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No water pressure in house

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  • 20-11-2007 3:05pm
    #1
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭


    Hey. Suddenly I have no water pressure in my house. I have all the in wall fossets open, and the tank in the attic is full. The cock stop in the attic tank is working, when I press down on it it fills up. Any ideas what it could be?
    thx in adv


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    #2
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    no pressure or no water?
    no water could be an airlock no pressure is probably something else entirely.


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    #3
    10-10-20
    Registered Users Posts: 7,165 ✭✭✭10-10-20


    A little unclear alright - No water from the basin taps etc, but is there cold water at the kitchen sink or outside?


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    #4
    towbar
    Registered Users Posts: 448 ✭✭towbar


    is it a pumped system - does the tank feed a pump that pressurises the water to the taps?


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    #5
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    Sorry guys, there is cold water in all the taps. I, not sure what sort of a system is is. There is a tank of water in the attic that runs to all the taps. If I want hot water, I turn on the emmersion boiler and 10ish minutes later I had some hot water. Now tho, when I turn on the hot water tap, just no water comes out


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    #6
    towbar
    Registered Users Posts: 448 ✭✭towbar


    sounds like an airlock need to connect a pressure supply eg mains to an open hot tap an back feed to clear the airlock


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    #7
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    towbar wrote: »
    sounds like an airlock need to connect a pressure supply eg mains to an open hot tap an back feed to clear the airlock

    Thx for that towbar, Im going to have a google to see what all that means :D then Ill try it.


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    #8
    towbar
    Registered Users Posts: 448 ✭✭towbar


    Sorry this explains it

    http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/curingairlock.htm


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    #9
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    towbar wrote: »
    Sorry this explains it

    http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/curingairlock.htm

    Excellent Towbar, that explains allot, Ill try that. Would this be likely to be the problem if none of the hot taps all over the house are working? Also is there a disastor situation here that could happen?, such as the hotwater tank in the attic over flowing and coming through the ceiling. or any such nightmares :)


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    #10
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    Check the hot press.
    There should be a large diameter (3/4 inch) pipe coming down from the attic tank into the bottom of the cylinder. This cold water coming in at the bottom is what "forces" the hot water (at the top of the cylinder) out of the hot taps.
    Someone may have closed the valve on this inadvertently.

    If this isnt the problem, before going to the hassle of hooking up a mains hose, try blowing down/up a tap (you will need to seal it with your mouth, so clean it first!) if its an air lock you should hear some bubbling or something in the pipes/cylinder.

    good luck.


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    #11
    yakyak
    Closed Accounts Posts: 23 ✭yakyak


    go to the tank with a torch and a poker, check the outlet for a blockage....ie a mouse....its that time of year!!


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    #12
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    yakyak wrote: »
    go to the tank with a torch and a poker, check the outlet for a blockage....ie a mouse....its that time of year!!

    damn kamikaze mice! :D


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    #13
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    GreeBo wrote: »
    Check the hot press.
    There should be a large diameter (3/4 inch) pipe coming down from the attic tank into the bottom of the cylinder. This cold water coming in at the bottom is what "forces" the hot water (at the top of the cylinder) out of the hot taps.
    Someone may have closed the valve on this inadvertently.

    If this isnt the problem, before going to the hassle of hooking up a mains hose, try blowing down/up a tap (you will need to seal it with your mouth, so clean it first!) if its an air lock you should hear some bubbling or something in the pipes/cylinder.

    good luck.

    Thanks for the replies guys, this is great stuff. GreeBo, would the fact that the hot water tank in the hot press mean that this wouldnt be the problem?


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    #14
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    yakyak wrote: »
    go to the tank with a torch and a poker, check the outlet for a blockage....ie a mouse....its that time of year!!

    Cheers Yakyak, just up in the attic, no mice in the tank. The immediate blockage there that I can see either. Dont know whether I was relieved or not to see that there was not mice


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    #15
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    I guess you are saying that the cylinder isnt in the hot press?
    Is there a copper cylinder in your house somewhere?
    Is the immersion a standalone switch or is in the hotpress?


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    #16
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    GreeBo wrote: »
    I guess you are saying that the cylinder isnt in the hot press?
    Is there a copper cylinder in your house somewhere?
    Is the immersion a standalone switch or is in the hotpress?

