Water tank leaking somewhere - pls can anyone help?

travel_freak

Hi,

We have a cold water tank in an airing cupboard. It sits on wooden slats up above the hot water tank (immersion, I think?!).

The cold water tank has various water pipes going in and out of it but does not seem to have an overflow that I can see.

There is a leak somewhere from this tank which has soaked the wood through and dripped down to the carpet which is also sodden.

I can't see where the water is leaking from. I've felt around the pipes going into and out of the tank and they seem dry. And I cannot see any overflow pipe anywhere.

Please could anyone suggest what I can do to find the source of the leak?

Is it possible the tank itself could be leaking from underneath somewhere?

It is hard black plastic and is fixed in place so I can't understand how it could suddenly spring a leak.

Also to stop the leak from causing further damage how could I drain down the water in the tank or isn't this possible? (There is electric only, no gas).

Many thx for any advice.

Greenr

Hi

Do you have any copper pipes in your airing cupboard? The reason I ask is because my mother in law recently found a large wet area in her airing cupboard and realised that it was from condensation on the copper pipes and not a leak!

travel_freak

Hi

thanks for your reply, no they are all plastic ones and there is quite a lot of water/dampness so I definitely think it's a leak....unfortunately!

Sunnyday

Try wrapping a piece of loo roll around each pipe near any joins or taps and see if any turn up wet.
This sounds like a similar set up to our house but i think that the tank overflow goes up into the loft through yet another pipe. I`m not very familiar with how it all works

SD

boller_boy

Is the tank a small one ? if so it may be the feed / expansion tank for your heating system, poss that it might be pumping over when heating is on, if so try turning down the pump speed, need more information as and when it leaks, if not sure call local plumber !

boingsaidzebedee

Hi,

Sounds like an older 30/40 gallon rigid plastic cold water storage tank.

If you are all electric then the plastic tank feeds the immersion hot water cylinder below.

If thermostat on immersion cylinder has had it the immersion could be overheating the water in the cylinder.Hot water expands back up the pipe(most likely from very top of cylinder)into the cold water tank above.---In this case cupboard would probably be steamy.

Tank can split on weak points--where it sits on slats.

To drain down tank.....Should be a valve or stopcock on the cold main entering the top side of tank.Get a chair and have a look.The pipe going into the tank that has a ballvalve on the inside is the water entry.Hopefully there is a valve or stopcock on this pipe.

If no valve in cupboard then main house stopcock I'm afraid.Which means all water in house turned off.

If no house main stopcock then stopcock in road.

If you manage to turn off water then open the hot water bath tap.The water in the plastic tank will empty.--Only the water in this tank will empty and your immersion will stay full so no worries.But you will have no hot water.

The overflow pipe would most likely be plastic if modern--as thick as a mans thumb----whereas water entry pipe as thick as a finger.

If you have no overflow pipe or the joint to tank or pipework joints are leaky(common) then maybe only the ballvalve is failing and overfilling the tank.Again you need to turn off the cold water feed pipe somehow.

If in doubt turn off the house water main if there is no stopcock/valve within the cupboard and run hot tap to drain tank.

Check if there is a helpline for household emergencies on your Home Insurance. Else plumber.

boingsaidzebedee

Hi,

Sounds like an older 30/40 gallon rigid plastic cold water storage tank.

If you are all electric then the plastic tank feeds the immersion hot water cylinder below.

If thermostat on immersion cylinder has had it the immersion could be overheating the water in the cylinder.Hot water expands back up the pipe(most likely from very top of cylinder)into the cold water tank above.---In this case cupboard would probably be steamy.

Tank can split on weak points--where it sits on slats.

To drain down tank.....Should be a valve or stopcock on the cold main entering the top side of tank.Get a chair and have a look.The pipe going into the tank that has a ballvalve on the inside is the water entry.Hopefully there is a valve or stopcock on this pipe.

If no valve in cupboard then main house stopcock I'm afraid.Which means all water in house turned off.

If no house main stopcock then stopcock in road.

If you manage to turn off water then open the hot water bath tap.The water in the plastic tank will empty.--Only the water in this tank will empty and your immersion will stay full so no worries.But you will have no hot water.

