I am brainstorming a way to use a rinnai tankless heater as a booster to an existing 50 gallon tank. The intent here is to assist with the incoming water temp (40f) in Denver. Keeping the tank around 60 room temp would help in large flow-need situations? Does this logic hold?
Why not just install a domestic hot water system that is designed for your situation, one that can deliver the desired amount of HW?; a larger tank, high recovery model, another tank twinned with the existing one, etc.
Please help.
I am buying a new house (old foundation but newly renovated) but have second thoughts now that I witnessed sewer overflowing onto the basement floor from the house trap. Here are some facts about the house:
Located in Queens, NY near a swampy area and is close enough to another area which is known for flooding.
House trap is about one foot deep in a basement cut-out.
No automatic check value is on the property.
One plug was missing from the house trap and one was there following cleanup of the sewage that spilled onto the basement floor.
Questions:
1. Even if the missing plug led to the sewer spillage, if both plugs were there and secure is there a possibility in the future that a backup could emerge from else where (like the toilet, sinks, etc?) when there is pressure?
2. Just to be safe, should I have the current owner install a automatic check value on the property in addition to putting in brass clean out plugs?
3. What if regular maintenance of the house trap is needed? Would a brass cleanout plug or a lead fitall be appropriate?
1. Even if the missing plug led to the sewer spillage, if both plugs were there and secure is there a possibility in the future that a backup could emerge from else where (like the toilet, sinks, etc?) when there is pressure?
>Yes, if the house trap plugs were water tight, the waste water would travel inside the drain system and overflow or spill from the lowest level fixture or overflow from the house trap vent, it may even just fill up the piping depending on how the drain pipes, vents lines and fixtures are laid out.
2. Just to be safe, should I have the current owner install a automatic check value on the property in addition to putting in brass clean out plugs?
>Unless, the waste water/sewage was backing in from the city main in the street, you should not need a back water valve, they have thier own problems.
3. What if regular maintenance of the house trap is needed? Would a brass cleanout plug or a lead fitall be appropriate?
>Mainly, you’ll find lead fit-all plugs in the house trap, unless the trap is fairly new and brass plug threads will mate with the threads of the house trap clean-out threads.
What exactly caused the stoppage and what was done to correct it?
You need to know this info…
I was wondering where to purchase the tool used by the Water Company to open the Water Meter Cover and [optionally] shut off water to your house.
I attempted to replace a simple kitchen faucet. There were no hot/cold shut-off valves under the sink, so I had to go out in the front yard, and after using a pipe wrench, I finally got the cover off. Then it was reaching down into the meter hole (after first checking for snakes and other critters) to turn the water off.
After replacing the faucet (this time installing shut off valves) I went back and turned the water back on. I must have not got it on tight, as I received a note from the water department that it [the cover] was faulty and needed to be replaced. After about an hour with WD-40 and White Lithium Grease, I was able to get the latch free enough to secure it, using the pipe wrench.
I want to install a water softener, and at the same time replace the main shut-off valve inside the house. I don’t even know where to go to get one of these tools used by the meter reader, and wouldn’t know the proper name for it if I did know.
Any help appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Go to a plumbing supply house and ask for a meter lid key and a meter key, or wrench.
just finished sweat soldering in a new shower valve and am wondering how good does a solder joint have to be to be good? I haven’t turned the water on yet, but if it doesn’t leak call it good even if it looks less than appealing. The solder did flow into the joints, but some of the outside joints look ugly.
Thanks, Tom
The joints could look ugly as sin and still hold under pressure, as long as the fittings were prepped correctly and the solder took. Wipe off the excess flux and keep ALL the lines pressurized and monitor them for any leaks. Generally speaking, if you don’t have leaks the instant that the water is turned on, you’re good to go.
According to the former owner of my house, they installed a chamber type septic system a few years before I bought the house in 2003. Can someone explain this type of system to me? Any guidelines I need to follow in order to keep it from developing problems, ie maintenance required? How often should a septic system be flushed?
Thanks!
All modern septic systems should have chambers to work correctly.
To keep it working correctly have it pumped out once every two to three years, use only white toilet paper, no garbage disposals, no grease down the drain, use very little bleach and cleaning products, no antibacterial soaps, no dumping medicine down the drains and check your medications to see if they kill septic conditions.
Aren’t you glad you asked
Can I turn off the intake valve to my water heater tank but leave the heater on? I suspect a slab leak (although I have not yet found any wet spots) because my cold water now runs warm or even hot at first and I have now immediate hot water — a big change. Until I can locate the leak and repair it, I would like to leave the tank on but turn off the flow when hot water is not needed, to minimize damage from the hidden leak. Is this safe?
If your water heater is electric and kicks in with less than a full tank it will burn out any exposed elements.
My bathroom sink drains slow. But as soon as I pull out the stopper, it drains very quickly which indicates to me that a clog may not be the problem. Thanks for any suggestions.
some pop-up assemblies dont let the stopper go high enough and you get an airlock. try adjusting the rod to allow the stopper to sit a little higher or maybe even at an angle
Awhile ago I bought 2 Price Pfister shower and faucet sets (Marielle R89M-808M Series/46-MOBK) for my remodeling project for 2 bathrooms. My question is that, after reading a lot of expert posts here, should I reconsider and purchase something else? Is this a decent, reliable product?
I’m gutting both bathrooms and want fixtures of good quality that will last, well, forever. (I’m getting an expensive, custom tile job in the showers. Plus new tubs, sinks and toilets.)
It’s not too late to buy new sets but I have to act fast – in the next few days. So will I regret this purchase? I can’t return them but I could donate them to charity. Thanks for any and all advice.
I don’t know about that particular one, but Price Pfister is one of my preferred brands, for most applications. Now, if it is a single handle tub/shower faucet, then the Delta 1700 series becomes my valve of choice.
I’ve been meaning to redo the plumbing on some aquarium racks and wanted to get advice/opinions on plumbing options from people with plumbing experience.
I currently have a return pump in the bottom sump that feeds the top tank and then each tank drains into the next tank beneath it in a loop, but it is extremely noisy and creates a storm of microbubbles in the lower tanks.
My question is about making an economical and efficient drain that would eliminate the microbubbles and hopefully some of the noise.
I could just run a standard durso drainpipe from each tank down to the sump, but I’m wondering if I could tie them all into a single drain “stack” without problems, and without the need for 3 separate drainpipes?
exaple of one idea I was toying with today: 
Here’s an examIt would basically be 1″ bulkhead drains feeding into a 1 1/2″ durso pipe (ventstack). Would that work? Would this cause a backup problem anywhere below the top drain? How do they plumb the drains for apartment buildings with multiple floors without the water backing up into the apartments below? Am I missing an easier/better solution? Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated before I spend any time ripping them all apart and rebuilding.
Thanks in advance for any help.
It could back up into lower tanks if it clogs but you are screening outlets and it it is unlikely to clog like a building grain.
Hello to everyone !
Looking for Plumbing Handbook that would be is good as NEC2005 Handbook as an example. And maybe someone knows web page for plumbers as good as electricians have: www.mikeholt.com
Thank you !
plumbing has at least 3 major codes and about 15-20 minor/state codes or more not to mention all the local municipalities adding their own stuff so which handbook you want? this also makes it hard to have a site like that to make money off of
plumbing help