bwfc1965 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hope someone can help.Just returned to my home in Brittany after being away since August 2013. Filled the Saur 200ltr hot water tank, and switched on. All going well until I tried to turn the taps on. The water trickles out. I think I have got all the air out, but for some reason, although the water is hot it just trickles out. Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks in anticipation Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Department71 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Whats the cold water pressure going into the hot water tank like, maybe the security valve has something wrong with it? worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 bwfc1965,The pressure on the hot water side is the same as the pressure on the cold water side (mains pressure hot water system) Does the cold water trickle out? Is this just one tap or are all of them affected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 You could check that the inlet valve to the hot water tank is fully open and operates correctly.Also, if fitted, the isolating valve for the water supply to the tank.Some people fit a pressure reducing valve on the inlet side of the system (cold water) in areas where the pressure is too high for the tank. This could be defective after a long period of unuse.Does the safely release valve operate correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 First do something very simple, remove the mousseur from your tap, they can clog up very quickly especially if a system has been left for a while partially drained down.I had to repair a leaking pipe on Sunday, afterwards the hot water flow was practically nothing, I suspected and air lock but the cold on the same mixer tap was equally dismal so I checked the mousseur, blocked with detritus once again.After that then perhaps an airlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 First do something very simple, remove the mousseur from your tap, they can clog up very quickly especially if a system has been left for a while partially drained down.I had to repair a leaking pipe on Sunday, afterwards the hot water flow was practically nothing, I suspected and air lock but the cold on the same mixer tap was equally dismal so I checked the mousseur, blocked with detritus once again.After that then perhaps an airlock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwfc1965 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thanks for all the reply'sThe pressures in the cold is great as always. All three hot water taps are trickling.As for the mousseur, I'm not sure what or where that is, although my guess would be that it is something within the tank. Could you give me a rough idea where and what it is.Thanks againSteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Its the aerator nozzle on your taps, if the cold is running OK then it wont be that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwfc1965 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thanks for the replyThe cold water is fine.The pressure in all the hot water taps is very low. When you initialLily turn the taps on you get a very short burst of normal pressure then it drops down to a trickle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 As I thought the problem is not that of pressure but of a restricted flow, the hydrostatic pressure is equal to the mains pressure but drops under flow conditions.Number one suspect, the groupe de securité on the ballon, is the cold inlet valve fully open? does it open and close with some resistance or is the lever just spinning on the shaft (plastic stripped), take it off and soak it in vinegar overnight, check its operation under mains pressure in a bucket (you will get wet!!!) then you may have to detartre or replace the ballon.Unlikely to be a blockage upstream of the ballon given all taps are affected unless perhaps there is a thermostatic mixing valve fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Wot he said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 You didn't mention if you had a pressure reducer fitted. If you do, it is likely to be attached to the inlet side of the groupe de securitie on the cold fill. That might have failed or (slightly more likely) be clogged. Do you have a stop tap fitted to the hot out of the tank? is it connected by flexible hoses or copper? I would be tempted to check the flow directly out of the hot outlet of the tank before draining it and tackling the GdeS.So:Turn off the flow into the tank (little blue or yellow tab on the GdeS, turns through 90 degrees). Open hot tape and wait until flow stops. disconnect hot water outlet pipe. Now either put a bucket under it, or - better yet - connect a short flexible from it to a bucket (you're less liable to get 65C water over you if the hot is directed safely into a bucket). Slowly turn the cold tab back on. If the same miserable dribble is exhibited, then the problem is with the flow going into the tank : probably in the GdeS. Turn the cold off again. Now I would disconnect the cold feed from the GdeS. check to see if there is muck on the mesh filter (if there is one) if there isn't, one further thing you could try is to check the non-return flap which is just inside the body. If you gently introduce a small screwdriver into the inlet you should feel it reach it, and it should yield with very little force (if you have it dismantled and in your hands, you should be able to open it by blowing down the inlet - not something you will be able to do while it's attached to the underside of the tank unless you are a contortionist !Now is the time to drain the tank and take the GdeS off. If you get a full flow of hot out of the tank, then the problem is downstream, and the tank and associated plumbery is innocent!I have just changed a leaking chauffeau for a new one, and changed the GdeS at the same time. I was interested to discover that one of them had a mesh filter on the inlet, and the other one didn't. This is another place you could check before draining the tank. It's amazing how little gunk is needed on a mesh filter to reduce a 3-bar flow to a prostatic dribble.Whenever I have to drain down plumbing for any reason, I always make a point of bleeding the air (splutter, rust, more spluttering, then water) from a tap with the aerator removed. if you do it with the plug in the sink, it is amazing the amount of crud there is by the time the water runs clean).Just for interest, the instructions for one of my chauffeaux advised strongly against leaving it empty for more than a day or two. Are the insides enamel or plain steel, I wonder? If the latter, then 40 L of oxygen (in a 200L model) would make a goodly quantity of rust, I suppose. Bit of a poser to know what to do for the best if leaving a house for winter eh?p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Do you think some are really plain steel? the constant refilling with fresh oxygenated water would rust it away in no time. Enameled or stainless steel surely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 [quote user="Théière"]Do you think some are really plain steel? the constant refilling with fresh oxygenated water would rust it away in no time. Enameled or stainless steel surely.[/quote]You're right, of course. What was I thinking? But -all the same - it's an odd caution to put in a set of instructions, don't you think? Perhaps something to do with the anode??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Yes could be, if the anode dries out and corrodes maybe it won't do it's job as effectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 The first one I changed I naively thought it would be copper like the ones in the UK. I cut it in half to make a pond feature, the rust marked the courtyard for months. I think they are galvanised steel on the inside. Some have plastic riser pipes which become brittle after a short time, snap and then you only get half a tank of hot water before the cold water rises and covers the broken riser (I cut another defective one up to find out why it had stopped working after only 18 mths). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 If I remember correctly, my water heater is glass lined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 So..... enamel, then.... Or do you mean an actual, separate glass inner? (or have you actually got a giant thermos flask[:)] ?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 Vitrifié.The two I have in reserve are protected that way.TBH by the time you get around to replacing a tank because it is perforated and leaking the rust will have taken a severe hold over several years.I have a couple of Pacific top of the range ballons with an electronic protection system, they had only heated flowed around 100M3 maximum as the cold water meters that came with them showed only double that, on inspection all the internal seams showed rust in some areas where the protective coating had broken down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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