water supply NOT cut off but Attic tank empty??

hughm · 10-01-2010 3:58pm #1

Hi there, need a little advice and help.

We noticed today that our water tank ran dry in the attic. I had a quick look and the ballcock was down so water shoudl have been filling up but no water was coming in.

Our rising main is not turned off and we have water in the kitchen and outside tap.

2 questions

1 - is this likely to be weather related i.e. a frozen pipe or a blockage?

2 - can i run my central heating as we only noticed when our tank and cistern ran dry (using elec shower)

I don't know if I should wait and see if it comes back or go ahead and call a plumber.

in Terenure so no 'extreme' weather and our mains is not frozen, the pipe to the attic is all inside the house so should be even less likely to freeze.

any advice or tricks I can try?

thanks

Bull76 · 10-01-2010 4:14pm

Hi,

Could be a case of the ballcock mechanism is damaged and sealed closed internally. If you had a few adjustable spanners you could try loosening the water connection to the valve and see if any water leaks out.
Also, is there any chance some one has shut off an isolation valve for the feed to the tank?

Regards,
Bull76

hughm · 10-01-2010 4:22pm

thanks bull76, nobody would have turned anything off.

I'll try the ballcock and see if anything moves.

cheers

hughm · 10-01-2010 4:37pm

i looked at ballcock. couldn't really see what to loosen or adjust but when moving it up and down i could hear a very slight gurgling, like a small bit of air mixing with a small bit of water.

ballcock moves freely up and down and attic is not that cold today.

do you think i have a blockage somewhere?

meercat · 10-01-2010 4:49pm

Most likely main water pipe frozen in attic. Try to get a heater up there you could try hair dryer along exposed pipe in attic.

hughm · 10-01-2010 5:27pm

Hi,

i tried the hair dryer but the pipes really don't feel cold enough to be frozen.

Tried heating any exposed section of the pipe going up to the attic supply. none of it was that cold to the touch and heating it up seems to have done nothing?

pipers · 10-01-2010 5:34pm

Water pressure is turned down everywhere.
Im in the same boat, water comes into the house but not enough pressure to reach the attic.

wildwest1 · 10-01-2010 5:35pm

was the water in base of tank frozen has any sign of ice on it?

meercat · 10-01-2010 5:36pm

Maybe it's a faulty ballcock and not frozen pipes. If you are brave enough you could loosen nut where pipe enters tank and see if water flows. My guess is pipe freeze so I would leave heaters on all night as it won't be a quick fix if that's the problem.

Cherrycola · 10-01-2010 5:50pm

pipers wrote: »

Water pressure is turned down everywhere.
Im in the same boat, water comes into the house but not enough pressure to reach the attic.

Aha, that makes sense, cos we have the exact same problem, mains water is fine, outside tap is fine, but no hot water or shower water, i assumed it was frozen pipes, but surely the outside tap would freeze before anything else, so it could be a water pressure issue.

greengreen · 10-01-2010 5:54pm

had same problem and a dash of hot water on ballcock joint solved as it was frozen but if other pipes seem ok then maybe not

hughm · 10-01-2010 6:33pm

I would loveto believe it was the pressure.

I tried to feed my garden hose up to refil my attic tank but the pressure wasa not dtrong enough to get water up there.

However the presure from the kitchen sink seems reasonable.

will leave heating on tonight.

steamengine · 10-01-2010 7:02pm

hughm wrote: »

I would loveto believe it was the pressure.

I tried to feed my garden hose up to refil my attic tank but the pressure wasa not dtrong enough to get water up there.

However the presure from the kitchen sink seems reasonable.

will leave heating on tonight.

If the pressure in your garden hose is not sufficient to supply the attic tank, then it looks like you are on reduced mains pressure for whatever reason. Assuming that your garden hose is off the mains, which should be the case. That would explain why its not filling via the ballcock.

Heating system is normally a seperate system and generally can be run.

Cherrycola · 10-01-2010 7:18pm

My hot water is back, and washing machine is working again, dont know if its because i opened the loft door and whacked on the heating, or if its cos we seem to be having a slight thaw, or a bit of both.

I am setting the heating to come on for 15mins every hour and a half tonight, just to keep the house warm, and will leave the attic door open a crack too.

Holy god, now i know i will never live in Canada!!! I am so over this "Winter Wonderland"!:rolleyes:

water supply NOT cut off but Attic tank empty??

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