In my loft I found a bit of a leak.
The hot and cold to the shower both have a in-line stop tap and then a non- return valve / check valve. (30+ years old)
The stop tap is weeping a bit and other parts are a bit crusty - I think I should make up a couple of new lengths with new valves (for what they cost) and splice it into the existing pipework.
Any recommendations on what fittings are best for this job - bearing in mind it is hidden away in the loft?
Jim K wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.co.uk:
No - proper Stop Taps. Gland screwed right down. - I really want to do a repalcementfor what it will cost in stuff. A joint is also a bit crusty.
I really want to replace it all - one end compression is a bit crusty as well. I don't want to leave a legacy of bodge! I want to cut a lenght out and fit new valves with new pipe in between.
Are double check valves essential?
What size pipe? Metric or Imperial? What material - copper or stainless steel?
Assuming it's copper pipe in metric sizes, use solder joints when splicing new sections in. Once you have checked they don't leak, you can forget about them.
When replacing the stop taps, use full bore lever-operated ball valves instead of bib taps.
In a later post, you ask whether check valves are essential. Where does the water come from for the shower - is it gravity flow from a header tank for cold and a vented stored hot water system - or is it all at mains pressure, with an unvented hot water system or combi boiler? You only need double check valves if there's a danger that dirty water could get sucked into the mains in the event of a mains failure.
Mains - and mains feom Combi. I suppose syphoning could remotely be possible if shower head was left in bath tub water.
Copper pipe - 30 years old so should by 15mm. Not keen on solder in loft.
Roger Mills wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
Was thinking the valves would be at each end of a new bit of pipe.
They are required if there's any risk of feeding back into water supply. For a shower, that means if the hose is long enough and positioned such that the shower head can be under water in a bath and thus syphon water back into the mains. Wouldn't apply to a shower tray with no waste plug. It would also apply if the hot water comes from a storage tank and the cold water from the mains. Some shower valves include them anyway (typically those with separate temperature and flow knobs, where the flow knob is on the mixer outlet, and those with hot/cold differential pressure compensation for use with multipoints and combis).
Essential? Depends what you regard as essential. They can significantly impede the flow if the pressure isn't very high.
Why do you need stop taps at all? Are you likely to shut off the shower feed for hours/days?
In a hotel obviously you don't want to shut off all the water but in a domestic situation it's not much of a hardship to just turn off the incoming mains for an hour or two.
Tim
HAndy if repairing / replacing shower valve. I suppose I need full bore service valves.
How often do you do that? Couldn't you cope with the mains turned off for a short period once every 10-20 years?
Tim
Do you not need to run the shower hose through a ring at the bottom of the rail to stop it reaching the ground if you are not mounting the shower over a bath, then? I found it difficult to interpret "could" enter the water in the regs, whether you have to allow for a blocked waste.
sorry, Jim won't let you.
Shower feeds don't usually have check valves. But there are showers that risk one feed coming back up the other. High flow / wide bore shower hose & head help a lot to avoid that.
NT
I think I may abandon the check valves and just get some full bore service valves. Some of the comression fittings look a bit crusty - it isn't easy to keep an eye on it hence I would like to put new stuff in the line.
Thanks - thinking plain lengthe of pipe to replace the valves. It is easier to turn off the water under the sink than to go into the loft to isolate the shower. Was trying to comply!
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