Plumbing help

Tephnos

Tephnos

Tephnos

Soldato
Joined
20 May 2011
Posts
6,086
Location
Aberdeen, Scotland
Hey guys,

I live in an old Victorian era house, so around 150+ years old. As expected, the plumbing isn't exactly top notch, but works. Earlier today, the hot water stopped working (presumable due to the immersion heater just wearing out).

The hot water cannot be drained, but there is no stopcock to turn the water off to the tank and there is no drain pipe to drain it off easily. So basically, no conventional way to empty the tank to replace the immersion heater.

My dad's idea is to bore a hole in the bottom of the tank, and collecting the water as it drains for a couple of hours allowing him to get in the tank to take the immersion heater out and replace it. He'll then nut and bolt the hole he's made and silicon it up, he's pretty confident that'll keep it sealed.

He doesn't want to uncouple any of the pipes and he's afraid of damaging them because they're so old, and if he does then he's screwed.

He seems pretty confident (mostly) with his method, but I'm asking you guys before he attempts it and quite possibly buggers up.

Any suggestions? :p

(He's stingy about calling a plumber so that won't work)
 
LOL

How big is this tank? 170l is abut standard and your dad wants to drill a hole in this to empty it. What after?

Can you not shut the mains supply off and drain it via a tap then replace the element?

Otherwise freeze the supply pipe to the tank (use a pro kit not wickes crap one) and fit a stop ****...
 
Turn off main water supply, open kitchen and bathroom sink hot taps. Please tell me you and you dad have considered this? If not, then i would love to be there when he drills a hole in a tank full of water.
 
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If there's no stopcock in the house, turn it off in the street and drain out the tank using a tap. Take the opportunity to fit a stopcock inside the property. If that fails, as above, freeze the pipe using a proper kit.
 
SeatIbiza said:
LOL

How big is this tank? 170l is abut standard and your dad wants to drill a hole in this to empty it. What after?

Can you not shut the mains supply off and drain it via a tap then replace the element?

Otherwise freeze the supply pipe to the tank (use a pro kit not wickes crap one) and fit a stop ****...
Click to expand...

There isn't a stopcock nor drain valve. Apparently he's bored into a tank before (he didn't realise it wasn't emptied) but he let it drain and it worked out fine.

Lethagized said:
Turn off main water supply, open kitchen and bathroom sink hot taps. Please tell me you and you dad have considered this? If not, then i would love to be there when he drills a hole in a tank full of water.
Click to expand...

Yes, but it's a mavity fed system. if you shut off the cold water, you've got no way of getting the hot water or any water out. It won't empty the tank completely, which is what he needs. The main problem is there is no drain in the bottom of the tank, and he doesn't think it's worth it to undergo a 'major operation' when he can just bore a hole.

(Note: I think it's a stupid idea but if it works it works.)
 
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There are a number of plumbing forums (Google for one), why not register for one and ask this question there? I think that you will get much the same advice but possibly not as politely ;)
 
What does he do after he's drilled a hole in it? i.e. how does it seal?

A picture would help as I can't get my head around it. I just can't see how you can drill a tank and seal it back up and guarantee it not leaking? And not flooding the house...

And you must have a stop valve in the street and can empty the water via the taps? And the element won't be at the bottom so it can be changed with some water in there...
 
p.s. i think this is the craziest/maddest thing I have heard a DIY'er trying to do and I've seen some quite special bodge jobs...
 
What is he taking out? the immersion heater?

I take it this is at the bottom of the tank?
 
Just get the water to the house turned offin the street. If you can't find the stopcock then phone your water company who will gove you a description of where it is. If the external stopcock is jammed then phone them again and they will come and repair it.

Next best option is a freeze spray.

Failing that, please, please, please, film it when he bores a hole in it.
 
ZG002 said:
What is he taking out? the immersion heater?

I take it this is at the bottom of the tank?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the one. He knows that's what has gone wrong as he's a sparkie and when he turned it on it basically blew up inside.

cm1179 said:
what's he going to drain it into? this could go very wrong. are we talking ground floor, first floor or loft here?
Click to expand...

Good old pails basically. Block the hole when it's filled and get someone to empty it. An hour or two job.

Hades said:
Just get the water to the house turned offin the street. If you can't find the stopcock then phone your water company who will gove you a description of where it is. If the external stopcock is jammed then phone them again and they will come and repair it.

Next best option is a freeze spray.

Failing that, please, please, please, film it when he bores a hole in it.
Click to expand...

Turning the water off is the easy part, it's the draining, which cannot be done in a conventional way without a drain pipe.

He's thinking that many of you aren't thinking of this in the same way. This is an old style water heater. Once the water is drained you can unseal it and get your entire hand in to remove the immersion heater at the bottom. He'll then nut and bolt the drilled hole with a rubber washer and silicon from the inside.

But yeah, I know what's gonna happen lol. Water will come shooting out and he plans to collect it.
 
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So you can turn the water off?

I don't understand this - if the water is off and you switch a tap on the tank will drain and not refill. Job done.

I think your father isn't thinking - these were designed to be repairable without drilling a hole in it!
 
Copper cylinder will be fed from cold water tank in the loft so tie the ballcock up in the loft so as it cant refill and open the hot taps until they cease to flow. No need to empty copper cylinder as immersion should enter at the top. You should be able to change the element without any need to durther drain the copper cylinder.
Immersions can be a pig to remove, careful not to warp the threaded seat.
I'm assuming THE ELECTRIC IS ISOLATED before any of this. Drilling the tank? Are you sure he knows what he is doing?
 
Hades said:
Just get the water to the house turned offin the street. If you can't find the stopcock then phone your water company who will gove you a description of where it is. If the external stopcock is jammed then phone them again and they will come and repair it.

Next best option is a freeze spray.

Failing that, please, please, please, film it when he bores a hole in it.
Click to expand...



Also, Please film when he fill's it back up again and water pores out the not so watertight hole.
 
The immersion is at the bottom side of the tank. An old six bolt immersion. Tying the ball **** up will save turning the water off so thanks for that.

The hot water pipe comes from the TOP of the tank, and the water is pushed out from water coming in from another pipe at the BOTTOM. So, if you turn the water off, there is NO WAY you can drain the tank as the hot water simply cannot be pushed out. This is what I mean by a mavity fed system. As there is no drain pipe, he can think of no other way to get the water out. Because it's a really old system, I'm thinking that easy self fixes just weren't conceived back then.

The immersion tank is on the same level floor as the tap and sinks.

He is a sparkie so he knows about isolating.

As I mentioned before, he did drill into a tank before (thinking it way empty) and said once it was emptied, sealing it back up was not a problem which is why he came to this idea in the first place.
 
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Is the tank on a ground floor? could you not syphon the water out?

Or even better buy a cheap water pump and pump it out, It will be cheaper than replacing the tank, if the hole doesnt seal!
 
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There is nowhere to pump it though, seriously.

More info about the tank though, this thing is like an antique. 50s/60s. There is no way to drain the water without boring a hole it seems. I had a look at the immersion heater and yep, once unbolted you can get your entire hand in the tank to seal up the bored hole from the inside.

Lol at this.
 
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