Burst pipe help please. Urgent.

vanilla

We live up a farm and yesterday morning we spotted a leak in the milk parlour so we turned off the cold water at the road.

Leak has been fixed this morning and water turned back on, my parents in law live down the land and their cold water is working but not up to full pressure yet. We have no cold water in the kitchen but do have in the bathroom (i think it's a different tank).

Now our only heating is the fire with back burner, when the pipes crack we put on the pump. I've also been using the hot water for washing the dishes ect.

My question is will the hot water run out? I take it to be that the tank fills up with cold water when water is used so if no water is going in then the tank will be empty. What would happen then as the fire is on and heating the water.

What should i do? Help please. I don't have a clue about tanks and things but i'm worried that something will blow or something. Any advice would be great.

bryanb

If the water is not flowing into the house I'd let fire go out till it's sorted

have you turned on the cold stopcock?

vanilla

bryanb wrote: »

If the water is not flowing into the house I'd let fire go out till it's sorted

have you turned on the cold stopcock?

Thanks i really don't want any tanks exploding on me.

vanilla

Yes the cold stopcock is turned on.

keystone

vanilla wrote: »

We have no cold water in the kitchen but do have in the bathroom (i think it's a different tank).

Kitchen tap supply almost certainly mains. Ergo mains is off for one reason or another. As Bryan said - have you turned the mains back on?

Other tap supply is prolly tank fed as you suggest. Yes you will empty it if you continue to use it and yes it will run out because the cold tank isn't being fed by obstructed mains and the cold tank replenishes the cylinder.

My question is will the hot water run out? I take it to be that the tank fills up with cold water when water is used so if no water is going in then the tank will be empty. What would happen then as the fire is on and heating the water.

It won't affect the water in the primary circuit (unless it goes on for too long and you empty the F&E tank as well) because thats isolated from the cylinder. If its an indirect cylinder then you will continue to heat the coil (heat exchanger) inside but if the tank is empty the heatwon't be taken away. There is potential then for damage to the cylinder.

What should i do?

Check you've reopened the stopcock that you closed. If you have and there's still no water at the kitchen sink check that the mains pipe hasn't frozen up. Warming it (but not overheating it) with a hair dryer works. If thats OK then check with the water company that they don't have a problem. Whilst your PIL have a similar problem it may well be that they also have a frozen pipe but not to the same extent (ie fully frozen) as being further down the hill they'll be less exposed.

BTW its unlikely that the mains underground has frozen because its insulated from the cold air and wind which is what does the damage.

Cheers

vanilla

We've just been told that the woman who lives across the road from us and who is up about the same hight has no cold water either.

We've check the tank in the attic and it only has about 1/4 water left, should we try and fill it?

I don't have a clue what kind of cylinder we have for the heating of the rads, all i know it that there is a tank in the attic and then a smaller tank above it (which has just under half).:eek:

keystone

vanilla wrote: »

We've just been told that the woman who lives across the road from us and who is up about the same hight has no cold water either.

Their mains where it comes out of the ground may also be frozen so they need to try the hair dryer trick too. But it could still be a water company problem. best to ring and check if nothing else to eliminate that possibility.

We've check the tank in the attic and it only has about 1/4 water left, should we try and fill it?

Don't see how you can unless you have an alternative source of water.

I don't have a clue what kind of cylinder we have for the heating of the rads, all i know it that there is a tank in the attic and then a smaller tank above it (which has just under half).:eek:

No sorry if I was unclear I meant your hot water storage cylinder - normally in the airing cupboard. Rads are heated directly from the primary heat source. The smaller tank is the F&E tank and I would expect no more than about half full anyway. Don't worry about that but I do suggest you limit your usage of both hot and cold until this is sorted out.

Cheers

vanilla

Rang the water service and it seems that there has been a lot of burst pipes and the resavoir (sp) is very low in water. They say that the water will be turned back on again later to let people's tanks fill up.
At least we know now. Think we'll be heading to my sisters.:rotfl:

Thanks everyone for the advice, the fire is now dying down.

keystone

vanilla wrote: »

Rang the water service and it seems that there has been a lot of burst pipes and the resavoir (sp) is very low in water. They say that the water will be turned back on again later to let people's tanks fill up.
At least we know now. Think we'll be heading to my sisters.:rotfl:

Thanks everyone for the advice, the fire is now dying down.

Brill. I'll go and get me some lunch now then.

Good luck.

Cheers