Severn Trent's Hippo

teddysmum · 6 June 2017 at 5:15PM

As we had a meter fitted today, I requested a free Hippo water saving bag. However, we have Twyford's early 1990s cistern which is smaller than older ones, but not as small as the newer dual flush ones.

The older bags, allowed you to fill them with water of any volume ,but the Hippo version seems rather large compared to tank volume.

Do people, with cisterns of our size, find that it leaves enough water for when a 'good flush' is needed ?

O know I could try it but, if it's unlikely to be of use would prefer not to mess about with the blue dyed water.

Cardew · 6 June 2017 at 9:24PM

teddysmum wrote: »

Do people, with cisterns of our size, find that it leaves enough water for when a 'good flush' is needed ?

.

IMO it is less a function of the size of the cistern but their location. We have two toilets on the ground floor(both dual flush) and neither is as effective at removing 'large loads' as those toilets upstairs.

matelodave · 6 June 2017 at 9:49PM

we've got two dual flush loos, one is just about OK, the other is almost useless the half flush barely dilutes the contents of the bowl and second go of the main flush is frquently required to clear the bowl if there's more than just liquid in there.

IMO it uses more water than the standard flush if you have to have two or more goes to clear it.

My main concern would be blocking the sewers if we didn't have a washing machine or dishwasher as there is insufficient flush water to clear the solids.
A problem we had in our last house as the loos flushed into a different branch to the washing machine & dishwasher. I frequently had to rod them through to keep them flowing properly.

teddysmum · 7 June 2017 at 5:33PM

I've put it in to try ,but even with our larger than recent cistern there is not room to put it under the ball as recommended (I think it may catch on the ball), so it is squashed in to the side.

When the toilet flushes without an insert, it doesn't seem to use a lot of water (I don't think the cistern completely empties.)

The product website says not recommended for dual flush toilets and my son when I mentioned the freebie, said he couldn't use one because his toilets are dual flush. (He had this information from somewhere else).

If the bag seems to be causing problems, I think a small heavy rubber ball would be a good half way measure.

We are going through the silly stage at the moment ie don't flush if not necessary, but have both forgotten and flushed automatically.

matelodave · 7 June 2017 at 6:34PM

we've had a meter for years and we've never got paranoid about how much we use however we dont waste it. We are both in all day and certainly don't muck about with not flushing the loo

You might find it useful to read your meter regularly - once a month at least to give you some idea of your consumption. If you measure and record what you use you'll see where you can make savings or are literally flushing it down the drain.

Dont overfill kettles, dont let water run down the sink when washing stuff, including you and your teeth. Only use the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads - saves both water and energy.

Dont forget that long hot showers or big deep baths use lots of water. Fit a flow restrictor or eco shower head to your shower and only spend five minutes or less in there.

I wash the cars and caravan using a hose with a shut off nozzle and we've also got a timer garden watering system which is on from April through to September and still only get through about 70cu.m a year.

teddysmum · 7 June 2017 at 7:42PM

matelodave wrote: »

we've had a meter for years and we've never got paranoid about how much we use however we dont waste it. We are both in all day and certainly don't muck about with not flushing the loo

You might find it useful to read your meter regularly - once a month at least to give you some idea of your consumption. If you measure and record what you use you'll see where you can make savings or are literally flushing it down the drain.

Dont overfill kettles, dont let water run down the sink when washing stuff, including you and your teeth. Only use the washing machine and dishwasher with full loads - saves both water and energy.

Dont forget that long hot showers or big deep baths use lots of water. Fit a flow restrictor or eco shower head to your shower and only spend five minutes or less in there.

I wash the cars and caravan using a hose with a shut off nozzle and we've also got a timer garden watering system which is on from April through to September and still only get through about 70cu.m a year.

It's just us being daft as it's new. Even exaggerating usage like four car washes a week and washing machine use every day works out that we save, so carrying on as normal will be cheaper anyway.

We don't have a shower (though the dogs do,but it's a trigger one and they are bathed in a baby bath, as they are only small)and only fill the bath part way. My husband cleans the car but with a trigger hose or just a sponge and bucket. The garden is all lawn except for a few large pots ,which have reservoirs so only need a little water on very dry days.

The only big usage was two or three years back when we had the lawns laid in hot weather so they had to be sprinkled for several hours.

teddysmum · 13 June 2017 at 6:05PM

I haven't checked that the Hippo is actually filling, having moved from the place where I put it, but there is no noticeable reduction in water entering the pan, so it can stay in the cistern ,because the output is sufficient for all needs.

However,though our bathroom suite is a 1990s one ,there doesn't seem to be a lot of water in the filled cistern as a lot of space is taken by the syphon and metalwork, with the filler spout set quite low.

Ben84 · 28 July 2017 at 3:04PM

I've just fitted a couple of these things to my two toilets:
http://www.interflush.co.uk/

So far, they seem to be working. I can flush a little, or a lot, depending what's needed. So, the toilet does still work perfectly. When I flush a little, it certainly appears to be using less water. Haven't had a water bill since fitting them however, so what kind of difference we might see isn't known yet.

Severn Trent's Hippo

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