Rich's Tale

In August 2008 my wife informed me that our downstairs toilet was making strange noises and was under no circumstances to be used for either ‘1s’ or ‘2s’. Being a male of course I noticed nothing but phoned a plumber regardless.

After dredging through the trusty Yellow Pages we initially hired a ‘Friend of a Friend’ to take a look for us at no charge simply to tell us in no uncertain terms; what we already knew – it was dead! More distressing at the time was that the ‘Friend’ told us that he currently had no Saniflo Macerator parts and the cost of replacing the unit would be rather substantial. Fortunately enough however, the upstairs toilet would suffice… until we noticed the smell frequenting the kitchen that wasn’t what one would call appetising.

After more dredging, we took upon the services of another plumber; local and well known to investigate. We were both hopeful and confident of his abilities seeing his shiny branded van and top of the range tool kit only to have them dashed when he said “How do you want me to proceed?”

“Can you fix it?” was our silent answer but what was said aloud was more along the lines of “Talk to us like we’re stupid!”

After relaying the basics to us (which we already knew – it was dead!), the plumber promised to return the following day to do the job taking a rather hefty deposit in the meantime. Needless to say he did not return and I spent my weekend on the phone ranting to the man’s wife demanding the money back and stating quite firmly that we would take our business elsewhere.

After further dredging of phone books, surfing of internet and various other pleasantries on the phone the ‘Friend of a Friend’ had been called in once again. At this point in time we were good for money, so why not rip the damn thing out and start again? we thought. So we did.

We had the downstairs bath/shower taken out and converted into a toilet come cloak room whilst at the same time refurbishing the upstairs shell of a bathroom – then being used as a junk room – into a shiny clean immaculate vision in white. Beautiful white ripple effect tiles, gleaming chrome taps and shower fittings, a ‘P’ shaped ceramic bath you could die in – you get the idea. But still. There was the smell, two weeks later.

Thankfully, the plumber’s apprentice solved the problem. The story goes that when the macerator got damaged, caused by the smallest piece of plastic you’ve ever seen preventing the blades from operating; our decision to use the upstairs toilet had been fatal.

It had caused the drainage to back up, blocking everything and kicking up a right hum. Proved when I myself unblocked the 3 drain holes that reside on our driveway only to witness what must have been an 8 foot tube of solid excrement. And as for the aroma...

Needless to say the smell has gone but I still brave the drains once a month with my trusty Dynorods – or as I call them, Excalibur.

Looking in hindsight though the whole ordeal still irritates us. So called professional plumbers that couldn’t detect the smell or its origin. The fact that it took over 3 weeks to complete and it seemed they spent more time eating my wife’s infamous bacon butties and watching Homes under the Hammer instead of getting stuck in. Or that they ruined my gravy jug with their grout – and even that was poor! Run off with the dustpan and brush. Left exposed pipe work downstairs and dreadful ‘boxing in’ upstairs. They even asked “Why?” when we said we wanted the toilet re-plumbed downstairs, and then said “Are you sure?” when we mentioned the small plastic part in the Saniflo unit. And it pains me to say that to this day there is still a door to be hung after they finished tiling the kitchen floor as well as taking a chunk out of the wall as they carried the bath upstairs.

All in all though it is done and Lucy and I are content with our lot. We got there eventually and it was through more grit and determination than simply sitting back and paying a professional.

We won’t be doing that again in a hurry. Thus endeth the nightmare… we hope!

And certainly not now we have friends in high places. Go visit http://www.tradeplumbing.co.uk/ for all your plumbing needs!

What does a Hot Water Cylinder do?

In short, not much. It contains water. Yet it is an absolute essential in almost every home. To make things easier for the average Joe and the laymen, it’s the add-ons that do the business and heat the water. It may as well just be called a Cylinder because really that is all it is until the water within becomes heated.

There are two basic types of hot water system. Indirect and Direct.

An Indirect system will normally involve a Primary and Secondary circuit. The Primary is usually a coil of pipe that joins the cylinder from the boiler. This is heated directly from the boiler, which then runs off and then goes inside the cylinder, indirectly heating the water inside. The Secondary circuit is actually a cold water tank that refills the cylinder as the hot water is used, thus keeping the water flow constant.

