New bathroom plumbing help please

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Taryn Hauritz

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Hi there,

I'm very new to plumbing and have successfully put in two sinks and a shower/bath from scratch without any leaks (it did take a long time). The problem I seem to be having at the moment though is that when I use the mixer valve to fill the bath something weird is going on with my water pressure. It starts slowly and then after 10-30 seconds the water pauses very briefly and then full pressure starts.

I haven't noticed a problem with the bathroom sink, but when I turn on the hot water in the kitchen the pressure drops compared to just cold water. I'm not sure if these two issues are related.

Any idea as to what might be happening and how I can attempt to fix it? I had a new boiler installed. Could it be that or my dodgy plumbing???

Much appreciated,

Taryn
 
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Are there any pumps involved pumping your hot water??
 
No pumps. Could the bath fill be related to some dodgy pipework? (I had to add extra pipe to get it to fit and it goes up and down slightly...)
 
does sound a bit like air can you take some pics of the pipework
 
Was it a combi boiler fitted?
 
Get a professional in to have look at this it's cheaper than doing something wrong
 
be-like-bill-plumber-1.jpg
 
If you have a combi boiler then you may have a valve like a combi-smart or combi-save fitted.

These restrict the flow on the hot water while the boiler gets up to temperature as an energy saving measure.

This would affect the hot water flow at all outlets and have no effect on cold outlets.
 
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Thanks Rckape, I've tested it and that seems to be the issue as I have a new combi boiler and the problem disappears when it's just cold water. Is there anything I can do about that? Thanks again!
 
Taryn Hauritz said:
Thanks Rckape, I've tested it and that seems to be the issue as I have a new combi boiler and the problem disappears when it's just cold water. Is there anything I can do about that? Thanks again!
Click to expand...

You'd see below the boiler if you had a combi save device fitted as there not that common on installations..
 
On further investigation that doesn't appear to be the problem. Now that the shower is connected, I've taken a film which shows what I'm talking about. The pause after 30 seconds is very pronounced and just not good enough. When I mentioned it to my gas guy he said there's nothing that can be done. That's obviously not the case, but wondering if there's anything someone can suggest I try myself. Is it to do with the council block my flat is in, my new boiler or a beginners plumbing fault?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBB3tFFcAoY&feature=youtu.be


N.B. If I'm unable to get help on this forum I will certainly get a professional in, but please do not post unless you have something helpful to suggest.
 
does this happen on any other outlet other then that shower? if not then its to blame ... the 30 seconds that it takes to do that on the shower, is that the time its taking for hot water to reach it? if so then I would be thinking its faulty and its shutting itself down in that its protecting you from getting scolded even though that's not the case, just a thought..
 
Unscrew the shower head and see what happens. If air in pipework, increased flow with head removed will sometimes push air out of pipe.
 
Very good point about it being the shower. I don't have a problem with any of the sinks. I have been playing around with turning the water from cold to hot and seeing if I can work out if it's related to the hot water but it just seems to be a bit funny in general. When it's just cold water there's sometimes a two second delay before the water comes out.

If there's an issue with the shower valve is there something I can do to repair it? (After taking all the new tiles off)!!!
 
Copper pipes with pushfit connections...please don't judge. I wouldn't do it this way again but I was making do with materials I already had!!
 
Any non return valves or filters on your valves. Sounds like interruption in cold supply that causes thermo valve to do what its meant to and cut off scalding water.
 
Ah that sounds interesting. I think I'll have to have another look at the installation instructions. It makes sense that that's what's happening so perhaps there's just an adjustment I can make. I noticed that when I put the water on the hottest setting it wasn't that hot. Maybe related to this problem. Thanks!
 
Is your shower suitable for your system? Some are made for Gravity hot and cold only.
What mske snd model is the mixer?
 
Is your shower off the mains or is it gravity , have you a combi ??
 
If all your other outlets are ok the problem is the shower , but does it not happen with the bath aswell ? I see you wrote bath / shower , plus what extra pipe did you need to instal , was it an electric shower previous then you put in a hot for the mixer?
 
