Came home from work earlier to find a damp patch on a ceiling downstairs with an occasional drip, took a quick look upstairs and found the source - there was a very fine stream of water coming from the scale inhibitor. Stopcock now closed and the leak has stopped, thankfully there was a stack of towels that took most of the soaking though part of the landing carpet is pretty wet....
Anyway, is this a DIY job or an I going to need a plumber? It looks like something that could be replaced quite easily (turn water off, unscrew/release fixings for item, remove and replace) though, having never fiddled with plumbing at all, am I being a bit optimistic in it being that simple? I'm presuming that a local B&Q or suchlike will stock the part though I haven't looked yet.
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I don’t know your skills or experience level, yes you can do it your self. Do you have the tools to do it and if it goes wrong who would you call. There is a few things that can go wrong and water makes a mess quickly.
It’s an easy job if you have the tools and know what you are doing!!
That scale inhibitor is a push fit one
Zero experience and really only basic tools though as it looks like a push/compression fit item I wouldn't have thought anything special would be required.
There's what appears to be a shut-off valve further up. Would it be a case of shutting the water supply off, closing the valve above the inhibitor (thus presumably preventing water coming up or down bar the small length of pipework between inhibitor and valve), remove and replace?
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They might be but I'd be surprised if such inhibitors are a standard size.
No decent scientific explanation that they work, I'd replace with a length of tubing TBH.
Youtube
Someone will have that job on video.
Very likely that the pipe it is attached to goes to the cold inlet of a Combi boiler judging by the limited picture, (presuming this goes to a boiler), if this is the case it should just be a case of turning off the mains supply, open the taps until water stops running, disconnect the old scale inhibitor and replacing with another with push for fittings if you don’t have a decent tool kit for compression fittings. They are generally the same size if you go for one of the same type of design in my experience. Shouldnt be too difficult but if in any doubt, get someone in. Don’t underestimate the damage water can do!
I can do a lot of plumbing jobs at a push but I prefer to call plumber if there's a risk of serious damage to walls/ ceilings if things go wrong. If you lack experience its probably not the best place to start.
Yes, cold water to combi boiler.Originally Posted by Craizeehair
If specific tools are needed for that type of fitting then I think I'll get someone in to replace it. As it is I have a bucket underneath it as the water slowly runs down the pipe from the inhibitor to a 90deg bend where it then drips down, I can have the stopcock open when I need water and close it when I don't - I'm not completely paralysed thankfully!
I've also just had new carpets and hard flooring throughout plus a new kitchen with spotlights in the diner/kitchen area with new plasterwork on the ceiling, a small patch of which has now been affected. Given all of the above a professional it is, I'm sure it's simple enough given the tools and a bit of knowhow however if I cocked it up and made things worse I'd never forgive myself!
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As per my reply above, the stakes are too high to start learning now. Two months ago before all the work was done I may have been more tempted though given my situation I think I was a bit daft even contemplating it.
Thank you all for responding, I think I know what I'm going to do, or at least what someone else is going to do for me.
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If you can turn the water off it is an easy fix.
Buy a 15mm flexible coupling from Screwfix and a "pipeslice" cut one end off -push fit the end on and then do the other.
Next time you have a plumber in I would have it soldered although pushfit is reliable in my experience.
Will find you some links latwr
It’s a very easy fix but only if you have some experience, if your totally new to anything like plumbing then it becomes a mess as you will not have the right tools or knowledge and get yourself in a pickle.
If it’s a newish combi boiler then an inhibitor is part of the installation, being push fit I suspect the joints have moved and need reseating.
If it needs replacement then I would look at a compression fit like the one below and use jointing compound on the olives, got to make sure you put it the right way round for the flow.
All this depends on the pipe length, if the new inhibitor is shorter then you will need to extend the pipe work, like I said easy if you know how but a big job if you don’t!!
https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
It ain’t a difficult fix, just needs a couple of measurements, and someone on here can guide you as to what you need to go in place of the unit. The problem these days - is actually getting anyone to come look at it and then the high quote to sort it.
Either 2 of these and some copper pipe which is a bit trickier.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedf...ler-15mm/28263
Or one of these
https://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedf...m-2-pack/4074g
Can use a hack saw but this makes the job much easier.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/monument-...e-cutter/12468
That looks like a John Guest push fit connection.
Very easy to replace if you have some slack on the pipe to allow you to get it out and a replacement back in again. If you have never done that sort of thing before, it may be more agro than it is worth though, as it wont take a plumber very long to fix.
Have plenty of towels handy as there will still be water in the pipes which will come back at you.
As others have said, it looks like a standard push fitting so once you have removed it take it with you to your local plumbers merchant and they should be able to help with a new or replacement.
To remove it you need to push the ring that comes out at either end whilst at the same time pulling the pipe out or pulling the inhibitor away. Please make sure and double check that the water is completely off else it will get messy very quickly.
If it’s feeding a boiler? Then also make sure that the boiler is switched off and can’t be accidentally turned on.
Plumber been and gone, wasn't here for more than 15min and that included balancing the radiators as the new ones that were fitted last month weren't heating as well as they should. £80 for cash. Easy money for the plumber though peace of mind for me, metal inhibitor replaced the plastic one with an additional water stop valve fitted as well.
I watched him do the job, pretty easy though for the money I'm happy that he did it just in case. Also think I got away lightly, if I'd been away for a week or two then I would have had a *much* bigger headache to deal with!
Good decision. You probably could have done it with a couple of trips to Screwfix & taken all day but now it's done & sorted for a reasonble cost.
The way to do it if you are not sure or qualified and his easy £80.00 was down to knowledge if your not sure bite the bullet.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
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