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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Oil fired boilers:

A windscreen wiper bush puller is ideal for getting burner fans off, and removing small motor bearings. It is also a good deal cheaper than a bearing puller.

Most Riello / Electro Oil motors take 6202RS bearings. These are the same as many alternator bearings and are readily available from car parts suppliers and as such a good deal cheaper than from plumbers merchants.

For tanks below the level of a burner you need a priming pump to draw the fuel into the burner. Again obtainable from most automotive tool & parts dealers.

When installing fuel lines to tanks below the level of the burner, remember to use the correct bore pipework, (usually 8 or 6mm diameter but given in your OFTEC installation file). 6mm plastic coated copper is cheaper to buy from a hydraulics merchants than an oil fired heating suppliers.

If you are into night fishing or night activities, get a Tilley lamp as you can run this on all the waste kerosene from cleaning filters / emptying old tanks etc.



Fitting Taps:

Hang onto a few short lengths of different size MDPE (Alkathene) pipe. For a basin tap, cut a 3mm ring off some 25mm alkathene pipe and it makes an ideal spacer to centralise the tap in the basin hole, likewise 32mm for bath taps (you may need to open the ring or cut a little out in some cases.)

Overflows:

To connect 21.5mm solvent weld overflow pipe into the Marley or 3/4" solvent weld, warm the end of a piece of 21.5mm overflow pipe with a blowtorch and shove some 20mm MDPE pipe inside and allow to cool. The end of the pipe will be spot on to fit in the larger bore overflow fittings.

Likewise if you have one make of overflow where the pipe is too tight to fit into another make's fittings, warm the pipe and shove it into the fitting to make a looser fit.



Levelling guttering, checking pipe levels or general building:

Forget messing about with Dumpy levels - use the centuries old tried and tested way - take a length of semi transparent hose which is clear enough to see through and tie both ends pointing upwards where you want to check levels. Fill the hose with water so that the water level is visible at your reference point. The water level at the other end of the hose will be exactly horizontal to the one at the reference end.
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

always carry a pot of vicks vaporub in the glove box. when you are on a particularly smelly job rub a bit inside each nostril.
i have ever since i fitted a mixer shower for a guy who wipes his rse on the shower curtain i won't get caught like that again!!

KJ
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

when fitting pillar taps point it to 3 o'clock and tighten the back nut up as much as poss then crack the tap round to point where it should and it aint budging any time soon
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

one i remembered from pluasne

make an air test kit by stripping the rubber off an old tyre schraeder valve and solder it into some 10mm (i think) then solder into a 10x15 reducer connect the 15mm to a compression fitting, get yourself a foot pump and away you go.

KJ
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Removing airlocks from a gravity system: put a washing machine hose on the cold washing machine valve and connect it to the hot valve open up both valves for a few seconds till you hear it bubble in the cylinder this will clear the airlock

A temporary fix for a faulty expansion vessel: drain and refill the system and bleed all radiators except 1 this radiator will act as a temporary expansion vessel
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

For your bending machine.
Measure your bend as you would normally and put it in the machine and put a pencil mark on the wheel at your size mark.
Pull your bend and check the size is correct. If it is cut a saw draft on the side of the wheel where the pencil mark was (you may need to adjust it a mil or 2 back or forward). Do the same with the other wheel.
You now have a permanent mark to go by and don't need to fk about measuring.
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Use a piece of bicycle inner tube and a jubilee clip as a temporary repair for a punctured pipe.
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Don't use washing up liquid when fitting WC pan connectors as this can spoil the rubber. If you don't have any of the proper lubricant, use normal household soap.

To clean brick dust off grout I use an old worn out shaving brush of mine.

When you are using a spirit level to get a straight line over a distance, think - is it easier to use a plumb bob and / or chalk line? The hosepipe trick I mentioned on a previous post is useful when marking out for tiling long walls / around rooms

Joiners plastic shims are extremely useful for siting sanitaryware on uneven floors or boxing in on uneven walls. The white ones are the ideal size for spacing tiles off a bath / shower tray or worktop when tiling, to leave enough room for silicone

When making push fit joints, make a line with a marker pen on the pipe approximately level with where it should push into the fitting so you can tell if it's completely home when assembled.

