I am having difficulty with my kitchen hot tap water speed

[joolzhaines]

Hi,

I am having difficulty with my kitchen hot tap water speed, just recently I replaced an old leaking tap with a new one and ever since doing this the water from the hot tap is very slow, while replacing the tap I turned off the cold water via the main stopcock and turned the boiler off, I was told by one person that I may have an air bubble in the pipe and that I should try and flush out using the cold water pressure is this correct as I can do this?


I could try and get another tap to test but I cant see why the tape would be at fault as the cold is working fine.


The system is an open vented hot water tank in the airing cupboard and water tank in the loft,
the boiler is in the kitched next to the sink.

Thanks
Julian

 

[WaterTight]

What was the minimum recommended working pressure for your new tap?

 

[WaterTight]

Generally 0.1 and 0.2 bar should be ok if the tank is in the loft. 0.5 bar type taps could well cause probs. Other than that you may well have an airlock or (if you drained your tank in the loft) a blockage.

 

[joolzhaines]

Hi,

Thanks, there are two stop cocks under the sink so I did not need to drain anything, how do I tell what bar the tap is as I dont have any documents, the tape is a combi hot and cold with a directonal hose on a sping,

Could the hot water speed be increased by a pump under the sink?

Regards
Julian

 

[Mike Jackson]

Sounds like your tap is a continental tap designed for higher pressures as kitchen taps with the pull out hose do not comply with the water regulations. You need to change it for one with a bi flow spout designed for the plumbing systems in this country.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[mountainman]

Sounds like your tap is designed for high pressure supplies.

Pump under the sink is a bit drastic and costly plus it opens up a whole can of worms with leccy supply.
Cheaper to get a tap designed for low pressure supplies.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i agree with the other posters your taps aren't suitable for your system. on the instructions it probably said something like min 0.5bar which would be an absolute minimum imho. underneath the taps, are the connectors flexi hoses? this will cut down on flow as well.

 

[Guest123]

This is often the problem when novices see a shiny new tap in the store and think it will work the same as their old one.

Most modern taps have ceramic discs and are not the original spindle and washer type. Much greater working pressure is required for these taps to function properly or they could have a shortened service life due to lack of pressure casusing the cartridge to prematurely wear. 5m head is considered the minimum for correct operation.

 

[Rickster123]

Either that or it's a kinked flexi!

 

[Guest123]

Either that or it's a kinked flexi!

Don't get me started on flexis again.....

 

[Rickster123]

Haha how often to you see that tho. The customer rings you complaining of no pressure to the tap they've fitted on a Sunday afternoon and you look under the sink to see a reef knot tied in the flexi!

 

[Guest123]

The copper tails can be just as bad. I've seen speedfit forced onto one without cutting off the "plain" end with cutters and then deburring it resulting in the poor 0 ring being tormented into submission before finally giving up and going on its holidays.

Fitting taps and flexis and pushfit fittings all look easy in the big diy stores, but you still have to know what you're doing.

 

[mountainman]

According to B&Q everyone is capable of doing everything.

At the risk of being jumped on again (dilligaf), sometimes it's cheaper to consult a professional at the outset.

 

[Guest123]

According to B&Q everyone is capable of doing everything.

At the risk of being jumped on again (dilligaf), sometimes it's cheaper to consult a professional at the outset.

Agreed.
I'm not anti-diy but everyone including professionals should know their limitations. Even a diy tap install can result in a major flood and insurance claim when it could easily be averted by getting a trained plumber to fit it. You also get a guarantee from most reputable plumbers, should something fail on the install. You don't get that from B&Q!

 

[joolzhaines]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advise, could it help to replace the flexable pipes with solid pipes or is this not going to help much?

Julian

 

[Rickster123]

Can you get a pic of the pipe work under the sink?

 

[PlumbBobBob]

yes replacing the flexis with solid pipes will help. if you can get some of the correct size. have a look at bes.co.uk item number 19800. sorry can't put a link up for some reason. it's for m10 thread copper tails £2.48 for a pair. don't know if they will fit or not but worth a try.

 

[glenno1]

A lot of flexis are a small bore so this could be the problem or at least adding to it

 

[Whn1]

Agree with the above, it's very unlikely that you have an airlock if you isolated the water from under the sink, another possibility is that you're isolation valve/stopcock may be jammed.

Try disconecting the pipe work after the isolation attaching a hose and running it into a bucket, if the pressures good then you know the problem lies within the tap, also sometimes you can unscrew the filter on the end of the spout of the tap, may have a small blockage in there..

 

[joolzhaines]

Ok I will upload a picture

Julian

 

[tamz]

Hi,

Thanks for all the advise, could it help to replace the flexable pipes with solid pipes or is this not going to help much?

Julian

It will help more if you buy the correct taps made for low pressure.