A Direct system can be heated straight from the boiler or an immersion heater. With a boiler, the water is heated directly through circulation as the water is fed from the cold water cistern into the cylinder and then to the boiler. The flow pipe from the boiler discharges hot water directly into the cylinder, forcing colder denser water at the bottom through the return pipe back to the boiler. The hottest water, being lighter, is always at the top ready to be used.

Another form of direct heating is the Immersion Heater which uses a thermostat to control water temperature and is most often on a timer and used to help supplement a boiler system to save energy and cash. Immersion Heaters are also versatile in that they work with all types of heating system.

And that’s that really. There you go. Another handy hint from Dumb Plumb.

For more information on Hot Water Cylinders and all your plumbing needs, check out www.tradeplumbing.co.uk

How to Install a Power Shower

An easy enough subject to look up online in any search engine, but to someone like me with no experience in the plumbing field and only a vague idea of what a spanner is I’d be an idiot to try this myself. However, as I’ve been asked very nicely and I am in fact an idiot I’ll give the subject a crack. I’ve found a nice informative little website with instructions, which I’ll refer to as Dr. Shower for legal reasons as I go along.

For the most part, the directions Dr. Shower gives are both informative and straight forward. There are simple words and illustrations that even I can understand, and links to other helpful sites if required. If I were a web critic I would probably give Dr. Shower an 8!

So on with the task at hand. Water pressure and flow is the key to a good shower apparently. That is what Dr. Shower says anyway. Who am I to argue with the professionals? One thing I do know for sure is that a Power Shower is actually technically known as a Pump Assisted Shower. The pump involved delivers the water at a constant flow rate and pressure, eliminating the minimum 900mm (3ft) water storage requirement for a gravity-fed shower; so it says anyway. You are going to need 75-225mm (3-9in) to start the pump when it is switched on, and a pump can be used to increase the pressure of stored hot and cold water as long as it is not mains-fed. The best way to do this is to connect the cold water supply directly to the cold-water storage tank and not from the bathroom supply. Also the hot water supply should be connected directly to the cylinder via a Surrey or Essex flange – whatever that is!- which prevents the pump from sucking air in from the vent pipe. Make sense so far? If the hot water is heated by an immersion heater (see diagram mercilessly ripped off from website), then you must make sure that the cylinder is supplied by a direct cold feed, and the gate valve is fully open. This should prevent the cylinder from running dry, and burning out your heating element.

1. Cold water mains supply


2. Cold water supply


3. Gate shower valves


4. Drain shower valve


5. Cold-water storage tank


6. Hot water supply


7. Mixer shower valve


8. Shower Pump


9. Isolating switch

Alternatively, if the cylinder is heated via the boiler, make sure that a thermostat is fitted to keep the water from getting too hot and ruining the shower completely. Power showers often have an integral electric pump in the mixer cabinet, which is fitted within the cubicle. There are pumps made for isolated installation also, with hot and cold pipes going first to the pump, then onto the shower mixer and they can also be added to an existing shower to improve performance.

The best place to fit these pumps wherever possible is next to the hot-water cylinder, normally in your airing cupboard. These are not silent and you may want to insulate the cupboard if you have any common sense and appreciate a quieter life. When installing the pump remember to install below the cylinder to ensure it always remains full of water. If this isn't practical there are pumps specifically designed to operate above your cylinder at higher levels, even in your loft. It is always recommended that you check with your supplier to confirm what you require.
And there you have it. Informative and also to the point. Although I’m still not sure I would want to give it a crack personally. I must say though Dr. Shower was very helpful. Oh who am I kidding? The website is called Shower Doctor! But since I mentioned it by name and am not using it or indeed planning to for financial gain or any other purpose other than to demonstrate what any self respecting plumber should tell you in the first place – well there isn’t much you can do about it is there?

For more precise and detailed information go visit the Shower Doctor himself at http://www.showerdoctor.com/

Power Shower Booster PumpsNeed to give your shower a boost, one of the most cost effective ways to ensure a forceful and consistent water flow into your shower is the use of a shower pump.

Thanks for readin’. Y’all come back now ya hear!