VLOGS

Is your hot water system going hot and cold? Making you think there’s a fault with your hot water?

The tenant has reported that he thinks there’s a fault with the hot water system, because the hot water goes really hot and really cold and they can’t quite figure it out. Therefore, the hounds have come out to the property to work out what’s going on. The hot water system, a electric continuous flow system, is one of the new style ones that we recommend for stability.

Strangely enough only just recently I’ve been talking to a couple of plumbers saying that I’m yet to come across a fault on one and then lo and behold, a couple of weeks later, there’s a potential fault right behind me.

First thing I’m going to do – you see I’ve got my temperature probe ready to go – is to check the temperature of the system. Is it hot? Is it cold? Is it lukewarm? We’re about to check one of these basin taps – let’s find out what we’re dealing with.

After checking the temperature, we can confirm that it’s consistent we I’m just going to go around and check all of the outlets because I’ve got a sneaking suspicion I know what might be going on.

I’ve got a secret sneak in suspicion is because where people usually have an issue is at their showers. I’m pretty sure the problem is that water fluctuation problem rather than the hot water system itself. For more investigation on the cause and fix, watch this video & you might be able to save yourself some time and money!

Hi everybody, it’s Richard at Plumbdog, so I’ve just come out to a property where the customers just brought me around the back of the house. He’s showing me his hot water system and he’s asked me to come out here and service it. He seems to think it’s working quite hard, he can hear sort of water travelling through and he sort of thinks his water bills are a bit higher than usual.

Before I get started, if the water bills are quite high and you can hear running water this will point in me towards the fact that there might be a bit of a water leak instead of an actual system fault.

I’m going to go out to the front of the property and just going to check if we’re losing any water there. At the water meter, I’m just going to perform a five-minute test and see if it’s moving at all. If the needle moves, there’s a water leak. Every full circle, every time it goes around 360 degrees that’s one litre.

It’s not moving much but it’s definitely moving. You can see that needle is moving – it’s just moving really slowly. If you blink, you’d miss it. This is the reason we do tests over five minutes.

I’m going to a see if I can figure out where that leak might be. I’ll isolate the hot water system first and see if it’s on the hotline or the cold line. I have retested as I’ve isolated the water cold feed into the hot water system to see if it made any difference and it didn’t. That means is that there is a small water leak but it’s on the cold line not the hotline.

This would mean that the job has now transitioned from hot water servicing to leak detection, which are two totally different specialized services of ours. Have a look at the video to determine the next steps utilised to resolve the leak.

• A burst pipe is often reflected by a sudden increase in your water bill.
• Contacting a licensed plumber to detect and fix your leak will save time, money and precious water.
• Be sure to take care of pipes and avoid damaging them when installing so as to reduce the chance of a burst pipe later on.
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Finding the source of a leak can be both time consuming and frustrating. The mystery of what mess you could find beneath the ground may be daunting, but with Plumbdog on hand we can save you time, endless digging to find your leak and many, many litres of water. Here Darius shows us how the team uses their specialist equipment to quickly find the source of the leak and fix the problem.

BURST PIPE
Darius arrives at a call out for a burst pipe and with some initial checks realises the problem is external to the house coming from the cold water main.

FUJI LEAK DETECTOR TIME
Like a stethoscope for leak detection, Darius uses the Fuji Leak Detector to test the area around the suspected leak. Navigating his way closer to the water metre he finds the correct spot to target his digging.

UNEARTHING THE PROBLEM
With the removal of a few pavers and a bit of digging, Darius finds the source of the water leak with damp soil near the copper pipe joining the polypropylene pipe. Turning the water main back on confirms this is the source of the leak, with water starting to gush out of the poly pipe. With a little more digging Darius reveals a number of damage points in the poly pipe that have weakened and split open.

AVOIDING THE ISSUE
The damage found was most likely caused during the installation phase of the build. The pipe was relatively new and should have lasted a lot longer, however the pipe looked as though it had been dragged and damaged, weakening the pipe. A nice reminder that taking care of your plumbing materials (like Plumbdog do!) will mean less hassles down the line.

THE SOLUTION
Darius decides the most efficient way to repair the damaged pipe is to extend the copper pipe down to where there is some undamaged poly pipe to connect to. Darius is careful to add a bend to the copper pipe extension to help relax the angle of the join to the poly pipe. Sharper angled joins are a possible contributing factor to damage and weak spots in the pipe.

