Neighbours' wanted a restrictor valve fitting to the downstairs toilet (cistern had cracked and they wanted to remove it, re-decorate and think about repacement with a close-coupled suite).  Drained down, fitted restrictor, re-filled. Everything worked apart from the upstairs bath cold tap, which just dribbled.

Sounded like air, so blew back, removed tap seat, still nowt. Re-drained, refilled, still nowt, then after a lot more blowing and sucking - result! However, leak developed which - on examination, was the mixer tap unit itself. Shut off via gate valve from cold tank.

Drained down again, removed mixer tap. Replaced with two brand new bath taps I had "in stock" (their bathroom re-furb is on the cards, involving a double-end bath with central taps, so new mixer would've been a waste). Re-filled, same old problem - everything apart from the bath cold tap. You can hear the air in it, but I can't seem to get it out.

Any tips, advice, method/order of re-filling, etc. would be appreciated. The bath is on the floor below the cold tank and the supply seems to come straight down through the airing cupboard, then it probably does a couple of right-angled turns under the floor, emerging under the bath head. Nothing is apparently teed off it.

Currently, he's got the gate valve shut (at my advice, as I haven't tested the bath tap connector against a full head of water and I didn't want it to leak if it self-corrects) and they're using the downstairs bath. The hot tap is fine. The cold tap just dribbles, then surges a pathetic little stream. Weird!

TIA

Ray.

I would open the cold Bath tap and go into the loft and put a hose pipe down the tank connector supplying the tap and hold the other end over the opened Ballvalve on the Cold water storage cistern, works for me although can be a bit tricky holding the hosepipe!

[quote author=rgirling  link=1128287528/0#3 date=1128294770]Chaddy said: "Another way that has worked for me in the past is to drain down the tank again, then open the affected tap and fill the tank."

I tried that, due to the previous problems, but no good.  I'll try the "pressure blow" tip if I can find a suitable piece of hose.

Trouble is that the taps have those plastic inserts in the spout part of the body that prevent you getting a good seal.

Maybe one of those tap/shower push-on jobbies would be OK if I can jury-rig something out of that. Failing that, I'll run the garden hose up into the storage tank bath outlet and see if that'll shift it - thanks for that idea, bstyle.

This is one of those "favours" that you wish you'd never started, because it's now become my problem, not theirs!

Thanks for the swift replies - much appreciated!

Ray. [/quote]
yeah the hose on the ballcock is a favourite, course you need to provide the seal yourself, i.e get wet.

also be careful the gate valve hasnt seized up on you, i once had a seized gate valve and the resulting"airlock" cost me a cylinder on a tap washer job.... lovely.


btk

[quote author=rgirling  link=1128287528/0#5 date=1129366063]I managed to rig up a back-flushing system, using one of those push-on-to-the-tap shower heads and a couple of jubilee clips.

Luckily, the hot tap provided just enough pressure to do the job and the cold connector stood up against a full head - problem solved!

Thanks very much for the accurate and swift advice and apologies for the delay in posting this conclusion. [/quote]

Glad to help Ray . Glad you got it sorted.

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Careful it becomes addictive