If you are using the service valves supplied with Armitage Shanks WCs these have a plastic olive (which I have seen slide off the pipe under pressure on two occasions) so do not install in such a way that the pipe can blow off - Install into rigid pipework or use another brand of service valve.
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When drilling holes on concrete floors or walls for a fixing, after removing drill bit, use a air bellows pump (normally used for air testing on soils or air testing 1st fix gas carcass) with a piece of 8mm/10mm copper tube wedged in and insert to base/end of hole and pump out all dust and debris thats left after drilling. Sometimes helps to look away or wear goggles though!!
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

When drilling holes on concrete floors or walls for a fixing, after removing drill bit, use a air bellows pump (normally used for air testing on soils or air testing 1st fix gas carcass) with a piece of 8mm/10mm copper tube wedged in and insert to base/end of hole and pump out all dust and debris thats left after drilling. Sometimes helps to look away or wear goggles though!!

I use a turkey baster. I kid you not. Hilti have a tool for blowing dust out before resin fixing. It's basically a turkey baster with a red handle.

Hilti - £50
Sainsburys - £3

Just as good.
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

just read threw these and im sure i read it on hear before but instead of leaving your solder brush in the bottom of your tool bag/box take an old length off 15 mm flatten and roll one end the cut to the length of your brush and use a jg speedfit on the other end keeps your brush nice and clean and stops making a mess in your bag

p,s thanks to whoever posted this before
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Attach the formers for your pipe bender onto the bender frame with large strong rubber bands - you will never need to go hunting through the toolbox for them again!

Leave your welding rods in a biscuit tin in the bottom of the oven after it has been on. It will keep them free from damp and ready to use.

If you have left rods in your van and they have got a bit damp overnight, lay them on tinfoil on top of your engine block (provided you have had a decent drive).

four lengths of threaded bar, washers and plenty of nuts make an ideal jig for setting up parallell flanges and pipe sections for tack welding.

Always carry a basin and sink telescopic P trap as part of your kit - one size fits all!
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

A sherry bottle cork is the ideal size to use as a quick temporary plug for a sprinkler head when the bulb has blown.
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

if. like me your van has no roofrack and you keep your copper tube inside the van and it can be seen through the windows...

i simply put my 15 in my 22 and my 22 inside waste pipes, then to any opportunist scrote having a sneaky look inside can only see plastic pipes and is more likely to leave my van alone.

KJ
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

if you get that fresh pasta that comes in plastic trays, hang on to the trays as they make good drip trays also ice cream and margarine tubs.
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Always cover any glass with vinyl on the inside rear doors , a very easy cheap deterant against getting robbed.
If you have rear doors make a shelf about 18 inches high. This is ideal for keeping expensive tools hidden ,even if someone pops a rear window they cannot get to the expensive drills etc ,unless they can unlock the back doors.
buy a leatherman TTI or gerber and you can avoid carrying a tool case at all
buy a pretzel head torch, get a wickes wet and dry perfect for airlocks.
Use pipe lagging to get rid of air locks ,charge more work less lol
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Hello GASMARC can you explain the last bit about lagging to get rid of airlocks,
regards
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

i think he means to use it to make a seal between the wet & dry and the pipe.
 
re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Tutorial - How to remove an immersion element which has been stuck in with jointing compound:

Time - Approx 1/2 hour from draining.

1, drain to below level of element

2, remove all cover, thermostat, wires etc

3, make a saw cut across top with hacksaw as in the first picture, down to the gasket but be careful not to cut through the gasket or you will damage the face which the gasket seals onto. Make another saw cut at about 45 degrees to the first.

4, with a 3mm drill, drill a series of holes across the face of the element joining the saw cuts and going round the thermostat hole and element terminals.

5, use a 5mm drill to enlarge the holes so that a continuous gap is created across the face.

6, next we need to cut through the vertical sides of the element cap where the threaded section is (first picture). Work a hacksaw blade along the gaps to clear out and parts between the drill holes. Next cut into the threaded part, being careful not to cut beyond the thread or you will cut deep into the cylinder thread and risk damaging the cylinder.

7. with a pair of grips, try to pry out the 45 degree segment. Once you have cut through enough thread you should be able to remove this (second picture). Once removed, you should be able to squash the remaining sides of the element top together to free from the cylinder and unscrew.

8, With a wire brush and miniature screwdriver, clean out the threads on the cylinder and clean any jointing compound from the mating face.

cylinder2.jpgcylinder3.jpg
 
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re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Buy a wet vac, they can be used to remove airlocks, clean dirty F & E tanks, and catch water when it's too awkward to have a deep bowl or bucket.

I use one to drain rads if customer wants to decorate behind them it's much cleaner then using a small tub & bucket under the valve to drain it off. ( dont forget to turn both sides of the rad off ) have the wet vac on & ready to go,crack the rad valve nut then just put the hose right on the rad tail then suck it all out,this method works well on small rad(s) with 3/4 union nuts.

Use a water proof dust sheet at all times when working on rads in this way because there is always the risk of you dripping dirty rad water on a customers carpet! & you dont want that!
 
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