Plumbdog uses specialist equipment, in this case the REMS press gun to join the copper pipe extension to the existing copper pipe. The press gun is used to crimp the sections of pipe together. A Plasson fitting is used at the other end of the copper pipe extension to connect to the existing undamaged poly pipe.
Tip: Always check that the Plasson fittings have the grab ring around the right way as sometimes they can be put in the fitting back to front.

TESTS AND CHECKS
Plumbdog takes pride in getting the job done well which is why the final checks are so important. Darius turns the mains water back on and runs the nearest tap while visually inspecting for leaks around the newly installed pipe. The water metre is also tested for a period of time to ensure that no water is being lost anywhere else.

GOT A LEAK?
Let Plumbdog play their favourite detective game!
If you’re in the Greater Perth area, invite us round to find your leak. We’ll bring our favourite gadgets and will be happy to get the problem sorted for you and save you time and precious water!

Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, like and subscribe to stay up to date with our latest videos.

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• Updating your wall mounted taps can be challenging as different manufacturers may use different sized parts.
• Depending on the new tapware chosen, swapping over a wall mounted tap might be possible without getting out the jackhammer!
• Darius from Plumbdog has some fun completing the final piece to the puzzle, changing the bathtub mixer tap to match the new matte black finish in the rest of the bathroom.
• Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Changing mixer tapware that is surface mounted is easy to do, but how do you change tapware that’s built into the wall without opening up the wall? In this VLOG Darius shows us some tricks of the trade to make this swap possible.

BACK IN BLACK
A quick tour round the ensuite bathroom shows the bathroom getting a little facelift with a new matte black shower head and surface mounted sink mixer tap. These fixtures are relatively easy to change and give the bathroom a modern sleek finish. But when it comes to changing the wall mounted mixer tap for the bathtub, things are a little less straightforward.

CHROME INVESTIGATIONS
The existing chrome wall mounted tap mixer body may not suit the new tapware. To find out, the Plumbdog team will have to dismantle the mixer tap and see if parts can be easily changed over. It’s not always possible to change out old components for new as manufacturers like to change small things to make it nearly impossible…. but when you’re a clever sausage like Darius it can be done.

OUT WITH THE OLD… AND SOME OF THE NEW
When dismantling the new mixer tap there is a brass mixer tap body and a cartridge which mates onto the face of the tap body. These pieces fit together and are what create a seal to stop the water flow. In theory, the brass tap body can be discarded as there is already one mounted in the wall from the existing tapware.

When dismantling the existing chrome mixer tap, Plumbdog is extra careful not to damage parts just in case it can be swapped and the old tap needs to be reassembled, but thankfully this is not the case here.

SQUARE PEG ROUND HOLE
Like poetry in motion, Darius cuts a slightly larger hole in the wall to allow the new square black mixer tap fixing to slide in and screw on to the existing brass plate in the wall.

With a bucket at the ready for any water that wants to drain from the pipes in the wall, Darius continues to assemble the new tap using the cartridge from the old tap as it is the correct size to create the best seal.

Piece by piece the tap is replaced using a little from the old and a little from the new.

SPOUTING WITH JOY
With the mixer tap successfully assembled, the final piece to the puzzle is fitting the spout where Darius finds he needs to cut back the wall piece to ensure the spout sits flush against the wall.

Using specialised equipment called a spud or nipple cutter (ouch!), he cuts back the spud by a few threads. This equipment prevents damage to the wall that could occur if using a hacksaw for the job.

Extra care is taken with a drop sheet to protect the bathtub and bathroom floor and to catch any mess.

SOME FINAL CHECKS AND TIPS
Always seal around the tap to ensure no water can run back into the wall.
Take care of your fellow plumbers. Greasing the stainless steel grub screw in the tap will help prevent the metals from seizing together, allowing the next person to remove the screw with a little less cursing!

Turn on the water, check for leaks around the mixer tap and check that hot is hot and cold is cold!

Plumbdog take great pride in their knowledge and have specialised equipment to help you achieve the best result, especially when things aren’t as straightforward as you had hoped.

If you’re in the Greater Perth area and want to save yourself from a date with the jackhammer, Plumbdog is your wingman. Give us a call today!
Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, like and subscribe to stay up to date with our latest videos.

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