Ikea Taps: Do I need the non-return valves?

[jon.p.weaver]

I have just bought a set of Ikea kitchen taps which have a 'rincer'. Looking inside the box, they include a pair of "non return" valves.

Do these have to be fitted? None of my current taps have non-return valves fitted and I wonder if they now need to be fitted due to a change in the 'building regs' ?

Are they optional? Do I have to fit them? If not, what the benifits of fitting them (or the implications of not)??

Jon

[Jim Alexander]

Is this an extending spray head? If so the risk is that the head could be left dangling submerged in the sink. The non-return valves prevent back syphonage of dirty water and ARE required by water regulations.

Jim A

[PCPaul]

There are also two sorts of mixer taps - some where the two streams are kept separate until they leave the tap, and others where they mix inside the body of it. I suspect yours is the latter type and the water regs do insist on non-return valves on those.

[jon.p.weaver]

I was wondering if that was the case.. Very much like an outside tap then.

The rincer I have is the type which is held above the sink by a spring wrapped around the house. Due to the design, its IMPOSSIBLE for it to go low enough to touch the water.. its simply too high and not flexible enough..

With this in mind, do I still need the non-return valves?

Jon

[John Stumbles]

But it probaby still mixes H & C within the spout, so yes you do need a check valve.

[John Rumm]

Almost certainly, since the hot and cold is probably mixed in the body of the tap. Hence there is the possibility that non potable hot is being mixed with cold from the mains.

[sm_jamieson]

Now that's impressive. Simon.

[jon.p.weaver]

I am still a bit confused.. I have many 'mixers' all over the house, all fitted by the original builder and none have check valves.. I know that some of the mixers mix IN the tap, as my cold pressure is far higher than my hot and when I put both taps on, I sometimes find that the cold pushes back up into the hot pipes (Atleast thats what I assume happens).

If they are necessary, why arn't they fitted now?

Jon

[dennis]

Retrospective laws.. If you have work done you may have to have them fitted.

[Man at B&Q]

What if the hot is from a combi, is it classed as potable? Are the check valves still required?

MBQ

[Neil Williams]

Or worse that if it's mixing tank hot with mains pressure cold, the cold ends up "blowing back" into the hot water tank through the outlet and causes it to overflow. This has happened to me on a tap that didn't have a (working) valve and it made a bit of a mess.

Neil

[John Rumm]

Because the fitter failed to fit them by the sounds of it. The only mixers you can legally fit without check valves are the type that have (typically) concentric pipes for hot and cold through the tap, and the actual mixing occurs as the water leaves the tap.

Having said that, it is quite common to find the true mixing sort fitted incorrectly.

[Owain]

Because your hot water is supplied from a loft tank, which supplies an 'air break' stopping contaminated water being pushed back into the *main*.

It doesn't mnatter if contaminated water is pushed back into your private pipework.

As only the kitchen cold tap used to be on the mains in many houses there was a distinction between 'kitchen' and 'bathroom' mixers. Kitchen mixers could not mix within the tap, bathroom ones could.

Owain

[Ian_m]

The way to test it (as I once seen) is fit tap without valves (in this case was gravity HW and mains cold).

Use the tap in mixed mode.

Watch the HW tank overflow !!!! as the cold back pressures up the hot circuit and fills the tank in the loft !!!