Plumbing DIY, Replacing Taps

Plumbing is an aspect of home improvement that often comes about without choice. It is important to take care of the plumbing of your property in order to avoid emergency situations and to ensure that you are getting the best from your plumbing system.

When it comes to replacing taps it can often be more complex than you may realise at first. Replacing taps can either be required as part of the installation of a new bath/basin or because your old taps have worn down. You may, however, just wish to replace your taps simply on a more cosmetic basis.

It is important to understand how many 'holes' your sink has when it comes to changing your taps. The amount of holes will determine whether you can install two separate taps or whether you will have just the one serving both your hot and cold needs. If there is one hole you are restricted to the one tap and you will require a mono-bloc mixer when it comes to replacing your taps. With one hole you will have two diameter pipes coming out of the hole, one for hot and one for cold. It there are, however, two holes you are able to fit two separate taps to your sink, giving you a tap for hot water and a tap for cold water.

Ok now you have some basics about what to look for in your pipe work we can move onto the removal of your old taps. The first thing you need to ensure you do is to disconnect the water supply and then turn your taps on fully to drain any water left in your system. The way in which you cut off your water supply depends on what sort of water supply you are dealing with. If connected to the mains you should turn off your indoor stop valve. If your hot and cold taps feed off pipes from a cistern you should have a gate valve/mini stopcock available to turn off. The stop valve can be found alongside the cold water tank.

You should then use a wrench (crowsfoot spanner) or a tap tool to undo the nut, which connects the supply pipes to the taps. You will probably experience some water coming from the pipes at this point so ensure that you have a cloth ready then loosen the nut that is holding the taps in place and remove them from the sink. You then need to clean the area the taps fit into as well as replace any old sealing compound.

Before you go ahead and fit your new taps you need to compare the pipe connections on the old taps to the new taps. If they are longer then you will need a shank adapter in order to make them fit.

When it comes to actually fitting your new taps you have to check to see if the tails of the new taps are plastic. If not a connector is required to prevent damage. One end of the connector fits onto the tail and the other provides a connection to existing pipes. To fit the taps you should position the tap in the mounting hole in the basin, ensuring that the washers are in place between the tap and the sink and when the tap is securely in place the supply pipes can be connected.

When your taps are firmly in place and have been securely connected to the pipes you can then turn your water supply back on. Once your water is on you should check for any leaks; if any appear they can normally be resolved by tightening your joins.

Boiler Problem Troubleshooting 101

The boiler is an essential part of any home, especially in this country. And a much-used devices such as the boiler are prone to the usual wear-and-tear. Hence, it is not uncommon to experience a boiler problem every now and then. Usual problems with such devices happen after a few years of use, as this is common with any other mechanical device.

A number of people instantly call for help once their boilers stop working. While this is not wrong or unadvisable, you should first take a look at your boiler to see what type of boiler problem it is experiencing. Only simple troubleshooting skills are needed; you don't need to have intensive knowledge of heating engineering. Here are some of the things you can do if you encounter this particular boiler problem.

Noisy boiler: Noise usually signifies that there is a more severe boiler problem afoot. However, a noisy problem can only mean a few things, besides more serious trouble. First, it could mean that the circulator is faulty. This boiler problem could be remedied by checking the circulator to see if the spring load coupling does not break, specifically after or when the pump jams. Noise could also mean that water is trapped in the boiler's return lines; a simple problem which could be fixed by adjusting the pitch of the radiator so it can slope back towards the boiler's return pipe.

Inadequate heating: This is another common boiler problem experienced by many. When your boiler's performance suddenly becomes poor or below the usual standard, this might mean that its' expansion tank has inadequate air and excess water. This could be repaired by letting the tank cool down by turning the boiler off and closing the water supply, draining the excess water, and letting the expansion tank's purge valve let air in and release water. After the water supply's back on, you should the turn the boiler on and let it recharge for an hour or two to see if the process worked.

No Heat: Yet another common boiler problem, this could be caused by low water levels, malfunction in the electronic burner ignition or the thermostat. This could also happen if the circuit breaker is blown. First, you should replace the circuit breaker and maintain the boiler's water level at half. Check other parts of the boiler as well.

Of course, it is not always possible to fix the boiler by yourself. If you encounter a boiler problem that is too difficult or complicated for you to fix, call a heating engineer right away. A number of problems require adequate professional attention, such as when the boiler has water leaks. Many refuse to get the service of professionals because they think their cost is exorbitant and prohibitive. However, when help is already necessary, it is best to call the experts. Remember, while there is a number of boiler problems you can remedy, trying to fix a complex boiler problem may cost you more than calling the ones who should be fixing your boiler.

Pure Water Solution to The Distilled Water Problem

How pure is distilled water depends on why you are asking. For industrial applications, it's perfect. For drinking, a distilled pure water solution is not the right choice.

Distillation is the oldest purification technology around. It has been in use for thousands of years, although the original application was for increasing the alcohol content of beverages.

It became popular with apothecaries, because they realized that particles in groundwater could affect the performance of their herbal remedies. It is still used by pharmaceutical companies for the same reason.

In case you are wondering; how pure is distilled water and you are shopping for a home purification device, let me explain the drawbacks.

Drawbacks of Distilled Water - What Are They?

First of all, the systems are expensive to purchase. If they were highly effective, that wouldn't be a problem, but this cannot be considered a pure water solution for drinking purposes.

Anything gaseous, or with a boiling point lower than water, would remain in the final cooling chamber. You would have to fill the pot from your tap, which is tap consuming and exposure to things like THMs (a water hazard) could occur while you are filling the pot.

After every use, the boiling pot must be cleaned, as a residue remains that contains all of the contaminants that were removed. So, while you are cleaning, you may be exposed to more health hazards.

The compounds used to clean the pot must be carefully selected or you won't have any pure water solution, at all. How pure is distilled water, anyway? If either pot is not properly cleaned, there will be no purity, at all.

More Distilled Water Problems - How Are You Affected?

Another problem with this kind of pure water solution is this; minerals and electrolyte ions are removed. Electrolytes are needed to maintain proper homeostasis or hydration. A lack of minerals can increase your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis and other chronic and life threatening health conditions.

The answer to how pure is distilled water for an industrial application was "perfect". That's because they need waters that are more resistant to electrical charges. Minerals present in the waters increase its ability to "conduct" or carry an electrical charge.

An ultra pure water solution is even available for industries that need it. This ultra pure water solution may be run through two distillers or it may be deionized. By removing metallic and mineral ions, they have something that is "perfect" for their needs.

Distilled Water - Is It for Drinking?

It is not, however perfect for drinking. It doesn't taste good. It's not good for your health and the primary contaminants that you want to remove may still be present. If purchasing bottled, the compounds used to create the bottle are a source of contamination.

Even if you were looking for something for the fish tank, you would need to "re-mineralize" these waters, because fish and aquatic life need minerals to survive. But, they can be killed by chlorine and chemical contaminants in tap-water.

Those same contaminants decrease our chances of having a long healthy life. So, how pure is distilled water, again? For biological life forms like people and fish, it's simply not pure enough. My research revealed that a multi-block water filter system is a better and healthier pure water solution.