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

[AlexGas]

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

Invest in a wet hoover.

 

[WHPES]

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

Thin slices of 20mm and 25mm blue MDPE pipe are ideal for centralising basin and bath taps in their holes respectively. (some you may need to cut the ring to open up).

 

[Guest123]

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

After switching the mains back on when your finished your job, always check your cutomer's electric shower and toilet cistern are working and any taps in the house using mains water, a 5 minute check will save an unneccessary call back.

 

[dontknowitall]

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

After switching the mains back on when your finished your job, always check your cutomer's electric shower and toilet cistern are working and any taps in the house using mains water, a 5 minute check will save an unneccessary call back.

Might be worth checking these BEFORE you turn the mains off too, just in case a customer says it's your fault and they were working fine before you turned up!

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

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

After switching the mains back on when your finished your job, always check your cutomer's electric shower and toilet cistern are working and any taps in the house using mains water, a 5 minute check will save an unneccessary call back.

and make sure the washing machine/dishwashers off first before turning it off in the first place,had a custard today ring up (he fancies himself as a wanna be plumber) him just changed my tap washer and now the washing machine wont fill up ,whats gone wrong me you have killed its solenoid buddy,it was running when you turned the cold main off wasn't it ? him eh yes wife switched it on without telling me(liar )anyway can you fix it? me no,i am a plumber call a repairer

 

[WHPES]

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

If you think there is an underground leak between the outside underground stopcock and the house, turn off the main stopcock inside the house and screw down the outside one until just to say open. With the crutch key on top of the stopcock, put your ear to the t handle of the crutch key and turn off and on. If there is a leak you can often hear rushing water from the valve head.

 

[Spanner2k7]

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

To remove black sludge thats come out of a radiator onto carpet, do not try to wipe it up or rub it, it will just push it into the pile of the carpet. Use an atomiser spray the area with water and soak up with a wet vacuum cleaner. Lifts it out of the carpet. Worked on small amounts. The miracles of a battery wet and dry hoover, can get you out of all sorts of trouble. 😀

 

[Guest123]

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

Fix your grinder key or electric saw key or any other spanner that a tool requires with a cable tie down near the plug. It not only stops it from getting lost, but is a reminder to unplug the tool first before changing the blade.

 

[truemanufan]

To remove black sludge thats come out of a radiator onto carpet, do not try to wipe it up or rub it, it will just push it into the pile of the carpet. Use an atomiser spray the area with water and soak up with a wet vacuum cleaner. Lifts it out of the carpet. Worked on small amounts. The miracles of a battery wet and dry hoover, can get you out of all sorts of trouble. 😀

Also gas ldf spray is quite handy this too

 

[homeserve plumb]

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

Where would I get hold of one and for how much?

wickes sell a decent one £45-50 around that mark

 

[Spanner2k7]

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

Where would I get hold of one and for how much?

If you have dewalt power tools, get a dewalt one batterary powered or 240V. I use for everything from sucking water out of toilets (make sure no richard the thirds are in there though lol), into remove water in a pipe that wont drain away, Cobbled up an attachment to a hose pipe to fit on pipe, to suck the water out so I can solder

 

[SafeGasInstall]

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

something i try and worked perfect today ! black sludge from radiator on cream carpet !!!! solution ...

wet vac on it strait away follow with Mr Muscle window cleaner sprayed on it fingers on it left and right front and back till it starts to create foam then whet vac on it result was amazing IT LOOK AS NEW AS IT COMES FROM THE SHOP(and this was on light cream carpet)

 

[darek]

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

How to perfectly match the hot water to family needs

Capacity hot water tank should be carefully chosen. Why? Because the tray is not too small to provide a comfortable amount of water for washing and bathing. Too big - will increase the cost of operating the plant. Before you choose a tray, so take into account how many people lived in the house and how many points at the same time will be charged with water. For example, in a is the easiest way to determine the size of the tank based on simultaneous use of water by major points, namely bath and shower. To fill a small bathtub you need less than 100 liters, large - up to 250 liters a ten And when showering, we can use only 70 or even 250 l. It depends on the type of batteries installed.
If you are using a standard spray flow is 7-8 l / min, but for a hydro-massage shower panel ranges from 15 to 25 l / min. Then we add up these two values ​​(eg 100 L + 10 min x 7 l / min) and on this basis, we choose a model of a tray, which is within 10 minutes will give us at least a flow of water. In the catalogs manufacturers specify this parameter as the technical performance of the initial, or temporary.
Choosing the tray in addition to its capacity and efficiency should also pay attention to how to heat water. The choice we have several solutions, but the tanks are the most popular coil, and layered.

 

[pobsdad]

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

Stain the whole carpet black,and convince Mrs Jones that she's having one of her turns.And should pay you double.

 

[NAV]

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

Dont waste your money on a heat mat, i always use my hand saw. Its flexible enough and always protects the walls.

