Combi boiler and low water pressure

[John]

For some as yet unknown reason we (that is, just our house - neighbours at either side are OK) are suffering from low water pressure today. I haven't got any sort of guage to measure the actual value but I'd say it's down to about 15 to 20% of what it normally is.

Rang United Utilities who said that they can send someone round but, as we can still flush the loo and get a glass of water, it's not classed as an emergency and it'll be Friday before anyone can come. She did suggest turning the kitchen tap on and then opening/closing the main stop-c*ck a few times to try and sort any transient air lock or small blockage but that didn't do anything at all to help, so we're stuck like this until Friday or until it miraculously sorts itself out.

The pressure is too low to operate the electric shower, but I've been too cautious to try the domestic hot water yet. It's an Alpha CD32C combi-boiler - anyone know if I'm likely to cause any damage if I try to get hot water from it? And what about the dishwasher (a Kenwood KDW

60W10) and the washing machine (an Indesit WIXXE127)? Will they just (very) slowly fill and then work OK or will I risk any damage by trying to use them with low water pressure?

Cheers

[newshound]

Can't see how low water pressure would damage dishwasher or washing machine. And the combi will have a backup overtemperature trip as well as the "control" thermistor, either of which will prevent overheating. I wouldn't worry about it.

[John]

Neither can I really but better to err on the side of caution and ask others more knowlegeable than me, than cause unneccessary expensive damage in these financially challenging times. Bleedin' car insurance is due next week and has gone up by £250 on last year for no other reason than they just want to put it up. B******s!!

Thanks for that. See, I feel better already :-)

[Andrew Gabriel]

It's expected to go up massively due to all the ambulance chasing companies, and the industry has become so bent that the garage who repairs your car after an accident makes much more money selling your details to the ambulance chasers, car rental companies (and keeping your car in repairs for as long as possible to up the rental cost and their 'cut' of it), etc. than it does repairing your car, and your insurance company also sells all this info to other people who will make more money off it.

Guess what? *You* pay for all of this with rapidly increasing premiums, because it's pushing the cost of dealing with even a small prang completely through the roof, never mind something which actually involves a potential injury and/or compensation claim.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Wow - got featured on "Today" on Radio 4 this morning. Apparently the police have now also jumped onto the bandwaggon, selling names/addresses of accident victims to the ambulance chasers, to help them to do their fraudulant whiplash claims.

[Mark]

Swap insurers every year. AFAIK they all give introductory discounts for new customers.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If a claim is fraudulent, why do the insurance companies pay out? A few successful prosecutions for false claims would soon end the practice. But of course then the insurance companies couldn't use it as an excuse for raising premiums above inflation...

[Invisible Man]

They try very hard not to. Motor insurers try very hard to identify fraudulent claims and people are prosecuted. It is not that easy to bump up premiums in a very competitive market.

There were 2 ex-New Scotland Yard detectives working full time in the office I worked in. Countless private investigators are instructed to carry out surveillance on people suspected to be exaggerating injuries.

Some claims are totally fabricated. Holiday and theft losses particularly. Some motor claims are staged and often involve innocent parties. Some are exaggerated. Almost any loss or injury.

Insurance companies use forensic experts and all sorts.

One firm had a small flood and then hosed down loads of unsaleable stock. Must have been pretty thick. The difference between damage by rising flood water is pretty easy to tell from damage by tap water.

[Dave Liquorice]

Take a long screw driver press the handle end against your ear and the blade end onto the body of the internal stopcock. Can you hear any hissing or whosshing noise, when you are NOT drawing any water? If possible do the same to the external stopcock, is any noise louder?

Any noise when you are not drawing any water indicates a leak. Is the external stopcock housing full of water?

[Terry Fields]

I was paying £550 for two cars on one policy. I ran the details through the company's own website and got quotes for separate policies.

Rang them up, told them what I'd done, and they were happy to issue new policies. Total cost for both was now £300.

Get some off-web quotes and then give them a call. It's amazing what a bit of tooth-sucking can achieve even over the phone.

TF

[John]

Just got back in so I'll try that shortly Dave, thanks. We don't appear to have an outside stopcock, certainly none on our driveway/property - unless it was tarmaced over many, many, years ago :-(

[James Noble]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

I got the surprise of my life earlier this month when my insurance renewal came in. The price had gone up from 222.00 last year to 249.00 this year.

One phone call and I got the price down to 217.00 so, it's cheaper than last year!

07 Vauxhall Astra 1.8 Design Estate. 43 years unblemished driving record.

That's for fully comp with RAC breakdown, European cover, courtesy car, protected no-claims, business use and legal cover with M&S insurance. Been using them for years but always get other quotes each year and no one has ever beaten them.

As it happened, I got a call from KwikFit the same day I renewed and their cheapest quote was 292.00.

[Mark]

That's good. My household insurance went up by £100 this year and I could not get more than £30 off, whoever I tried.