Page 1 of Any plumbers out there, can you get your head round this one ?

The overflow pipe outside my house keeps dripping. Sometimes quite speedily.....yet i have adjusted the pressure via the cold water stopcock and that seemed to stop it ! All was good until my hot water turns itself on in the morning and then the same thing happens again!! The water comin outta the pipe is cold yet this only happens when the hot water is on ??!!! Soon as the hot water is off.........it stops again...........but while its on (and its only for 2 hours) it can fill 2 buckets in this time !!!

Can i stop this?
Is it my boiler ?
Why (if it is the boiler) is the overflow pipe dripping with cold water?

Anyone out there have any idea? Please help before the moss turns the bricks completely green !!!

Educated guess here,as someone who has a plumber friend !

Your boiler is taking it`s water from the cold water tank.
So,when the boiler demands water from the tank,the tank refills.
It`s obviously refilling too far,so it overflows.
You need to adjust,or replace,the ballcock in your cold water tank.

I think if water is heated up it expands, anyway my bathroom toilet overflow pipe use to drip into my backyard but I adjusted the ballcok setting ( in the toilet tank)and all was fixed.. :)

This item was edited on Thursday, 16th March 2006, 13:17

Check your toilet ball valve system, i had an issue with mine a few weeks back that caused the overflow pipe to chuck out water. THough that was a continuos stream and the only way to stop it til i fixed it was to turn the water off at the mains
SHEPHERDS PIEEEEEEEE
Y.N.W.A
"TIGHT"

Yes, check which overflow pipe it is. There will be an overflow for the toilet cistern, as well as one for the main cold water tank.

The fact that dropping the water pressure stopped it happening suggests that maybe the valve is on the way out, and can`t take full mains pressure. (This is a guess - I`m not a plumber, but have done a fair bit of it in my time).

Sounds like it is your f&e tank (feed and expansion).
for your central heating.
As Bowfer says bend your ballcock.
It will be the smaller tank of the two .
Water expands as it heats and thats what the tank
is for.
There is two much water sitting in it so when the water expands
it goes out the over flow and when it cools the tank has to refill.
If there is less water in the tank it wont expand over the overflow
level thus will not have to refill.
Have a look at your tank when the boiler comes on and
watch what happens.
The tank should not have to refill unless you have a leak.
(under normal curcumstances)

This item was edited on Thursday, 16th March 2006, 15:05

If it`s the ballcock it`s easy to adjust using the threaded screw and lock nut but it`s probably worth taking a look at the valve - my downstairs toilet cistern was overflowing and I couldn`t adjust the screw anymore. I undid the valve and there was a load of grit preventing the valve from closing - blew it out and all was well.

Quote:
74-Daijiro-74

Cool user name.
He was a helluva rider.

Shame Suzuka had to suffer though.

Yeah a great loss - can you imagine the races he`d have had with Valentino Rossi.