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Under pressure(d) from SWMBO : so this is IMPORTANT URGENT AND VITAL


ToughButterCup

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PLEASE HELP STOP +++ LACK OF WATER PRESSURE IN ONE TAP STOP ++++ DANGER OF OWNER'S PREMATURE DEATH  STOP +++ REPLY SOONEST STOP +++ NOT MUCH TIME LEFT TO LIVE STOP +++

 

We have recently had our heating system changed from a gravity-fed system to a pressurised system. And it's all tickety boo. But there's a little niggle : well in some quarters it's though of as ..............  massive, really massive.

 

Our kitchen sink tap water pressure has gone from full-bore-in-yer-face-mind-out-you'll-die- if-you-turn-it-up-any-more to an annoying trickle. Plumber says he has no idea why. I think he was under too much pressure (sorry). 

 

To answer this question, do you need more detail, or do I just go to the house stop-cock and give it some?

 

+++ THIS MAY BE MY LAST POST +++ HAVE PITY ON AN INNOCENT MAN +++ REPLY SOONEST +++

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Normally, with a gravity-fed system, the kitchen cold tap won't have been gravity-fed (as gravity-fed water from an open tank is not potable), so it would have been fed directly from the cold incoming main, via the stop cock.

 

If you've had a pressure reducing valve fitted, as a part of the conversion from a gravity-fed system to some other system, such as an unvented hot water cylinder or even some types of combi boiler that don't like very high pressure, then there will be a pressure reduction; as @ProDave says, usually to around 3 bar.  3 bar is still pretty high, and more than enough to get a tap to create quite a splash, so that makes me wonder how much plumbing has been changed and whether anything like flow restrictors were previously fitted to some taps in order to make them more controllable.

 

If so, then the chances are the plumber may well not have known of their existence, and now you have a reduced supply pressure the flow restrictors may no longer be needed.  There's also the possibility that any isolating ball valves on taps may not by fully open.  At our old house I deliberately had the kitchen tap isolator valves kept partially closed to act as flow restrictors and stop the tap splashing (we had around 6 or 7 bar water pressure there).

 

Simplest things to check are:

 

Did the plumber fit a pressure reducing valve?

 

If so, are any isolating ball valves on sink taps etc fully open?  (slot in line with the pipe is fully open, slot at an angle to pipe is partially closed, slot perpendicular to pip is fully closed)

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1 minute ago, JSHarris said:

[...]

If so, are any isolating ball valves on sink taps etc fully open?  (slot in line with the pipe is fully open, slot at an angle to pipe is partially closed, slot perpendicular to pip is fully closed)

 

Colleagues, I may be some time. It was nice knowing you........?

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Crud in the pressure reducing valve? Does fiddling with that make any difference? Have you got a pressure gauge on it to see?

 

Think that's our issue here. Job for the next week or so to sort that. Right behind the downstairs cloak wc.....kids with bad aim etc! :)

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7 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

What does a Pressure Reducing Valve look like?

 

The thing with the (optional) gauge coming out of it. You can turn off at the stop cock,  unscrew and clean the gauze / mesh filter thing. 

 

20161018_181259

 

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Close the stopcock fully, and then count the number of turns to fully open. If it's a good many then your stopcock is open and you don't want to be forcing it past the fully open position. 

Is hot pressure / flow reduced at all the outlets in the whole house or just the kitchen sink ?

 

 

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1 hour ago, recoveringacademic said:

Ed, where's me stop-cock?

I have managed to turn it up 1/8th of a turn. Slight improvement, but not sufficient to prevent a public hanging.....

Probably best to turn it back that 1/8 otherwise things start to get sticky, didn’t seem like that’s the problem so best let Nick tear your system apart. 

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20 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

[...]

More info please boyo. ;)

 

Right. Here's what's under the sink. And it isn't good news. The photo is of the hot water supply under the mixer tap in question.

 

20180818_091040.thumb.jpg.e945a848b91ab4adf3f085c41841c81e.jpg

 

Approaching this with what I think is logic (but probably isn't) .... work back from the tap towards the newly fitted equipment.

 

Take a close look at the valve thingy.  I thought it would be a good idea to rotate the screw in the middle a quarter turn to see if that changed anything.

And immediately got a squirt of water coming through the screw seating. You can still see a drop of water on the screw head.  Cue quick exit, photo and this post.

20 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

[...]

Is hot pressure / flow reduced at all the outlets in the whole house or just the kitchen sink ?

 

Just the kitchen sink. Other taps on the line are flowing normally. The kitchen sink is the last in the supply line from the boiler. 

20 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Close the stopcock fully, and then count the number of turns to fully open. [....]

 

Opened fully and then backed off a quarter turn.

This feels like the issue is local to the kitchen sink.

 

Ian

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+1

 

Looks like the shaft seal has gone and the shaft ,may have parted company from the ball, leaving the ball valve partially closed.  It looks like it's recently been replaced,a s the chrome compression nut is the one from the valve that used to be there.

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3 minutes ago, PeterW said:

If this is in the old house then this will fit straight in - undo the two nuts when you’ve turned the water off, and slot it in.... Isolating Valve

 

You don’t need a full bore Pegler in a single tap supply ... ?

 

I meant 'cos it's Pegler. Full bore just a bonus. :)

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9 minutes ago, PeterW said:

It’s a kitchen isolator .... in a house he’s selling ... and will fit straight in... ?

 

Exactly.  I've fitted loads of the cheap ones (the ones that come five or ten in a bag from Screwfix) and can't ever remember having a valve problem, other than the damned things getting jammed with limescale.  Even the most expensive Pegler ones can get jammed with limescale, though.

 

I've a policy of only fitting expensive, brand name, valves in places where they are going to be used relatively frequently.  For example, the three lever full bore valves on our softener are expensive ones for that reason, as are the lever ball valves either side of the water filter.  The rest are all bog standard ones, that I doubt will get operated in my remaining lifetime.

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SWMBO says she'll review the advice in this thread later.

 

At the moment, she's deep in the bowels of our 16 year old Bosch washing machine changing the brushes of the motor. And there's me saying that Bosch stuff doesn't break down : the Bosch dishwasher packed up last month

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3 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

SWMBO says she'll review the advice in this thread later.

 

At the moment, she's deep in the bowels of our 16 year old Bosch washing machine changing the brushes of the motor. And there's me saying that Bosch stuff doesn't break down : the Bosch dishwasher packed up last month

 

Brushes on the wm pretty easy. What's wrong with the dw?

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