Leak 1 litre per hour

plumb1_2

The last excessive use of water job I went to investigate, I traced it down to the ballvalve on the f&e tank in the loft.
some numpty had re routed the overflow pipe into the gutter when they had the facia boards changed. So wasn’t visible.

Section62

ThisIsWeird said:

No outside tap cracked during the frosty spell?

If there's no sign of overflow from a cistern/tank then this^ kind of thing would be my next candidate to investigate.  Were former owners keen gardeners?  Is it possible they've installed some kind of watering/irrigation system in the garden using underground piping? Is there a pipe supplying water to a greenhouse/shed/outbuilding?

Trace the pipework from the main stopcock and identify what all branches do/go to.

diystarter7

Hi
Could it be a leak on the meter, the water meter undersid ie one you can see? Id the water meter area dry?
Thanks

Green_hopeful

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Could it be a leak on the meter, the water meter undersid ie one you can see? Id the water meter area dry?
Thanks

I don’t think so because there is no water in the meter box and it stops with the internal stop tap but will keep an open mind. 

MikeJXE

Are there any pipes heating or otherwise under suspended or even in solid floors. ? 

Section62

diystarter7 said:

Could it be a leak on the meter, the water meter undersid ie one you can see? Id the water meter area dry?

If the parasitic consumption stops when the internal stopcock is turned off, that would rule out a leak on the meter or supply pipe, up to the location of the internal stopcock.

Section62

Green_hopeful said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Could it be a leak on the meter, the water meter undersid ie one you can see? Id the water meter area dry?
Thanks

I don’t think so because there is no water in the meter box and it stops with the internal stop tap but will keep an open mind. 

You are right, if the flow stops when you turn off your internal stopcock then it cannot be the meter, the talk about replacement meters is a distraction in your situation.

Also, seeing whether or not the area around the meter is dry doesn't help much (in wet weather) as the meter chamber can fill up with rainwater coming in from surface via the cover/frame, or draining in from saturated ground around the chamber.  Only by testing a sample of the water would it be possible to tell whether it was surface/ground water, or from the mains.

But if you can stop the parasitic flow by isolating the house then the problem is on the downstream side of that point of isolation.

diystarter7

Green_hopeful said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi
Could it be a leak on the meter, the water meter undersid ie one you can see? Id the water meter area dry?
Thanks

I don’t think so because there is no water in the meter box and it stops with the internal stop tap but will keep an open mind. 

Hi
Ok, thanks and I hope you soon get it resolved. Therefore clearly not the meter or leading from it to the on/off tap

The mains on/off tap,  is that 100% dry? Is there a chance the leak is from the bottom of the on-off tap as mist are under the kitchen sink.

Do keep a vert close eye on the walls/ceilings as 1lt per hour is loads of water.

Are you aware of any pipes embed in a wall, concrete floor etc?

This is very odd, I must say

Good luck

diystarter7

Btw, does the mains pipe run under floor boards for any part of the house and if so, IMO that is where the leak is.

Green_hopeful

So still no further forward. Raining today so too wet to look for flows in the sewer. It could be under the ground floor because we have a crawl space of about 1 m under the ground floor. I might see if I can listen at night when the heating is off.