We have a 40 y old ch that has developed a leak on and around the ' feed ' pipe connection joint ' ( about a foot from the bottom of the tank.I tried to tighten but impossible to move and probably split the washer ? Hence slight drip which I have tried Heath Robinson style tried to seal ! Could the forum reccomend a sealant reccomend a sealant that would do the trick if there is one.Dont want to do anything drastic like changing the cylinder we can live atm with the drip, have a good day all.
Welcome to the forum. Although you can post in any forum, the USA forum is here in case of local regs or laws
- Thread starter johnwilky53
- Start date
View the thread, titled "Leak on hot water ch tank" which is posted in UK Plumbers Forums on UK Plumbers Forums.
We can live with a minor leak , is there no sealant on the market I could use to improve the job and delay replacing the cylinder.
A
Aquarius
Not sure if this is any good,
Fernox LS-X Leak Sealer 50ml - https://www.NoLinkingToThis/p/fernox-ls-x-leak-sealer-50ml/23614?tc=MC6&ds_kid=92700055281954514&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=CjwKCAjwqvyFBhB7EiwAER786VgsyZItMDo6htpyYsMwdD9uJdxJcb3g35a4euve0UZqqPfqryqx9BoCONMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I’ve never used it.
or try this maybe: Silicone Temporary Repair Tape (WRAS Approved) - https://www.corgi-direct.com/silicone-temporary-repair-tape-17919-3421911
New cylinder as the one you have is the very old type that you had to cut the heating coil into yourself
CT1 Sealant or AdiSeal, but as others have said you need a new cylinder. A minor leak will turn into a major one soon and you might need your wellies.
A product called gaffer stick is good, basically a ‘chemical metal’ two part epoxy stick which you knead to mix the two components.
I used it to repair pinholes in a copper cylinder- it appeared to just lie on the surface with no adhesion and I was disappointed, however after a while it set up hard and was stuck immovably in place. It has since lasted years , in fact I’ve done myself out of a scrap cylinder and a days work replacing it!
I used it to repair pinholes in a copper cylinder- it appeared to just lie on the surface with no adhesion and I was disappointed, however after a while it set up hard and was stuck immovably in place. It has since lasted years , in fact I’ve done myself out of a scrap cylinder and a days work replacing it!
AdiSeal can also 👍🏻
Bad news looks like hot water cylinder has an internal leek as water backfilling expansion tank and dripping thro overflow ,is there any way of stopping the expansion tank level overflowing other than manually with bucket , i.e running hot water ,turn ing mains off until we get new cylinder fitted .Cheers everyone
If that's the case, isolate the cylinder at the inlet gate/lever valve and stop using the hot taps. The cylinder won't have pressure to force into the primary circuit. May result in some dirty heating water getting into your cylinder, but that's scrap anyway and you aren't using it.
How sure are you? What’s your heating circuit? Gravity (little tank in the loft) or pressurised (need to top up the pressure with the filling loop)?
It could be a mains water connected tap/shower letting by and back filling the cylinder/tank.
If you’re heating system is gravity, that won’t be back filling (no pressure).
If it’s pressurised, dump the pressure in the heating system to see if it stops back filling.
If it doesn’t, a second test is to shut off the mains to the house and open the kitchen tap to drain the mains pressure from your system. If it stops back filling something is letting mains in.
Fairly certain that it’s the cylinder because we had a friend ( engineer) around who did a repiping job near the cylinder ( due to a blockage) , so We are pretty certain that’s it’s the cylinder and need a new one if that’s possible.
The system is two tanks in the loft , 1 big one ( cold water tank ) and a smaller expansion tank about 4 foot away . Both float valves / ball cocks working correctly ( in fact changed the big tank ball ) .
So awaiting our ch engineer decision on whether to change cylinder of scrap the whole system ( unfortunate because it’s works brilliantly after re pipe , aside the leak )
Engineer has some unfortunate family problems so we have to be patient with the poor lad and naturally don’t want to mither him or indeed ask someone else.
So I’ll keep lowering the level in the expansion tank in the loft ( bit tricky cos I’ve recently had a hip replacement) to stop the leak, I know it’s sounds like a comedy sketch with respect .
So would like to know will switching off mains stop the overflow?
Does or will using the CH make the problem worse ?
Is there a a way just to stop the water supply to the cylinder temporarily?
Or a way of drawing the lowering the level in expansion tank without doing it manually.
Btw it is a 40 year old system that’s served us well and still is without the overflow drip , so not moaning.
cheers for any responses.
Sorry I misunderstood your problem.
I though that the cold water storage tank was overflowing.
Just reading back through, it’s actually the heating f&e tank (smaller of the 2 tanks)?
Can you turn off the cold supply to the cylinder (should be a valve either by the cylinder or cold water tank in loft) then open a hot tap to release pressure.
Does the f&e tank stop over flowing?
I though that the cold water storage tank was overflowing.
Just reading back through, it’s actually the heating f&e tank (smaller of the 2 tanks)?
Can you turn off the cold supply to the cylinder (should be a valve either by the cylinder or cold water tank in loft) then open a hot tap to release pressure.
Does the f&e tank stop over flowing?
Cheers for the advice ,I'll have a look and give it a try , is this something I could do on more than one occasion ?
Official Sponsors of Plumbers Talk
Reply to the thread, titled "Leak on hot water ch tank" which is posted in UK Plumbers Forums on Electricians Forums.
Similar plumbing topics
- Question
- zacwithleak
- UK Plumbers Forums
- Question
We recommend City Plumbing Supplies, BES, and Plumbing Superstore for all plumbing supplies.