 

[Guest123]

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

If you get black sludge on a carpet, just blame the boy. Isn't that what apprenticeships are for? ;-)

 

[gasmarc]

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

wickes wet and dry hoover paid for itself in five minutes I went to a job where they had installed a bathroom downstairs but they could not get any water until I arrived

 

[gasmarc]

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

joke a side ,this customer was in a wheel chair and had a bedroom converted to a bathroom but the guy who did the job said the pipes or pump may need replacing and fair play to him he did an excellent job, I was called to solve the problem and suggested trying sticking the hoover on the shower outlet to clear the air lock , 2 minutes later hot water customers delighted and I suggested buying one herself cheaper than calling me out LOL

 

[gasmarc]

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

This is defo a money saving tip , clear your van out , I have driven around for 20 years with vans carrying everything , Nowadays I am slinging stuff out that I have had for over 10 years

 

[darren-]

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

Get cone shaped rubber bungs. Very handy if the house is off of storage and you don't want to be messing about with old gatevalves.

Just stick them in the storage tank at the draw offs, also saves you draining and refilling the tank if a valve jams shut.

 

[Guest123]

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

Get cone shaped rubber bungs. Very handy if the house is off of storage and you don't want to be messing about with old gatevalves.

Just stick them in the storage tank at the draw offs, also saves you draining and refilling the tank if a valve jams shut.

Best advice I got on this forum was to use a parsnip as a bung! Plus it counts as one of your five fruit and veggies!

 

[darren-]

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

R they really good ?

Yeah they have saved me alot of hassle in the past.

Had to go to a job about 2 months ago, the guy had fitted his own bathroom suite and had shut off the 2 gatevales in the loft. He managed to snap them both shut and the tank didn't have a standing waste/drain. I was in and out in 20mins because of those bungs.

They only cost about £2-£3 when i got them about 3 years ago from B&Q.

 

[Guest123]

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

To clean a trap like new, put it on a quick cycle in the dish washer!

I print sheets of permanent adhesive mini laser labels with a large red H for Hot and a large Blue W for cold. Looks impressive and great on long pipe runs or where passing through a wall as it stops pipes getting crossed. Also good in elderly customer's homes as they can tell which valve to turn off for a burst.

 

[Dannypipe]

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

To clean a trap like new, put it on a quick cycle in the dish washer!

I print sheets of permanent adhesive mini laser labels with a large red H for Hot and a large Blue W for cold. Looks impressive and great on long pipe runs or where passing through a wall as it stops pipes getting crossed. Also good in elderly customer's homes as they can tell which valve to turn off for a burst.

Nice idea, but I just use a roll of red/blue insulating tape. Same idea, but cheaper. Plus I have a roll of yellow for gas pipes. Some people think that all gas pipe should be painted yellow, but they're wrong and often it's useful to identify it all, even if it's just for self help!

 

[gasmarc]

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

i use a permanent marker called SHARPIES i think, they are great and will write on anything which is handy for marking pipes,wires etc

 

[Guest123]

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

I used insulating tape for a long time, but found that it can come off when going through a tight hole in a wall while the labels stay fixed. Don't do gas only bathrooms so you'd be more creative than me Dan for a gas label.

 

[gasmarc]

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

you only need to mark or tape one pipe lol

 

[SafeGasInstall]

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

I used insulating tape for a long time, but found that it can come off when going through a tight hole in a wall while the labels stay fixed. Don't do gas only bathrooms so you'd be more creative than me Dan for a gas label.

u make sure u sleave ur pipe work .....🙂

 

[WHPES]

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

Best advice I got on this forum was to use a parsnip as a bung! Plus it counts as one of your five fruit and veggies!

We called this the old carrot and tatie trick - A carrot in the hole and shove a potato onto the bottom of the swan neck of the vent.

Another tip - use the stub of an old candle to rub plenty of wax onto the formers of your pipe bender - easier to use and to remove the pipe.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

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

if pipe ripple when you use your pipe bender -pre heat pipe for a bit and happy days

 

[WHPES]

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

When fitting pipe insulation, the most useful tools are a bread knife and apple corer (the corer is to make the holes for tee joints)

 

[SafeGasInstall]

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

junior for me and lots of cable tights

 

[gasmarc]

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

just got back in from A & E after burning my hand on pipe LOL only joking , I have had this before also benders that never rippled and now got another one that does ripple now and again ?. tip for getting rid of airlocks etc get a foot of 22mm pipe insulation and tap the end over , works great on mono block taps

 

[plumbitp]

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

re: benders rippling pipe, are the rollers screwed in to the frame properly or a bit loose? this has given me ripples in the past as it rolls uneven when loose as its off centre by a even a fraction.

 

[dontknowitall]

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

I've been told that old pipe causes ripples too but the roller is the first to check.