Bizzare plumming issue.

[sicca]

Hi there,

We have recently moved to a new house and it seems that we have a very odd problem with the hot water pressure in the main bathroom.

The house has a ground floor with kitchen (where a combi boiler is installed) and a cloakroom. In the basement we have the main bathroom.

The symptoms are as follows:

Kitchen - good hot water pressure
Cloakroom -good water pressure
Main Bathroom - no pressure at all, barely a trickle which I can actually stop when I place my finger on the tap. Because of this, the boiler doesn't get triggered (pressure is under the minimum 0.6 bar) so no hot water is produced. This is true for both shower and sink (cold water pressure is fine).

From what I can see, the hot water pipe runs from the boiler to the kitchen sink (about 2.5m) then it goes to the cloakroom (about 1m) and then it goes under the cloakroom floor and then trough a cavity wall, only to show up under the basement bath from where it is carried forward to the bathroom sink (it’s no more than 4m).

For the part where the pipe is visible, I have checked all the valves and they are fully opened but just wondering if there might be any other valves hidden from view by the floor/wall…

Unfortunately there aren’t any inspection points either under the floor or cavity wall and the only option I have been given is to take of the cloakroom floor which is a pig of a job to do :x .

Other things that I have tested:
- Mains water pressure coming into the boiler is very good, 1.8 bar
- Hot water pressure coming from the boiler is again very good
- Replaced the hot water tap on the bathroom sink to see if that would do anything but no change…

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated before I go and rip the floor up :( .

[stoneyboy]

sicca,
Possibly there is an obstruction in the pipe after the cloakroom. Turn off the supply and open the pipe at acessible points, then use a flexible waste pipe cleaner and check the pipe is clear.
end

[sicca]

Thanks stoneyboy,

Last night I actually borrowed a snake camera from a friend and drilled a hole in the cloackroom floor to look for any hidden valves or pipes being damaged or strangulated but still no luck.

I'll give your idea try once I get home tonight.

[welsh brickie]

Could be the pump is not strong enough or is faulty have it checked out