Ok I have been dealing with this problem for over a year and finally have to ask for some help as backflushing every 2 weeks or so is getting very tiresome.
I live in a 60's flat (3 flats per side of the block so 6 flats in all) with two overhead water tanks in a tankhouse on the flat roof for each side of the flat block - one tank feeds the old 60's vented cylinder boilers and the other tank which is linked feeds the cold water for the toilet - mainly the sink taps, bath taps and cistern for each of the 3 flats via one central cold water downpipe.
So ok every 2 weeks or so the cold water feeds stops feeding to my flat only as though there is either an air bubble or piece of fibreglass from the water tank blocking the pipes.
The other two flats below me do not suffer from this so the blockage is not in the main cold water feed that goes down to each flat so it seems just my flat has the issue - i have attached a crude diagram of the piping it is less than 5 metres from the main cold water downpipe from the tanks to my bathroom sink which is the furthest away!
I have backflushed the pipes using a magic hose from the kitchen mains tap to the cistern valve pipe using my own modified rubber connectors which works quite well and clears the blockage every time but the blockage always comes back.
I am at the stage of deciding whether to take the pipe off the cistern and using a borescope to check the inside of the copper pipes for what the blockage actually is but i am feeling it may be more of an air bubble than a piece of plastic or fibreglass as nothing comes up into the cold water tank on the roof when i backflush.
As all 3 bath, sink and cistern water feeds fail i think the blockage may be at either the t-junction which splits the main tank feed to the sink and the bath/cistern or at worse case the main gate valve where the tank pipes feed off the main downpipe which feeds all 3 flats (we are 6 in a block so each side has 2 tanks in a separate tankhouse).
One thing i have noticed is that the toilet cistern is constantly leaking into the pan so was wondering if perhaps someone who has experienced this type of problem in an old flat could advise
I am thinking that perhaps the leak in the rubber seal in the cistern valve and therefore constant draw of cold water from the water tank on the roof is perhaps causing an air bubble so maybe try replacing the cistern dual flush valve as i have been unable to get a replacement rubber seal for the valve as it seems to be non standard size?
Any ideas gratefully received as I have been dealing with this for over 2 years!
I live in a 60's flat (3 flats per side of the block so 6 flats in all) with two overhead water tanks in a tankhouse on the flat roof for each side of the flat block - one tank feeds the old 60's vented cylinder boilers and the other tank which is linked feeds the cold water for the toilet - mainly the sink taps, bath taps and cistern for each of the 3 flats via one central cold water downpipe.
So ok every 2 weeks or so the cold water feeds stops feeding to my flat only as though there is either an air bubble or piece of fibreglass from the water tank blocking the pipes.
The other two flats below me do not suffer from this so the blockage is not in the main cold water feed that goes down to each flat so it seems just my flat has the issue - i have attached a crude diagram of the piping it is less than 5 metres from the main cold water downpipe from the tanks to my bathroom sink which is the furthest away!
I have backflushed the pipes using a magic hose from the kitchen mains tap to the cistern valve pipe using my own modified rubber connectors which works quite well and clears the blockage every time but the blockage always comes back.
I am at the stage of deciding whether to take the pipe off the cistern and using a borescope to check the inside of the copper pipes for what the blockage actually is but i am feeling it may be more of an air bubble than a piece of plastic or fibreglass as nothing comes up into the cold water tank on the roof when i backflush.
As all 3 bath, sink and cistern water feeds fail i think the blockage may be at either the t-junction which splits the main tank feed to the sink and the bath/cistern or at worse case the main gate valve where the tank pipes feed off the main downpipe which feeds all 3 flats (we are 6 in a block so each side has 2 tanks in a separate tankhouse).
One thing i have noticed is that the toilet cistern is constantly leaking into the pan so was wondering if perhaps someone who has experienced this type of problem in an old flat could advise
I am thinking that perhaps the leak in the rubber seal in the cistern valve and therefore constant draw of cold water from the water tank on the roof is perhaps causing an air bubble so maybe try replacing the cistern dual flush valve as i have been unable to get a replacement rubber seal for the valve as it seems to be non standard size?
Any ideas gratefully received as I have been dealing with this for over 2 years!
