Limited Cold Water and Water Pressure in Bungalow Shower All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[kr236rk]

Hi,

The showers in this bungalow have a mind of their own, you get them just right then they run hot - or go cold. But the most annoying thing is that the shower pressure drops away. No-one has ever been able to explain this.

Normally the pressure picks up for a while, so I left my shower running - bit longer than usual, I got sidetracked, 10 minutes. When I came to shower I could hear the water failing, then it got to a trickle. I turned it off. Then I turned on the cold water tap on the wash basin - nothing. I wondered if a pipe had burst somewhere?

I tried another hand basin in another room - no cold water. I tried the mains in the kitchen, that was fine (relief). I flushed the loo then looked inside the system, it was recharging with water but it took about 10 minutes.

I admit I left the shower running longer than I meant to - but comparing the amount of water used to fill an entire bath, I don't think that much water was used!

What is wrong with this water tank water please, that the shower pressure is low, then picks up - then falls away to nothing? The hot water was still running okay but the cold tank seemed to be empty. I haven't lived here long, maybe there's a super-economy cold water tank in the roof that only holds a small amount before it is recharged from the mains?

I flushed the system about an hour later and it filled in about 2 minutes which is back to normal. I managed to grab a hasty shower in the end too. Mystery.

Advice appreciated :)

Thanks,

Ric

[lets have a look]

Looks like the ballvalve in the cold water tank is blocked and you are drawing water faster than the tank can fill

[kr236rk]

Looks like the ballvalve in the cold water tank is blocked and you are drawing water faster than the tank can fill

AH!

Thanks :)

Tried the shower again this evening, poor flow rate. Couple of years ago a local plumber said when it does this wave the shower head and point it downwards. When I did this the flow picked up and the water warmed up a bit, but as soon as I put the shower head back up into position, the flow faltered and went cold again. At least I had enough water to shower this evening! but there is obviously something very wrong here.

Of course the hot and cold water have to meet and mix somewhere in the pipework, do you think the erratic cold flow could be messing up the hot water somehow? But there is no doubt that the cold water stopped altogether last night, all the taps were empty except the mains.

I better get onto the plumbing / boiler people (insurance) tomorrow so they can send an engineer round. This has been going on for about 5 years now - it comes and goes - and no-one has been able to put a finger on it, your diagnosis could be very helpful here!

Thanks again,

Ric

[lets have a look]

Let us know the outcome please but an empty tank and blocked ballvalve is the first place I would check

[kr236rk]

Thanks,

They replaced the ball(?) valve (looked like a blue ball) in the roof, but also said the cold water tank was quite small anyway, so to be sparing. The engineer was in no doubt that what was described on DIY Doctor was causing the water problem. Be interested to see what the shower gets up to this evening but hopefully the problem is sorted thanks :) Will update.

[kr236rk]

Shower is okay - still a bit eccentric. When you turn on the hot side of the dial the flow drains away but gets hot, then swing towards the cold side of the dial - the flow picks up, as the cold water kicks in. But at least I can get a decent shower in now :)

Many thanks!