My Over Flow Pouring Water What Can I Do
Recently I had a customer ask “My Over Flow Pouring Water what can I do” So Martin an emergency plumber who works on behalf of other plumbers through out the UK has decided to base the information on the over flow. Just below here is what Martin has to say.
An over flow was put in place as a precaution to if the Float Operating Valve was to go faulty then there would be a back up outlet to get rid of the over flowing water. The over flow has evolved in recent year and has become a health situation where it is now important to consider the health of those who use the water within the premises.
The old type of system which is mostly around today will carry what is known by some has the part 1 Ball Valve or the Ball Cock, but is also known by it’s correct name, the float operation valve. The ballcock was invented by José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez in the mid 1700’s and has slowly evolved over time to what is now called the part 2 float operating valve.
The part 2 operating valve is a valve that is manufacture to have a bend in it to make it strong than the part 1 so the valve does not bend over time, however the part 2 valve is still manufacture wish a washer in place that will wear over time estimate to last about 15-year depending on water pressure and use. The water is meant to be about 50mm below the overflow, which is enough to allow for wear before it starts to over flow.
Depending on the water pressure going into the tank, the over flow should be big enough to take the flow of water just incase a major disaster was to happen and the water was at full flow, however in some house there is a water pressure that is far to high and unfortunately don’t meet the complete regulations. If the water pressure is at a very high water pressure and the tank is overflowing it is a good idea to turn both the cold water and the hot water on so that the water pressure is take away from the over-flow so that the water is not over-flowing as much before calling out an emergency plumber.
Alway try your best to search for the water mains stopcock before calling an emergency plumber to save money and make it more non-urgent. Sometimes a tank is found to be leaking when overflowing which is due to the over-flow from being incorrectly fitted which is the reason that it has never been though a test and not water tight. If you are unable to find the mains water stop valve then the alternative is to find an Isolation Valve which is located by cold water feed going into the tank.
Once the work is done and the problem has been fixed then it is very important to make sure that the correct valve has been fitted so that there are no problem in the short term. If you require us to recommend a plumbing engineer to call out in an emergency, then feel free to give one of us a call. You may need a local emergency plumber in Manchester or a plumbing engineer some where else in the UK. We are always there to help.
