Flexible tap connectors breaking

[doddsie]

Hi, I am new to this forum and looking for some help. So thanks in advance for any advice given.

2 years ago we renovated a house in France and fitted a number of new bathrooms. In all the bathrooms we used Burlington Bathrooms taps for the baths and basins and used the flexible tap connectors that were supplied with the taps. A year ago one of the flexible connectors to a basin snapped off at the end, where the pipe thread that goes into the tap joins the pipe. This then flooded the house, as we were out at the time.

The house is used for holidays, so when we are not there we turn the water off at the mains, but we leave the heating on. When my wife went there this weekend she turned the water on and realised an hour later that another flexible hose had snapped, again flooding the house. Again it snapped at the end where it goes into the tap, leaving part of it inside the tap thread. So she turned the water off at the mains, cleaned up and then isolated that bathroom, so she could put the water back on again to the rest of the house. An hour later another one snapped, in a different bathroom.

We now have no faith in the system and are scared to turn the water on, especially if we are leaving the house. So I'm looking for advice on how to solve the problem and any thoughts as why two would have gone within hours of each other, despite the fact that that they've been fine for the last two years.

Any help would be very gratefully received.

 

[Last Plumber]

Hello doddsie and welcome to the Forum !

I can't tell you why they broke, it could just be that the manufacturers had a bad batch

Or they could just be of poor quality.

If you want to keep those taps you'll either need to buy new flex or you can get hold off rigid copper tails with the same thread on the tap end. I have only ( personally) seen that type supplied with the taps to be honest.

It does sound like you've had a bad batch to me.

Are the taps not under manufacturers warranty ?
Most taps have at least five years

 

[Last Plumber]

Hello doddsie and welcome to the Forum !

I can't tell you why they broke, it could just be that the manufacturers had a bad batch

Or they could just be of poor quality.

If you want to keep those taps you'll either need to buy new flex or you can get hold off rigid copper tails with the same thread on the tap end. I have only ( personally) seen that type supplied with the taps to be honest.

It does sound like you've had a bad batch to me.

Are the taps not under manufacturers warranty ?
Most taps have at least five years

 

[doddsie]

I'm not sure about the bad batch theory, as the one that broke a year ago was bought from a different supplier at a different time and had a different flexible connector, as it was a different model tap.

 

[Last Plumber]

Ah !

Forget the bad batch then.
Do they look corroded when they break ?

 

[Last Plumber]

What's the water pressure like on your French system ?

Is it the brass that breaks or the flex/rubber ?

 

[Darren Jackson]

They do not normally fail as you have described unless they have been over tightened on install, I agree with Last Plumber on this and you were probably unfortunate to have a bad batch supplied with your taps. It is important that the flex's are only fitted hand tight and not tightened up with a spanner as this could make them fail as you have described in the not too distant future.

 

[Darren Jackson]

Bad batch theory out the window then... overtightened theory still remains?

 

[Last Plumber]

Good point there made by Darren.
If they've been DIY installed, people do tend to over-tighten things, no offence meant i'm not saying you did that !
It could be that. They are an 'o'ring seal !

 

[doddsie]

Water Pressure - Is higher than the UK, but we do have a pressure release valve fitted. It doesn't have a gauge, so I don't know what the pressure is.

The plumber may have overtightened them, I don't know. I asked him to quote me to change all the flexible pipes, but he said that he would quote to change all the taps. So whatever I do, I think I'll do it myself.

 

[doddsie]

It's the brass breaking, not the flex/rubber.

 

[Last Plumber]

Difficult one!

I can only say that in thirty years of plumbing/Heating I can't remember seeing that !
To get three in one house, there's a common denominator

Perhaps French plumbers are heavy handed doddsie?

 

[rpm]

Temperature change from very hot to very cold weather? Any sharp kinks in the flexi in that area adding a load?

 

[doddsie]

Perhaps French plumbers are heavy handed doddsie?

Perhaps, not sure, I do know he's very expensive and likes plenty of add-ons on his bills.

 

[doddsie]

Temperature change from very hot to very cold weather? Any sharp kinks in the flexi in that area adding a load?

There is big temperature changes externally, as the house is in a ski resort. But the heating is left on, so the temperature doesn't change that much in the bathrooms.
There's no sharp kinks in the flexi.

 

[rpm]

Sabotaged by said plumber? Really is a strange one.

 

[Last Plumber]

Intriguing !!

Have you not raised this issue with him ?

I know that if I had installed three taps and they failed and flooded someone's home I would definitely be informed and I personally would be more than concerned.

I would be checking the rest

 

[Last Plumber]

RPM has a point, did you argue about his ad-ons?

 

[doddsie]

We disagreed over some of his ad-ons, in France you make a quote and you're supposed to stick with it. It was more a problem that the project manager assured me some things were in the quote and he assured me they weren't. But I paid all his bills and we left on friendly terms and he knew that there would be further bathrooms in the future, which I'd get him in to do.

Yes I've been in contact with him, but there is a language barrier and I don't want his solution of him sourcing and changing all the taps through out the house. The fact that we supplied the taps, means that he won't take responsibility for them.

 

[Old Account]

I believe in Europe we have got around 4/5 bar mains water pressure. I assume the flexi's must have been over tightened ( as mentioned above ) or just a poor quality flexi's. It also could cause issues when turning the mains off and on. Once you turned the mains off and drained the rest water it may blast with 4/5 bar through the pipes and it will surely break on the weakest points ( if poor quality or faulty batch of flexis ) ... I had few issues like that back in Germany so maybe we could consider the issue too