Rising Main Saga

[Mike Halmarack]

Same old problem. Rising main to upstairs flat running through my airing cuboard. Bits of blue pipe, bits of black, with couplers, all hanging loose, unbracketed. Management company's plumber says it's fine but it keeps leaking from different joints.

Though the whole rising main running through the three flats should be replaced it very likely won't be.

So my question is: if I cut out the whole run through my airing cupoard leaving a stub coming up through the floor and one poking out of the ceiling, then put a single length of pipe between the two is there a better quality joining method, more effective than the standard couplers to complete the job? Maybe something resembling heavy duty heatshrink or the like?

[Andrew]

You could try that but not reconnect the ends and then wait for someone to come along and fix it. :-)

Remind us what you would be cutting - original (?imperial) copper, black PVC or something else. I don't think you can easily join black PVC to blue MDPE, especially with those nasty hand-tightened compression fittings that are used on MDPE these days.

[Mike Halmarack]

Sometimes I'm a bit excessive on the details so I have to try to keep it brief. I was hoping that blue and black with couplers woud be enough clues. As it is, the two stubs would be black, so with black between, the match might a better one than the current.

[Andrew]

Assuming you can find some matching black polythene pipe, then that might to the trick. The issue will still be the compression connector used at each end of the 'new' bit'.

I've just crawled into the back of my corner kitchen unit where my black water pipe comes in and joins to 15mm copper with a connector that looks a bit like this one (but I don't know if there is an insert inside the black plastic, and I am not going to undo it to check :-(

Seems a lot for a connector, but it doesn't look like a standard compression connector. Just needs a short length of 15mm copper.

[Mike Halmarack]

That looks like an interesting possibility. I'll see if I can incorporate that in the plan, such as it is.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

So you have permission to cut the supply to all the flats fed by this while you do a proper job then?I'd be very very wary in a rental situation. Brian

[Tim Lamb]

In message [e-mail], Mike Halmarack [e-mail] writes

Have a look at *Johnson couplings*. The *black* pipe may be 1/2" alkathene.

[The Natural Philosopher]

rising main is at least 22m and more commonly bigger

MDPE

[Tim Lamb]

Black of an unknown age. 1960's mains piping commonly 1/2", 3/4" 1.0" bores.

[Mike Halmarack]

No, I don't have permission to do this but I am considerate enough to apply for it before doing such a job.

I don't think my flat would be considered a rented property but I wouldn't want to complicate the issue by getting into that unless absolutely necessary.

[Mike Halmarack]

I must get that vernier gauge from Lidl. Hope they've still got one.

[Mike Halmarack]

Great quality piece of kit if the price is anything to go by.

[T i m]

I think that's what the guy used when the incoming main gave way into ours years ago.

It was in 3/4" galv steel 'gas barrel' and had rusted so thin, using the stopcock in the back garden was enough to cause it to fracture (on the incoming side) and so instant pond. ;-(

He turned it off in the road, dug down to the pipe and fitted a double ended 'coupler' over the damaged area (still pretty rusty and gnarly), tightened it up and that was job done (to my surprise).

Cheers, T i m

[Jonathan]

Farm shops used to sell couplings sepcificall for that purpose.

Jonathan

[Bob Eager]

First bit of plumbing I ever did was with one of those. Connected a lead rising main to copper.

[Tim Lamb]

In message [e-mail], Mike Halmarack [e-mail] writes

Wind a bit of string round ten times and work it out from the length?:-)

[The Natural Philosopher]

1/2" bore is completely useless. Can't even supply a single tap properly. Wont be used to supply a block of flats

Even 3/4" is marginal for a single household. 25mm MDPE is the standard today and I would expect whatever the OP has to be in dire need ofr ripping out and replacing with simply that...

[The Natural Philosopher]

Well, yes, but to this level of accuracy, what's wrong with e.g. a screw clamp applied, then removed and measured with a tape measure?

IIRC most rising mains today are 25mm blue MDPE - and the couplers for that work very well.

[Robin]

plenty of old houses still have 1/2" internal diameter lead supply pipes joined to 15mm copper - even where converted to flats - without practical problems where water pressure is maintained.

[Andrew]

He is living in a block of flats built in the 1960's. That stuff didn't exist then. Keep up.