    Your going to have to excuse my complete dopyness in this area GreeBoo. I have a big copper cylinder in the hotpress, upstairs.
    http://www.cda.org.uk/megab2/build/heatdocs/domestic.htm

    Its also hot to the touch when I turn the gas boiler\heating on. The boiler is connected to the gas from the gas board supply.


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    #17
    JamesM
    Registered Users Posts: 1,775 ✭✭✭JamesM


    As GreeBo said earlier, could someone have turned off a valve in the hot press ?
    Sometimes lever type valves are fitted - someone may have knock against it and turned it at 90 degrees to the pipe.
    Jim.


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    #18
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    No worries oxygen, we were all there once :)

    In the link you posted check out the first picture. Im guessing this is the situation you have.
    You can see there is a blue pipe coming down from the attic and into the bottom of the hot water cylinder (the big copper yoke in the hotpress)
    What you need to check is that the water from the tank in the attic is able to get to the cylinder to force the hot water out.

    You have already checked that the tank in the attic has water so thats not it.
    You checked that its not obviously blocked.
    What you now need to check is that the tap/valve on it is in the open position.
    Normally this valve will be somewhere on the pipe in the hotpress (usually just out of reach without a step ladder ;) )but I guess it could also be in the attic.
    Make sure this is turned fully anti-clockwise (though you should never have taps *fully* open or closed, turn them back a smidge so they dont stick) if its a round tap, or that the lever is parallel to the pipe if its a lever switch.
    You will hear a rumble of water if this was the problem and you should get hot water from the taps after a few bubbles and some air.

    Let us know how you get on.


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    #19
    cubix
    Registered Users Posts: 2,161 ✭✭✭cubix


    Oxygen cant see it in your posts but is there no hot water in any of your hot taps or just a particular one?. Probably not your problem but over time the flow of water from the hot tap for the bath got less and less to the point it was only a dribble. IT turned out to be a piece of concrete which had found it way into the system and traveled through the pipes upto the hot tap. I was lucky enough that by simply taking the tap off and turning the water back on, the presure pushed it out.

    Cubix


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    #20
    djmc
    Registered Users Posts: 1,611 ✭✭✭djmc


    Check if the tank in the attic is filling when you are not using water anywhere
    It could be a hot water pipe leaking under ground floor


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    #21
    GreeBo
    Registered Users Posts: 27,164 ✭✭✭✭GreeBo


    Did you get it sorted?


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    #22
    cubix
    Registered Users Posts: 2,161 ✭✭✭cubix


    Just another weird one I came across the other night that might point you in the right direction. Ran the bath for the kids, turned off the taps. Then turned the hot tap back on and nothing came out. Tried the cold tap and it was fine.
    So afterwards I took the plastic top of the hot mixer tap,which exsposed the inards. A small circlip had come off so when I was turning the tap it seemed like it was opening/closing fine put underneath I presume because the spindle had no circlip to lever on the tap was not open at all inside. IF anyone knows the proper termanology for all of the above please feel free to change. Just to add I put the circlip back in place and everything is back to normal

    Cubix


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    #23
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    Hey guys, I "blew" into the tap in the bathroom. Sounds weird but I heard some gurgelling and then it worked. Then I had to turn off the water for my first attempt at fixing another leak that made that leak worse. After said leak fixed and water back on, I was looking at it today and the pressure seemed ok out of both hot taps. Im going to try it again later on and let ye know. I will need to start using the hot water soonish. In the words of a bigger man than me "Ill be back" if it doesnt work. Im hoping the pressure is sorted tho. thx a mill


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    #24
    oxygen_old
    Closed Accounts Posts: 897 ✭✭✭oxygen_old


    Thats it guys, pressures back on, water works working. The house is now waterproof from the inside and out(there was a hole in the ceiling as well :P )


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    #25
    dublinplumber
    Registered Users Posts: 8 ✭dublinplumber


    Has anyting happened unusual lately, like a large amount of water being used ie. bath filled ,garden tap on for long period,washing car etc ? or had the council turned off your water? , if not ,an airlock is unlikely.Airlocks are common but there is usually an event that leads to these occurring in the average house where the system has been fine for years.Blockages are rare but not impossible, mice,birds,pieces of insulation etc.


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