Overflow Pipe dripping outside

[patrick66]

Dear all,

Whenever I leave my house vacant for a period of time my overflow from my cold water storage in the loft starts dripping and will keep dripping until I get home and do something like flush the toilet. I recently went on holiday for a week and switched off my heating/hot water before I left. Within a day of leaving the overflow started dripping. It never happens when the house is occupied. Could someone please tell me why this is happening and how I can rectify it.

Thanks

 

[RigidRaider]

Ha ha, my tightwad Hungarian neighbours had this and left the house one winter for a couple of weeks; when they got back there was a huge ice fall leaning against the outside of the house. It made a mess of the lawn when it thawed and fell over.

You have a leaking inlet valve on one of the tanks in your attic. This is probably the most common and simplest plumbing problem any householder will face. The tank is slowly over-filling and the overflow is doing the job it was put there for. Flushing the toilet shouldn't make any difference but most other water use should.

Have a look at the Plumbing FAQs on here for the remedy. If you don't feel competent to fix it yourself, which is an easy job, call out a plumber.

 

[patrick66]

Thanks for the advice RigidRaider.

I have a Homeserve insurance contract for internal plumbing and pipes. Hopefully they will take a little less time than me attempting it.

 

[AlanE]

I have a Homeserve insurance contract for internal plumbing and pipes. Hopefully they will take a little less time than me attempting it.

If this is for emergency cover then expect them to simply shut off the water supply!

 

[patrick66]

Hi AlanE

Would they not fix the problem? It is not a constant drip. Only when the water has not been used for a time. For example all of yesterday it was ok. When I woke up this morning there was a puddle outside where it had been dripping overnight.

 

[OilLecky]

Patrick, you need to see what your insurance covers. It may just be for emergency actions.i.e. turning off the water not carrying out a repair.

As you have been told, one of your tank inlet valves (often known as the "ball-cock" after the float that operates it) is leaking. They are simple to renew. First find out which tank feeds the overflow that leaks, turn off the water at the rising main stop-cock and then change the valve for a new one. You'll need to make sure that you have the correct diameter pipe fitting as there are several. If you are not sure, turn the water off, remove the old valve and take it with you to your Plumber's or Builder's merchants.
If this sounds at all complicated, then call a Plumber.

 

[patrick66]

Thanks for the advice Oilecky.

 

[patrick66]

Thank you Oilecky and Rigidraider for your accurate replies.
I now have another minor problem. The ballcock was replaced by a Homeserve engineer last week. Since his departure it appears that the cold water storage tank is taking ages to re-fill. For instance last night I flushed the toilet and the toilet refilled within a minute but I could still hear the hissing noise of water going into the header tank for a further 15 minutes. As I have a loft conversion and the coldwater tank is obviously next to the bedroom it was noticeably taking a long time almost as if there was water running from another source and making it constantly fill up. Any idea's reasons for this happening would be appreciated.

Thanks

Patrick

 

[nitro23456]

Within a day of leaving the overflow started dripping.

How do you know that if your not there?

Cancel you homeserve and buy yourself a spanner or two with the money you save.

Turn off the water and partially empty the tank by running taps and flushing toilet (toilets can come off the tank as well).

Change inlet valve..... easiest job possible really.

OR even easier, turn off water when you go on holiday (as a temprary measure) which you should do anyway.

 

[nitro23456]

Your most recent problem is probably a poor quality valve that is noisy..... check to se if the tank is actually filling but is just noisy.

If in fact it isnt filling fast, then he has probably not restored the water supply fully to the tank at the stopock/service valve

 

[patrick66]

How do you know that if your not there? The neighbours informed me Nitro.
Would you advise turning the stopcock off at the point in the kitchen or on the coldwater storage when I next go on holiday? I also have a small megaflo in the loft which I leave on all the time (it only serves the loft and is independant of the central heating/hot water system). Would turning off the water have a detrimental effect on the megaflo ir would it be advisable to turn that off too.