Weird flow issues

[jakeeyre]

I have tried searching for this problem on the board but can't seem to find the exact fit. I am not a DIY'er, I'd just like to throw this out to the very knowledgeable people on this site. It's a bit long-winded, so please bear with me.

We have had a kitchen xtension finished since xmas. Lots of messing about with the water while it was going on. Underfloor heating, utility room etc etc.

About a week ago we noticed our flow was down on all of our taps (upstairs and down), with the hot not flowing enough to keep the boiler heating it up: hot-cold-hot-cold etc.

My missus noticed water coming up from outside near the footings of the new extension. We called the water board thinking it must be the service pipe - they will come and dig it up as long as it isn't under or in your structure.

They spent a day digging up our side patio and the next-door neighbours driveway, and eventually isolated the leak to a kind of double-back in the old galv steel service pipe where it goes into the old part of the house. It was gushing out underground and spreading all over. Nightmare.

At this point they (wessex water) backed off, saying it was now our problem. An irate phone call to my builder later, and at Wessex water's suggestion, he comes round and has bypassed the leaking bit with a new 25mm blue service pipe, and fitted a new internal stopcock.

We now have really low flow rates - I haven't had a chance to test them, but we are talking about a third down on the cold, and barely a trickle on the hot. Not enough to get the combi going, at any rate. Takes half a minute to get hot then cools down again about twenty seconds later.

We called the water board again, and they came straight round, at 2100 on a Saturday night, and spent 2 hours changing our service cock in the road. (how is that for good service?!)

Still no joy. They also tested the whole service pipe for leaks by fitting a meter to the street stopcock, turning off the internal stopcock and seeing if any flow was still present on the meter - nada, so no leak anymore, but low flow.

Downstairs, the cold seems ok, but no hot. Upstairs, it barely comes out of the hot, and cold is about half of what it is downstairs.

Any ideas? Do I get the builder back to back-flush the whole cold water inlet and boiler system? Do I ask Wessex water to change the whole service pipe and fit 25mm from the street in case some gunk has got into the old, narrower pipe and is now restricting my inlet pressure? They seem reluctant to get involved anymore, to be honest.

In the meantime, we still have no hot water, 5 days later, and I need a wash

Thanks in advance

jake

 

[Meldrew's mate]

Jake, I suggest you turn off your new shiny stopcock, disconnect the outlet from it, and attach a hose. Discharge the hose into a bucket outside and turn on the stopcock. Any stones in the bucket? Is the flowrate good? If so there's a partial blockage between there and the boiler (assuming it's a combi from your description). Some combis have flow restrictors on their inlets which will catch most debris - remove, clean, and backflush back to the service pipe.

If the flowrate into the outside bucket is still poor then it's a blockage of the mains, or right at the new stopcock - shut the street stopcock, remove the internal cock, and check the bucket flowrate (catching the stones and bits of brick)

Good luck, though let's face it, if it's not pi**ing down that's lucky enough.

MM

 

[Agile]

Its most likely that a part inside the boiler has become blocked by dirt following the leak and work on the supply pipe.

If the boiler is new and under warranty then there could be issues about taking it apart.

If old then any competent boiler engineer SHOULD be able to do it. But be aware that some are more competent than others.

Tony

 

[pipe strangler]

Its most likely that a part inside the boiler has become blocked by dirt following the leak and work on the supply pipe.

If the boiler is new and under warranty then there could be issues about taking it apart.

If old then any competent boiler engineer SHOULD be able to do it. But be aware that some are more competent than others.

Tony

no quote for the job you are slipping

 

[jakeeyre]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I really appreciate it.

However, things have moved on!

We went to bed grumbling about everything and everybody. get up this morning, and there is water coming out of the patio, in the same place that it was coming out before any of this started.

here's the weird part: If I turn off my INTERNAL stopcock, the leak dries within 2 minutes. When i turn it back on again, it takes over an hour for the water to start flowing again. The only internal plumbing in that area is the pipe feeding the kitchen sink. I am pretty sure it isn't coming from the underfloor heating, as we have not lost _any_ pressure on the boiler gauge in the 5 or 6 days this has been going on.

It makes no sense. When they turned off the mains in the street and re-routed the service pipe, we all stood and watched it for about two hours before they filled it in. _It did not leak_

I shall try the suggestion above from Meldrew Mate, thanks for that. My builder is coming round at 0800, so I think I will get him to do it.. Lucky us. I am dreading it being an internal fitting and the digging up of the kitchen that that would entail. Gulp.