Dripping tap downstairs bathroom - hot - turning off water?

[paulfoel]

Unfortunately, no isolation valve.

Of course, if I turn off the main stopcock it just turns off cold. Hot water is still stored in hot water tank?

I'm guessing that I need to find some sort of stopcock near the hot water tank outlet?

 

[The Natural Philosopher]

Unfortunately, no isolation valve.

Of course, if I turn off the main stopcock it just turns off cold. Hot water is still stored in hot water tank?

I'm guessing that I need to find some sort of stopcock near the hot water tank outlet?

IF you have a mains pressure system then stopping mains will stop all
water UNTIL someone opens a tap..then air is sucked into the cylinder
and watre comes out..

Be advised this also applies to flushing loos. DAMHIKT.

For header tank systems the answer is crawl into the loft, tie up the
ball valve and run the hot tap till the system is drained.

You MAY find a gate valve on the tank outflow (at the top is the
outflow) but don't bank on it..



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

 

[polygonum]

IF you have a mains pressure system then stopping mains will stop all
water UNTIL someone opens a tap..then air is sucked into the cylinder
and watre comes out..

Be advised this also applies to flushing loos. DAMHIKT.

For header tank systems the answer is crawl into the loft, tie up the
ball valve and run the hot tap till the system is drained.

You MAY find a gate valve on the tank outflow (at the top is the
outflow) but don't bank on it..

The very occasional tap can be fixed without turning the water off. For
example, Supataps.

 

[Owain]

For header tank systems the answer is crawl into the loft, tie up the
ball valve and run the hot tap till the system is drained.

Or you can put bungs on the outlet of the tank and the vent pipe.

Owain

 

[JohnW]

On 16 Mar, 20:31, Andy Burns said

Given that the hot water exists the top of the tank, you just need to
stop cold from entering at the bottom ... turning off stopcock or
tying-up ball valve in cold tank in loft ... open the hot tap, you will
drain the cold tank but not the hot, that's enough to work on the
dripping tap though

Yebbut if you open the hot tap you will drain the cold tank through
the hot wasting the hot water. if you find a cold tap fed
from the header tank and use this to drain the header tank, your
expensively heated water will remain in the hot tank for when you open
the stopcock again.

John

 

[polygonum]

On 16 Mar, 20:31, Andy Burns said

Yebbut if you open the hot tap you will drain the cold tank through
the hot wasting the hot water. if you find a cold tap fed
from the header tank and use this to drain the header tank, your
expensively heated water will remain in the hot tank for when you open
the stopcock again.

John

Or do it after having a bath (and turning water heating off)...

 

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 16 Mar, 20:31, Andy Burns said

Yebbut if you open the hot tap you will drain the cold tank through
the hot wasting the hot water. if you find a cold tap fed
from the header tank and use this to drain the header tank, your
expensively heated water will remain in the hot tank for when you open
the stopcock again.

unless you stop the air getting into the hot tank, limiting its supply
will not stop it draining

John

--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to
lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the
members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are
rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a
diminishing number of producers.

 

[Bill]

In message

Or you can put bungs on the outlet of the tank and the vent pipe.

My dad did that, hot water stopped flowing. Cause, drowned rat stuck in
the outlet pipe of the storage tank in the attic.

So maybe find a sacrificial rat and there's your answer.

 

[paulfoel]

Still totally confused...

Hot water tank is upstairs in cupboard. Strangely, I turned water off yesterday for a bit and then back on and hot water taps spluttered a bit.

How does turning off the cold water feed into the house stop water coming out of the hot tank which is full? Don't get it.

Obviously, what I want to be able to do is dismantle this leaking tap...

 

[ARW]

Still totally confused...

Hot water tank is upstairs in cupboard. Strangely, I turned water off
yesterday for a bit and then back on and hot water taps spluttered a
bit.

How does turning off the cold water feed into the house stop water
coming out of the hot tank which is full? Don't get it.

Unless you can find an isolation valve for the hot water - this would
normally be a ball valve between the cold water tank and the hot water
cylinder, then you would have to drain the cold water tank down by turning
off the stoptap and opening a hot tap until the cold water tank was empty.

You will not empty the hot water cylinder - it stays full - the hot water
from this tank to your taps is a gravity feed and all you are doing is
removing the pressure to the tank (either by the isolation valve or by
emptying the header tank). No pressure means no flow and you can remove the
hot tap.

 

[Jim K]

IF you have a mains pressure system then stopping mains will stop all
water UNTIL someone opens a tap..then air is sucked into the cylinder
and watre comes out..

Be advised this also applies to flushing loos. DAMHIKT.

unless the loo/tap is higher than the mains hot water tank....

Jim K

 

[paulfoel]

Unless you can find an isolation valve for the hot water - this would

normally be a ball valve between the cold water tank and the hot water

cylinder, then you would have to drain the cold water tank down by turning

off the stoptap and opening a hot tap until the cold water tank was empty.



You will not empty the hot water cylinder - it stays full - the hot water

from this tank to your taps is a gravity feed and all you are doing is

removing the pressure to the tank (either by the isolation valve or by

emptying the header tank). No pressure means no flow and you can remove the

hot tap.

Cold water tank? dont have one....

All we have is a hot water tank in an airing cupboard in the main bedroom. Surely this cant be gravity fed?

 

[Brian Gaff]

Yes, I have two in my loft both coming out of the cold tank, one to the cold
feeds from the tank the other goes to the bottom of the hot cylinder intake,
and thus you can turn that one off to stop hot, but if you need to actually
change the immersion heater things get very complicated and you start having
airlock problems when you try to start it all up again.
Brian

 

[GB]

The very occasional tap can be fixed without turning the water off. For
example, Supataps.

They came out when I was a child, and I thought they were SO modern!
That dates me.

 

[ARW]

Cold water tank? dont have one....

All we have is a hot water tank in an airing cupboard in the main
bedroom. Surely this cant be gravity fed?

It could be gravity fed. It depends what is in your loft!

As others have already mentioned it may be a mains pressure HW tank and have
suggested what to do.

Post a photo of what you have.

 

[Roger Mills]

Cold water tank? dont have one....

All we have is a hot water tank in an airing cupboard in the main bedroom. Surely this cant be gravity fed?

Does the hot water 'tank' look like a conventional copper cylinder, or
is it a really sturdy looking affair?

If the latter, you may have an unvented hot cylinder with a direct feed
from the cold mains, and running at near mains pressure. If so, it will
have lots of pipes and other gubbins connected to it - which is why
someone asked for a photo in order to be able to identify it.

If it *is* an unvented cylinder, the hot flow will stop very shortly
after turning off the cold mains. Turn off the mains and open a hot tap.
If the water flows unabated for a long time, it ain't an unvented
cylinder. I would expect to get no more than a few litres of hot before
it reduces to a dribble and then stops. If this happens, you can safely
dismantle a tap to fix the leak - as long as you don't turn the mains on
again until the tap's back together!
--
Cheers,
Roger
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