The overflow pipe would most likely be plastic if modern--as thick as a mans thumb----whereas water entry pipe as thick as a finger.

If you have no overflow pipe or the joint to tank or pipework joints are leaky(common) then maybe only the ballvalve is failing and overfilling the tank.Again you need to turn off the cold water feed pipe somehow.

If in doubt turn off the house water main if there is no stopcock/valve within the cupboard and run hot tap to drain tank.

Check if there is a helpline for household emergencies on your Home Insurance. Else plumber.

James_N

If you have an overheating system, STEAM can come out of the overflow vent and soak everywhere? Are there any bubbling or boiling noises?

travel_freak wrote: »

Hi,

We have a cold water tank in an airing cupboard. It sits on wooden slats up above the hot water tank (immersion, I think?!).

The cold water tank has various water pipes going in and out of it but does not seem to have an overflow that I can see.

There is a leak somewhere from this tank which has soaked the wood through and dripped down to the carpet which is also sodden.

I can't see where the water is leaking from. I've felt around the pipes going into and out of the tank and they seem dry. And I cannot see any overflow pipe anywhere.

Please could anyone suggest what I can do to find the source of the leak?

Is it possible the tank itself could be leaking from underneath somewhere?

It is hard black plastic and is fixed in place so I can't understand how it could suddenly spring a leak.

Also to stop the leak from causing further damage how could I drain down the water in the tank or isn't this possible? (There is electric only, no gas).

Many thx for any advice.

travel_freak

Hi,

Many thanks for the replies, especially BoingsaidZebedee for your detailed one.

Now I've got a stronger light I've delved around inside the cupboard! The pipes going in to and out of the tank seem to be dry (have tried putting loo paper on them) but I have seen a drip mark running down the side of the tank beneath/in line with one of the pipes which suggests that one might be leaking.

This is happening when the immersion tank below is switched off so I don't think it is anything to do with thermostat on that not working - does that sound like a safe assumption?! When I switch the immersion on it heats water okay as usual.

I checked the tank periodically for a day and there seem to be drips coming from the side of it - there are sort of grooves and steel brackets around the outside and I wonder if one of these still brackets has damaged the tank as the drips sort of accumulate there and then run down the side of the tank.

Had been away for a week (so tank/water) not being used and there was a pool of water on my return and the wood is soaked through so seems like a lot of water damage for the "drip" I can see?

Wondering if I can safely remove these steel bracket bits to have a look at the tank wall itself to see if there is a split or hole?

If it is the tank please does anyone know if this could be repaired with some sort of glue stuff or would I have to get a new tank?

This is a flat and I can't get hold of the managing agents to find out if it is covered under the building insurance block policy - please does anyone know if it is likely to be as I don't have contents insurance.

Many thanks again.

sparky883

You can also stop the water filling up the tank by Taping the ball valve in the off position,Then running the hot taps,The ball valve is in the tank and looks like it sounds,This problem is wear/tear a new one will be aroung £250.
it will not be covered under contents insurance,Is it not the landlords responsibility if its a rented flat?

travel_freak

Thanks Sparky, but how do I know it is the ball valve that's causing the problem? At the moment all I can see is a drip line underneath one of the pipes that goes into the water tank. This pipe is around a third of the way down the side of the tank.

That drip line is running down the side of the tank and then all the water is accumulating on the wooden surface on which the tank is sitting.

I can't see for sure if it is a drip coming from here or if it is the tank lower down that has sprouted a leak somewhere. Just trying to narrow down the possibilities and see if I can fix myself at all before having to incur hefty costs.

If it is the tank does anyone know if I can glue it in some way rather than having to have a whole new tank?

Part of the problem with looking to see if it is the ball valve is it's in a cupboard and I can't easily get to the top to look at what might be going on at the top or inside the tank.

I know it won't be covered by contents insurance but am wondering if it would be covered under my buildings insurance? Sorry for the confusion, what I meant to say is it's a block of flats so there is a block building insurance policy. The policy is taken out/managed for the block by the the freeholder's managing agents. Insurance claims have to go through the managing agents but I couldn't get anyone at the managing agents to talk to on Friday to even tell me if I have cover - they're good at taking their managing fees but not good at helping if you need help!!