Turn down temperature of hot water at combi until you get 43 C at sink with just hot tap.
If shower then functions OK, cold supply problem confirmed.
 
Following your link you have both check valves and filters. Remove, flush pipework, clean filters and reassemble.
 
I was just watching a YouTube video out troubleshooting shower valves. Looks like that's what I need to do, thanks. Should this happen on a new fitting or did I miss a step out when installing?

Sounds like I might not have to take off my new tiling...yay!
 
You missed the bit about taking out the check valves and flushing the pipework leading to the valve.
 
That valve is just for a shower with two outlets , a fixed head and a sliding rail, did you say it feeds the bath or am I picking u up wrong , ???
 
It's not designed to feed a bath just , fixed, rail or jets ,
 
Yes, it has a temperature control and two outlets. One for the shower head and one for the bath. I have two of these in my home...both working well. This is the first time I've installed myself though!
 
Taryn Hauritz said:
Yes, it has a temperature control and two outlets. One for the shower head and one for the bath. I have two of these in my home...both working well. This is the first time I've installed myself though!
Click to expand...

then youve answered your own question as to where the fault is
 
Taryn Hauritz said:
Yes, it has a temperature control and two outlets. One for the shower head and one for the bath. I have two of these in my home...both working well. This is the first time I've installed myself though!
Click to expand...

If you read the specifications for the shower it's designed for two outlets to run simultainesly , either a shower fixed head , shower sliding rail or shower jets , it's not designed for a bath just a shower , the flow rates will probably take ages to fill,
 
So I have exactly the same shower valve mixer in my house in two bathrooms and have used for two years without a single problem. I get that I'm totally new to plumbing and will keep trying until I figure it out but even if the product is not designed for this purpose, there must be a way of making it work like the two in my house?

Anyway, I'll stop posting and try some of the good advice that has been posted previously.
 
kris said:
If you read the specifications for the shower it's designed for two outlets to run simultainesly ,
Click to expand...
I read that in thinking it gives you the option too run at the same time, pretty sure the top and bottom valves are just 1/4 turn stop valves? , agree like you say poor flow rate for bath filling,

Taryn is there any chance that you have piped up the hot to the cold on the valve?
 
You say you have 2 installed already but are they not just supplying showers and if there is a bath are you sure they are not pipe separately which is why you don't have issues with the others??
 
Good point. I'll ask my friend who installed the first one - I'm seeing him tomorrow and see if he can shed some light in the issue. Thanks.
 
Actually, on further reflection I'm not sure how they'd be plumbed in separately as the temperature control works for both shower and bath filling!
 
Maybe a picture of the others and do the others have baths?
 
Taryn Hauritz said:
So I have exactly the same shower valve mixer in my house in two bathrooms and have used for two years without a single problem. I get that I'm totally new to plumbing and will keep trying until I figure it out but even if the product is not designed for this purpose, there must be a way of making it work like the two in my house?

Anyway, I'll stop posting and try some of the good advice that has been posted previously.
Click to expand...

How does it fill the bath , is there a fixed outlet above the bath or a single tap ?
 
Honestly, what's the point of having a forum if I'm just going to be told to get an expert in? I discovered I really enjoyed plumbing and as a beginner I thought this would be the place to get some helpful advice.

I have always said on my posts that I'm a beginner and honestly I'm really proud of the plumbing I have achieved (having never done ANY before). I talk to all of my friends about how cool plumbing is and they always laugh. But then, the consistent attitude on this forum of "you're obviously incompetent and need a professional" is really putting me off asking for advice. Perhaps I'll just go back to my local plumbers merchants....where they're nothing but helpful.

Sorry for the rant but as a plumbing enthusiast I'd really rather be encouraged to learn from my mistakes rather than give up at the first sign of a problem. If I had that attitude I would never have installed a kitchen, bathroom, flooring, walls and shelving in my new flat by myself.

If I mess up completely and have to call a professional in, then that's my choice, my expense and my responsibility.

Nothing worth doing was ever easy.

Taryn
 
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