Rejoining a dead leg to main feed.

[AverageDIYerEssex]

Hi. So I have a 22mm supply line running through the kitchen. It appears that someone has come off this with a 15 to serve the old WC. This has now moved so I initially capped off the hot (the cold I have moved to supply the washing machine.)

Now having read up on dead legs I wondered if it would be ok to reconnect it to the main? I can't get to the area where the original tee is to chop it out and replace so wondered if I could tee back into this 22 line so it's kind of a loop.

Please see image attached for an idea of that I mean

Thanks.

 

[AverageDIYerEssex]

@dilalio you have always given me great advice, what is your thoughts?

​

 

[Madrab]

You could but if there's no outlet in the loop then it would still be a dead leg, as there still wouldn't be any HW flow through it.

 

[AverageDIYerEssex]

You could but if there's no outlet in the loop then it would still be a dead leg, as there still wouldn't be any HW flow through it.

Yah that's a good point. I imagine the water would just bypass the first T and carry along the 22 to wherever is calling for it.

Maybe I'll have to dig the ceiling out and cap it right at the T or chop it out.

Don't most people's home that have an old hot water appliance feed have dead legs as they're not normally used now? Surely they don't all cut them out do they?

 

[Mottie]

My old hot feed to a long-gone washing machine is still in place but as it’s only a couple of inches off the main hot feed, I’ve left it.

 

[dilalio]

Don't most people's home that have an old hot water appliance feed have dead legs as they're not normally used now? Surely they don't all cut them out do they?

They are everywhere.
But domestic doesn't get WRAS audits like care settings do, so they remain until some major plumbing work gets done and/or an observant plumber sees it can be done, on a small job.

Even then, it's unlikely to be possible to remove it back to the tee and to a length, twice the diameter of the pipe.

 

[CountryFan]

Can you get to either side of the tee? How long has it been a dead leg for?

 

[AverageDIYerEssex]

Can you get to either side of the tee? How long has it been a dead leg for?

Only about a year as that's when I took the WC out. I can't really get to the other side. I'm gonna rip up the floorboards later and just chop it out I think. Might as well whilst I'm cutting holes everywhere else lol

 

[Madrab]

But domestic doesn't get WRAS audits like care settings do

Yeah - that and Landlords have a responsibility to ensure a legionella risk assessment is performed in their properties and dead leg removal is part of that process. not so much in a domestic setting though.

 

[AverageDIYerEssex]

Just in case anyone wanted to know I ended up hacking out the ceiling to find the origin of the dead leg. I couldn't get in to cut the tee out but caped it off about 2cm from the tee so hopefully no legionnaires disease for us. Lol.