Air lock in taps?

VonLuck

Having an issue with the taps in my apartment at the moment. The pump seemed to be running continuously for an unknown reason so I decided to switch it off at the fuse to reset it. Ever since there's been no water in the bathrooms or the hot tap in the kitchen. The cold water is free flowing in the kitchen though.

I've googled it and it appears that it might be an air lock. Could this be the case?

I've tried doing the suggested covering the tap spout and running the cold mixer with the hot mixer open, but it hasn't helped.

I'm also hearing slow drips of water into the water tank and it sounds as though it's quite empty. Maybe that's why the pump was running continuously in the first place, I'm not sure.

Any ideas on a solution, or is it best to just ring a plumber?

seamus

Go have a look at the storage tank and see if there's anything in it. If it's not filling then the valve there is broken.

Check that the pump itself doesn't have an airlock. You can google how to do this.

Pinoy adventure

Some pumps have a bleed valve.
You can normally see a large flat space on it which can be opened with a coin.

VonLuck

seamus wrote: »

Go have a look at the storage tank and see if there's anything in it. If it's not filling then the valve there is broken.

Check that the pump itself doesn't have an airlock. You can google how to do this.

It's an apartment block so I wouldn't be able to check the cold water storage tank and it's unlikely to be the problem or else I would have heard from the property manager (I would have hoped!).

Pinoy adventure wrote: »

Some pumps have a bleed valve.
You can normally see a large flat space on it which can be opened with a coin.

Can't see any bleed valve. It's a "Monsoon" type pump and just seems to have a series of screws holding the unit together. Wouldn't be too confident in removing any of them without causing a flood or electrocuting myself!

Maybe I'm missing something?

Calahonda52

The cold water tank is over the hot water tank in your apt,
can you up load some pictures.

VonLuck

Calahonda52 wrote: »

The cold water tank is over the hot water tank in your apt,
can you up load some pictures.

Sorry. Not that knowledgeable in plumbing and assumed it was a separate tank.

Will try to get some photos uploaded, but my phone isn't working properly either now!

I've noticed now that I've left all the taps open that if I run the cold water tap in the kitchen, a trickle comes out of all the other taps. If there was an air lock would that still happen?

VonLuck

Photo album below. Not sure if it tells you much, but fingers crossed.

https://imgur.com/a/sIfVqEJ

Pinoy adventure

What model pump do u have ?

VonLuck

Pinoy adventure wrote: »

What model pump do u have ?

It says "Monsoon U 2.0 Bar" on the side of it.

chooseusername

It could be something simple like a free flowing toilet flush.
Push button flushes can stick open sometimes.

You might get better info in plumbing thread .

VonLuck

Thanks. I've asked in the plumbing forum.

I think the cause of the problem was the cold water tank not filling quickly enough, so I gave the ballcock a shake and the flow greatly improved. Must have been some sediment in the line or something.

The tank is now full, and there's a tiny trickle of water from the taps, but the pump isn't kicking in.

Is there any way to give it a reset or something? I've trick turning it off at the fuseboard but hasn't helped.

Calahonda52

see here for instruction manuals
https://www.stuart-turner.co.uk
i presume your pump is double, and not a single 2.0
see the image attached earlier in this thread for the priming plug

VonLuck

Calahonda52 wrote: »

see here for instruction manuals
https://www.stuart-turner.co.uk
i presume your pump is double, and not a single 2.0
see the image attached earlier in this thread for the priming plug

I didn't even see that attachment. Thanks.

Yes it's a twin pump. I've tried priming it (loosened the priming plug until water came out) but still no joy. No sound coming from it at all when I open the taps. Checked the fuse on the wall as well and it seems to be working (light is on in the panel, albeit a bit feint).

I have a feeling I'm missing something obvious. It was working fine up until yesterday when the tank became empty. Hardly some permanent damage to it trying to run on an empty tank? Could the PCB be damaged or something... not that I know what I'm talking about.

Calahonda52

is there a thermal cut out on it that needs resetting

The flow switch may be stuck.

VonLuck

Not sure how to reset the thermal cut out as you say. Don't seem to see anything in the manual.

Tried putting a magnet to the flow switch but it did nothing.

May have to give in and call a plumber. I bet it's something really simple that I'm missing!

VonLuck

Thanks for the advice everyone. Got a plumber in. Claims that the ballcock is not working properly and is causing condensation on the pipes (which I did notice). Water dripped onto the pump and fried it. Needs to be replaced.

Not ideal coming up to Christmas, but at least it'll be fixed now.

Calahonda52

VonLuck wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone. Got a plumber in. Claims that the ballcock is not working properly and is causing condensation on the pipes (which I did notice). Water dripped onto the pump and fried it. Needs to be replaced.

Not ideal coming up to Christmas, but at least it'll be fixed now.

Does not make sense, insist on keeping the old one and get it checked out.
No evidence of that in your photo

VonLuck

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Does not make sense, insist on keeping the old one and get it checked out.
No evidence of that in your photo

Which bit doesn't make sense? All I can do is take him at his word unfortunately.

I never took a photo of the mains water pipes from above but I did see a good deal of condensation on the pipe. Not sure if that was before or after the issue came about.

He swapped out the board in the pump and it still wasn't working. He was checking the wiring going into the pump where every time he did something with the blue neutral wires (don't ask me exactly what) the trip switch would go. He said it must be an issue with the motor and said that it may be the condensation from the pipes above that dripped into it.

He said I could just wait and see if it would dry out over time and resolve the issue but that there was no guarantee. I had to bite the bullet and replace it because I'd be without any hot water until the new year!

Wasn't able to keep the pump because it was a kind of a trade-in deal. I'm sure they'll be able to refurbish it and sell it on again.

Calahonda52

Okay, just get all washed and clean now

You need to lag the pipe that had the condo and make sure it does happen again

VonLuck

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Okay, just get all washed and clean now

You need to lag the pipe that had the condo and make sure it does happen again

He could easily have been taking me for a ride. Just trying to convince myself it was the right decision to fork out the cash!

Thanks again for the help.