct ( we have asked enough times but have received incomplete or conflicting information ) is that a mixer tap or valve has been fitted without a non return valve on the hot feed and is allow mains pressure water to cross over to the gravity fed hot water.

I completely agree.

 

[OllieN]

Guys, I'm not a plumber so forgive any ignorance here...

If this is the case then the mains cold is pushing back through the cylinder and up into the storage tank?

From what I remember the feed pipe from the top of the cylinder is generally hot at point of exit from the cylinder due to the heat of water contained in the cylinder. Would this be noticably cooler if mains were being pushed back through the system (cool enough to diagnose the problem).

So could we get the OP to heat up the hot water in the cylinder and check the pipe temperature by hand to help diagnose?

Just a thought... maybe useless....

 

[Softus]

So could we get the OP to heat up the hot water in the cylinder and check the pipe temperature by hand to help diagnose?

Good luck with that one! Vikki has her hands full and little time to do even some of the basic tests we've suggested.

The rest of your post is spot on. Well done - you've understood something that one particular [experienced] plumber on the forum insists is physically impossible.

 

[Softus]

Moderator Rupert - where have Justin Passing's posts gone, and my reply to him, and my post to you?