Flexi tap tails

[Pocster]

I had some fail on my temp kitchen ( only about 2 yrs old ) they came with a cheap tap so perhaps to be expected .

Someone I know recently had one split on the hot feed to the bath - causing a flood ….

So ! As I fit my new kitchen I wonder/ worry about them . You can buy one for 5 quid or 30 quid . Is there any variation in quality for price ? . Google tells me life span is 5 to 10 yrs . Not very reassuring .

Or do I just install , be damned , just hope I remember to inspect every 12 months ….. 🫤

[Mattg4321]

Or don’t use them at all?

[FuerteStu]

5 to 10 years? 

 

🤔

 

Maybe they're confusing lifespan with guarantee? 

[Pocster]

Who knows . But it worries me after 2 known incidents.

I could get the copper rigid tails and then do the end to my Hep2o …

Edited January 21, 2024 by Pocster

[Pocster]

What’s a hotel with 500 rooms do ?

Flexi tails failing left ,right and centre ; flood every day ?

Hmmmmmmm

 

[Mike]

2 hours ago, Pocster said:

What’s a hotel with 500 rooms do ?

Flexi tails failing left ,right and centre ; flood every day ?

 

Yes, pretty much. I did some work in a hotel once and there was at least one connector failing every month, sometimes every week, even more than one on the same day. I recommended replacing the lot, but the budget wouldn't stretch that far. Cheaper to repair the damage.

 

Personally I no longer use or specify them, except the ones that are safely fitted inside a WC cistern. It's easy to avoid them - you can readily buy rigid copper tails to fit monobloc taps, and just use regular pipe connectors elsewhere.

 

See also Faulty hoses dampening Australian households.

[Huckleberrys]

The only ones I have ever seen fail haven't been installed correctly...kinked or with too tight a radius bend. Causes the steel fibres to rub against the plastic inside. 

[Kelvin]

I was going to ask what the typical failure is.  

[Pocster]

7 hours ago, Mike said:

Yes, pretty much. I did some work in a hotel once and there was at least one connector failing every month, sometimes every week, even more than one on the same day. I recommended replacing the lot, but the budget wouldn't stretch that far. Cheaper to repair the damage.

Wow ! What a nightmare 🙄

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Huckleberrys said:

The only ones I have ever seen fail haven't been installed correctly...kinked or with too tight a radius bend. Causes the steel fibres to rub against the plastic inside. 

Is there a particular brand / type that is ‘better’ regardless of price ?

[joe90]

I too have had them fail and would not used them again.

[Kelvin]

What is it that fails other than poor installation as above? 

[Mike]

1 hour ago, Kelvin said:

What is it that fails other than poor installation as above? 

No doubt poor installation can be a problem, particularly with DIYers, but it wasn't apparent in those I saw that had failed. They'd just split somewhere along their length. I imagine that each time the tap is turned off there's a shockwave that runs through the pipe which stresses it. Repeat enough and it may eventually burst.

 

3 hours ago, Pocster said:

Is there a particular brand / type that is ‘better’ regardless of price ?

None that I'd buy.

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

No doubt poor installation can be a problem, particularly with DIYers, but it wasn't apparent in those I saw that had failed. They'd just split somewhere along their length. I imagine that each time the tap is turned off there's a shockwave that runs through the pipe which stresses it. Repeat enough and it may eventually burst.

 

None that I'd buy.

So those copper rods then ? . Is the connection end ‘ standard ‘ I.e simply fits in a Hep2o connector .

Unfortunately I can only do this on the kitchen taps ( others are to restricted and must be flexi hoses )

 

like these ?

Edited January 22, 2024 by Pocster

[markc]

Yes the straight end is 15mm copper so will go into hep20

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, markc said:

Yes the straight end is 15mm copper so will go into hep20

I’ll give ‘em a whirl 👍

[Thorfun]

finally, a useful thread from @Pocster with information i can use. 😜

[Pocster]

2 hours ago, markc said:

Yes the straight end is 15mm copper so will go into hep20

One issue I’ve got is by bad luck ( or incompetence ) those copper tails I assume have zero bend . As you can see my tap inlets are just inline with the cabinet side . Once I add the Hep2o fitting I’m going to be straining them . Do I worry ? . Or just cut that slot down much further in the unit so copper tails and Hep2o have a bit of room ? I.e no strain on the copper as nice and vertical .

Needless to say no issue if I use flexi’s

Edited January 22, 2024 by Pocster
Bum

[Alan Ambrose]

I'm not particularly prone to worrying, but now I have another thing to avoid worrying about.

[Pocster]

4 minutes ago, Alan Ambrose said:

I'm not particularly prone to worrying, but now I have another thing to avoid worrying about.

I wasn’t either ! . I had some flex’s disintegrate on my temp sink kitchen tap ( only 2 yrs old ) . I’d forgot about that . But Friday a friend said they got in their bath turned off the hot and heard a pop as the flexi split - naturally flooding their bathroom .

So - Now I worry about flooding my nice new kitchen. Also you’re going to worry . Bet @Thorfun is worried also . Might have to start a new “ Worried and scared “ thread .

[Pocster]

@Alan Ambrose

 

here you go ; so you don’t sleep tonight - look at the state on them ! With no obvious cause 

 

 

[markc]

1 hour ago, Pocster said:

One issue I’ve got is by bad luck ( or incompetence ) those copper tails I assume have zero bend . As you can see my tap inlets are just inline with the cabinet side . Once I add the Hep2o fitting I’m going to be straining them . Do I worry ? . Or just cut that slot down much further in the unit so copper tails and Hep2o have a bit of room ? I.e no strain on the copper as nice and vertical .

Needless to say no issue if I use flexi’s

You can ease a bend into them, don’t try to bend the 15mm bit even with a spring or you can distort the end that’s going into the hep20. Gently bend the thinner section/s. If you have a small tube bender even better

[Pocster]

10 minutes ago, markc said:

You can ease a bend into them, don’t try to bend the 15mm bit even with a spring or you can distort the end that’s going into the hep20. Gently bend the thinner section/s. If you have a small tube bender even better

Now I saw this on YouTube . But … all sounds like work and possible failure . Cutting a chunk out the unit is ‘safer ‘ I think 

[markc]

2 minutes ago, Pocster said:

Now I saw this on YouTube . But … all sounds like work and possible failure . Cutting a chunk out the unit is ‘safer ‘ I think 

Not as hard as you may think, drill a hole in a piece of timber, 20-25mm thick and then use drill to bell the hole (get rid of the sharp edge) put tube through hole and lever gently … old sparkles way of bending conduits etc.

 

[Pocster]

14 minutes ago, markc said:

Not as hard as you may think, drill a hole in a piece of timber, 20-25mm thick and then use drill to bell the hole (get rid of the sharp edge) put tube through hole and lever gently … old sparkles way of bending conduits etc.

 

Hmmm . But I’ve really got to S bend the top haven’t I . A bend to pull the copper across away from the cabinet then a bend to get it vertical again . Space is tight there with the sink . I’ll (expletive deleted) the unit apart skill required = negligible 👍

Edited January 22, 2024 by Pocster