Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

[kay-jay]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

one thats earned me an extra tenner before........

always carry a 2ltr bottle of water in the van. i produced mine on a callout to a leak under a bath that was resulting in water through the ceiling in the night so they had turned the water off for a couple of hours.

she nearly cried when i offered her the water saying 'i bet you must be thirsty with the water off all this time'

got extra tenner, and 3 repeat jobs from them since and one was a proper earner!

 

[Guest123]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Just bought a chemical toilet out of our local caravan showroom. I was getting fed up when on long bathroom jobs, having to stop early and temporarily fit the toilet each night so that the customer had a loo until next day. Now they can wee and poo all they like in the chemical loo and it gets lifted in place each day.
Will be handy too for back of van on fishing trips up the highlands!

 

[dannyleebrazier]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

always check bleed valves are CLOSED before re-filling the heating system and then bleed one by one

 

[WaterTight]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

And when getting bored waiting for a big old double to refill don't be tempted to do something else a few feet away - the second you do it'll urinate pitch black water everywhere.

 

[GQuigley67]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

anyone know of those tools that bleed the rads while catching the water in the container are any good ?

 

[dontknowitall]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

anyone know of those tools that bleed the rads while catching the water in the container are any good ?

Memory escapes me but I think they're called rags or towels ...

When servicing a boiler, just before starting, turn it on briefly to make sure it's working, no matter what the customer says.

 

[GQuigley67]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

this little bad girl

Plumb-Pak Radiator Drain Bleed Tool#

 

[R1CKY]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Not sure if it has been said.

But when servicing an Open-Flued Appliance, check the ventilation first. Nothing worst than wasting time servicing a BBU and finding out at the end of it that there is no ventilation!

 

[GrahamM]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

this little bad girl

Plumb-Pak Radiator Drain Bleed Tool#

They are rubbish. Only fit certain bleed valves and there is a rubber seal that never seals properly. Stick to good old brass key and rag.

 

[WHPES]

re: Hints, tips & secrets of plumbing - No Banter please!

Here's a useful one I was told today by an old guy - To fix leaking Danfoss HSV HPV etc motorised valve bodies where the leak is from the spindle, you do not need to disconnect the valve from the pipework. Also it's very easy to do and saves replacing the whole valve.

Remove the actuator, then the four screws holding the valve plate on. Carefully remove the top section (some types including the mid position valves have small parts which will spring apart when removed so be careful). Remove the circlip and take the spindle out. Replace the 2 "o" rings with 4mm x 2mm o rings (found in the Holdtite Metric O Ring Box (kit 5)) and lubricate with silicone grease. Reassemble and job done.

May be possible to do the same with other makes such as the Honeywell but I haven't tried yet!)