Outside Tap

[Rod]

I did not know that. Makes a bit of a nonsense of them mostly being a part of the tap, doesn't it?

[John Stumbles]

I fitted an extra hot tap (actually warm: mixed via a TMV as others have suggested) for a client to wash her dog. It wasn't so much that the dog had a problem with cold water as the client, who presumably massaged the dirt out of the hound's hair with her hands.

Personally I'd have thought a Karcher would do the trick ;-)

[John W.]

You can get brass equivalents, as in

[<me9]

How good are their pressure washers, namely the 411A. I've just aquired a (supposedly) non working one which cycled every couple of seconds when off. I cleaned out the bypass valve/pressure switch and it appears to work ok. any gotchas with this model?

[Owain]

I had two dogs that needed occasional washing. One would happily sit in the shower cubicle and she got the warm shower. The other refused (I think he hated the noise of the shower) but was quite happy being hosed down on the loggia from the cold outside tap.

Owain

[The Medway Handyman]

Pretty good. The 4 series has an induction motor I think?

Spares are easy to get hold of.

Cleasning out the bypass was exactly the right thing to do! They can also be adjusted.

[David Hansen]

On 19 Jul 2008 11:51:02 GMT someone who may be [e-mail] (Andrew Gabriel) wrote this:-

Not if the tap is drained properly before winter.

[Rod]

Self-evidently, it would appear the taps weren't so drained. And I would expect that to be the case in many, possibly most, homes around the country.

[John Stumbles]

But if the tap incorporates a double check valve it can't be fully drained

- water will be trapped behind the second check valve. For that reaon I wouldn't fit them in exposed locations or in colder parts of the country. Down here in the relatively mild south-east, for a tap on the outside wall of a house sheltered from icy winds and without (much) external pipework (e.g. on a through-wall plate connector) I wouldn't worry.

[<me9]

God!

It has.

They seem to be, but expensive for some. But if of good quality...

It seems to work fine now. I haven't dared trying to adjust the bypass.

Thanks.

[Roger Mills]

Someone was offering a non-working 411A on Freecycle-Leamington recently. Were you the recipient of *that* one? I made a bid for it as spares for mine, but was too late!

I've had one for getting on for 10 years, and have only had two problems with it. The first one was failure to start - although it showed *some* life if you kept pressing the switch. This suggested a faulty capacitor, and I was able to get a suitable (second hand) replacement from a local motor rewinding outfit. It wasn't identical, but fitted ok - and that was several years ago and still works. [You need a long thin T15 torx screwdriver to get it apart - and one of the screws is a security screw with a tit in the middle - but I found that the tit broke off quite easily, allowing me to use a normal torx screwdriver on it].

The second problem was very recent and relates to the trigger unit. The final nozzle bit (where wands and other fittings plug in) has a o-ring seal, and is held in place by some grotty little plastic lugs. These lugs gave up, allowing the nozzle to move, such that water leaked out in all directions instead of going into the wand. I had numerous goes at mending it, with only partial success and eventually bought a complete new pressure hose and trigger (with a different design from the original) on Ebay.

[<me9]

No, It wasn't that one. It was from a friend who had two, and wanted more space in his shed. I'll quiz him further tonight.

[snip]

I managed to get in with an allen key, I only had a very short torx, and the allen key worked. I couldn't modify the security screw but got it out with a normal screwdriver.

It came with a complete set of tools, one unused. I hope they last as they aren't cheap. I'm pleased with it so far, it's got the slippery stuff off the path round the house already.

[David Hansen]

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:36:38 GMT someone who may be John Stumbles wrote this:-

There should be a drain point between the two valves.

[Rod]

The tap I recently fitted claims to have a double-check valve and has a small screw at the very bottom. (Just went out to have a look.) I guess that is what it is.