August 3Aug 3 I have been tasked by a relative to raise this outside tap to a sensible height (accessible by a wheelchair user) It is connected using some plastic (looking) 15mm pipe. The elbow fitting at the bottom is this The lettering on the top of the fitting reads BS7291/2 2006 Class S PB Q'FIT 15mm The top of the plastic pipe appears to go into a normal 15mm compression fitting with a normal brass nut. I am away from home at the moment, passing through here on my way to other places. My task, on the return trip is to extend this pipe to raise the fitting to a better height. That can either be replace the existing pipe with a new longer length, or leave that alone and couple a new length on with a straight coupler. I am not familliar with these fittings don'd know how to uncouple the pipe from the fitting and if they are even re usable. P.S this is not how I would have done an outside tap and if you mention the builder / plumber that did this the air turns blue with expletives.
August 3Aug 3 Author We have delved further into this. Did I mention this extension was build by Bodgit and Scarper (very) Limited. I could not repeat a single word said of them on this forum. As far as I can tell the whole extension is plumbed with this type of pipe and fittings. Delving deeper. That elbow disappears through the wall, half of it foamed in part buried in the wall. Looking inside it gets worse. It comes out in a small boxed in section behind the downstairs wc. Looking into that the whole lot of the boxed in section is filled with expanding foam. If there is an isolator, it would be very hard to reach and would need the expanding foam digging out. Best to assume no isolator for that outside tap. B&S Ltd living up to their reputation. Having discussed all this with the home owner I think we have decided this is a can of worms that is not worth opening. Will get some pipe insulation for that exposed length of pipe.
August 4Aug 4 3 hours ago, ProDave said: We have delved further into this. Did I mention this extension was build by Bodgit and Scarper (very) Limited. I could not repeat a single word said of them on this forum. As far as I can tell the whole extension is plumbed with this type of pipe and fittings. Delving deeper. That elbow disappears through the wall, half of it foamed in part buried in the wall. Looking inside it gets worse. It comes out in a small boxed in section behind the downstairs wc. Looking into that the whole lot of the boxed in section is filled with expanding foam. If there is an isolator, it would be very hard to reach and would need the expanding foam digging out. Best to assume no isolator for that outside tap. B&S Ltd living up to their reputation. Having discussed all this with the home owner I think we have decided this is a can of worms that is not worth opening. Will get some pipe insulation for that exposed length of pipe. As @carlos21 says, just crack the compression nut off the tap, add a compression coupler, add pipe, make back off into the OS tap. Simples. Don't bother with isolators, just knock off the mains in the street and crack on.
August 4Aug 4 This brand, Whitespeed looks like it: https://www.static-caravan-spares.co.uk/15mm-elbow-connector-white
August 4Aug 4 Again, similar but no flats. Unbranded so fits with cheap builders: https://www.toolstation.com/elbow/p46696?
August 4Aug 4 2 hours ago, Onoff said: Again, similar but no flats. Unbranded so fits with cheap builders: Not sure why I ended up reading the Toolstation reviews, but if you are attempting something @ProDave just be aware that one of the reviews says "Designed for single use so not ideal. Can be disassembled to enable reuse with a little gentle persuasion." Might be wise to use the coupler approach if you do anything rather than try to disassemble the elbow...
August 4Aug 4 36 minutes ago, garrymartin said: Not sure why I ended up reading the Toolstation reviews, but if you are attempting something @ProDave just be aware that one of the reviews says "Designed for single use so not ideal. Can be disassembled to enable reuse with a little gentle persuasion." Might be wise to use the coupler approach if you do anything rather than try to disassemble the elbow... probably like the polyplumb stuff with a toothed metal retaining ring. Can only really remove them by sliding back over down the pipe or cutting them off.
August 4Aug 4 Surely the easiest would be to simply cut the 15mm polypipe in the middle and with 2 straight through push fit connectors add in a length of 15mm polypipe to bring the tap up to the required height. That way you leave both connections as they are and you're much less likely to mess one up and start on a series of trips to the nearest big shed to get more bits. EDIT - it won't look like a bodge as you're going to cover it all in insulation 😉 Edited August 4Aug 4 by Bramco
August 4Aug 4 8 minutes ago, Bramco said: Surely the easiest would be to simply cut the 15mm polypipe in the middle and with 2 straight through push fit connectors add in a length of 15mm polypipe to bring the tap up to the required height. That way you leave both connections as they are and you're much less likely to mess one up and start on a series of trips to the nearest big shed to get more bits. EDIT - it won't look like a bodge as you're going to cover it all in insulation 😉 You can disassemble the top of the white elbow, reclaim all the internals and reconstruct, then just push a fresh bit of copper into it. Fingertip of fairy liquid to lube the rubber and pipe before assembly will let it all pop back in with ease. Or, for insurance, just cut the pipe 100mm above the elbow and use 1x straight connector > copper > tap.
August 4Aug 4 2 hours ago, Nickfromwales said: just cut the pipe 100mm above the elbow and use 1x straight connector > copper > tap +1. I might even push the boat out a bit and add an isolator. It’s only money.
August 9Aug 9 B&L ltd probably didn't add a check valve which there should be on an outside tap. You could use a double check valve as the coupler for extending the pipe vertically. Not sure it check valves cope well with freezing though
August 9Aug 9 2 hours ago, MortarThePoint said: B&L ltd probably didn't add a check valve which there should be on an outside tap. You could use a double check valve as the coupler for extending the pipe vertically. Not sure it check valves cope well with freezing though Double checks need to be indoors, as DC taps assume you’ll insulate them during winter with an EPS codpiece.
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