Steady trickle of water down soil pipe

Merry Prankster

Hi,

First off, apologies if I've got any terminology wrong. There is a steady trickle of water leaking down the soil pipe where the wastepipe connects to it. It continues to trickle even when I turn off the water to the house.





I was wondering what could be causing such a steady stream of water, even when the water is turned off?

Also, is there any way of sealing the boss pipe (?) or will it have to be replaced?

Cheers for any help.

K.Flyer

Looking closely at the picture, there appears to be a crack where the boss connects with the 4" vertical section.
Silicone or Tek7 would only be a temporary fix and in time would leak again. You could try Denso tape, but its a bit unsightly and messy to work with, but most probably would last longer than the Silicone or Tek7.
The only definate way to repair it would be to dismantle the pipework and fit new connections.

Merry Prankster

K.Flyer wrote: »

Looking closely at the picture, there appears to be a crack where the boss connects with the 4" vertical section.

Cheers for the reply K.Flyer. The leak is coming from the boss pipe itself (where the vertical section joins the horizontal section), if that makes sense?

K.Flyer wrote: »

The only definate way to repair it would be to dismantle the pipework and fit new connections.

Is this a difficult job, i.e. could I do it myself?!

Also, I've been trying to identify the cause of the steady trickle. The shower head constantly drips water unless we place it on the shower floor facing upwards, so I'm guessing there's a problem with the solenoid valve. Could this be the cause?

Cheers.

K.Flyer

Merry Prankster wrote: »

Is this a difficult job, i.e. could I do it myself?!

It really depends on your skill sets and if you are competent and familiar withworking on this type of pipework from the top of a ladder..

Merry Prankster wrote: »

Also, I've been trying to identify the cause of the steady trickle. The shower head constantly drips water unless we place it on the shower floor facing upwards, so I'm guessing there's a problem with the solenoid valve. Could this be the cause?

Cheers.

The white pipe is from a bath, a shower tray or a wash hand basin, so if you have water constantly dripping in one of these, then that would explain the water showing up at this connection.
You also have the water from the w.c. passing through the 4" section, so that is adding to it as well.

Calahonda52

if there is room between wall and pipe, you could look at fitting a new boss connection
google
"Cert PVC-U Strap Boss E - Soil pipe strap boss" and view images.
This will negate the need to pull the black fittings apart, u don't have much room with window

K.Flyer

Calahonda52 wrote: »

if there is room between wall and pipe, you could look at fitting a new boss connection
google
"Cert PVC-U Strap Boss E - Soil pipe strap boss" and view images.
This will negate the need to pull the black fittings apart, u don't have much room with window

By fitting a new strap on connector he then has the job of blanking off the old socket, plus he is still left with the original fracture which will still have water getting out through when the toilet is flushed.

Calahonda52

K.Flyer wrote: »

By fitting a new strap on connector he then has the job of blanking off the old socket, plus he is still left with the original fracture which will still have water getting out through when the toilet is flushed.

Agreed re the work.
he also has to bore a hole the exact size of the strap-on fitting with a hole saw and make sure the strap-on seats properly.
he also has to see if the lugs of the strap-on will pass between wall and pipe
I just posted it as an option, not as a no work option
is the leak not from the white waste point connection or is it further up?
if at the white, he just trims off the stub and using two jubilee clips, clamp on a piece of 4 " pipe sealed with tek seven or similar.

I suspect the bottom section is buried in the ground so perhaps
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of how the OP fixed it.:D

Merry Prankster

Cheers for the replies lads.

The leak is from the white waste point connection, but it's coming from the boss itself which must be cracked. More worrying though is why there's a constant trickle of water, even when the water to the house (and to the shower) is turned off. I can't figure out where it's coming from, although I'm guessing it must be the shower somehow. Much as I hate to give in, it sounds like it's a job for a plumber.

K.Flyer

Have you checked your toilet cistern?
It might be overfilling slightly and allowing a small amount of water into the toilet bowl, which in turn is making its way down the pipe.
If the crack is right where the boss joins the 4" it could make it's way out through there.
A simple test..
Get a some bright food colouring or you could use some milk (we use a special luminescent dye for this, but we have to buy a minimum of 1kg and its expensive).
Add the dye to the water in the toilet bowl and give it a few flushes, see if the colour shows up at the leak, if it does, then you know.

Merry Prankster

I've just checked everything again and I've realised that it is the shower that's causing the constant trickle; placing the shower head upwards does not stop the trickle like I thought, so I guess it's time to buy a new shower.

The seal between the wastepipe and the boss (?) is good - the water is coming from a small crack in the boss itself, where the opening holding the watepipe connects to the vertical section. So, two questions if that's ok?

1. Fixing the leak. You said that Silicone or Tek7 or Denso tape wouldn't really be a good solution. Would the whole soil pipe have to be dismantled from the top down to fit a new boss? Are the sections that go into the wall for the toilet and into the ground easy to pull out and fit back in again?!

2. Buying a new shower. The current shower is a Triton T90si so I'll probably get another Triton. Can I just buy any Triton electric shower or will some not be suitable due to their power rating etc.? I'll have a look at some videos online before I decide it I want to try installing it myself.

Cheers for your help.

K.Flyer

If it was me, I would put one or two wraps of Denso tape on it for now, and that will keep the leak at bay until you decide what to do with it.
The entire stack does not have to come down, nor should it be necessary to dismantle pipework out through the wall.
Depending on the age of the shower unit it might be worth repairing instead of replacing, otherwise replace it with the current version.

Calahonda52

the other idea is once u have the leak sorted, consider a 2 part epoxy based material such as this
http://www.evercoat.com/reinforced-fillers/eu/
I picked it up in my local motor factors, 18 euro
Make sure its all clean and dry, (hairdryer) and give the plastic a light sanding for grip.
Use the hardener sparingly, otherwise it goes off rapido.
The less hardener the longer it takes to set but it will.
Its a soft purple color.
apply a few coats with cheap flat art type paint brushes, no reusing

sky6

You could also use Plastic Padding on it. I once seen an Uncle put padding on a mains pipe as it passsed through the kitchen. It developed a leak and he just used Plastic Padding on it. I thought it would never work but it was still there 20 years later working away. So it might be worth a shot.

Merry Prankster

Cheers everyone, I'll check out all of your your suggestions.