I am in the US and enjoyed the video, but have never seen that kind of unhappiness as far as a gravity filled water heater. I simply cannot imagine. Good grief.
Enjoying the series. My top tip past to me by my old man when I renovated my house was to take off all the internal doors when you start and store them in one room or chuck them. Saves opening and closing and dealing with doors when moving things around. It made life a lot easier and looks like it would for you to going off this video. Looking forward to the next installment, at least the weather is improving now and longer days with the clocks changing today.
Man that is so exhausting! We are at the point in our renovation where all the tools have been moved to the garage. One day I'm going to get a few different job specific toolboxes lol
Took out a cylinder in the Thames Valley. The limescale was two inches thick and it took two of us to carry the tank. Oh, and the bottom boss came away with just a nudge - the copper had been eaten away. I was heart-in-mouth seeing you bending the plastic pipe attached to the bottom boss with 120 litres of water above the joint.
Thanks Andy. A 'top tip' alternative to emtpy a hot water tank is to take the immersion heater out, stick a hosepipe in all the way to the bottom, and secure it with a clamp or cable ties. Take the other end out in to the garden and give it a good suck to get a syphon started... It'll empty very quickly with a 3m head. You can do the same with header tanks too if you wish.
'Tried to shift it, couldn't even lift it'....... 'have to take the door off, that there door is gonna have to go'..... Where was your cup of tea? Appologies to Bernard Cribbens and his piano.
Be awesome to see a video of you taking a house worth of renovation scrap down to the yard, see what you can make then buy something for the house with the money. That's if you've kept hold of everything :)
I'd have used a long hose pipe and syphoned the contents of both tanks down the stairs and out of the front door. Job done. The difference between plumbers and handymen is that two plumbers working together will do that job in about 15 minutes flat, whereas you and I can take all morning.
Spinning around looking for tools. LOL. I'm fairly certain I spend as much time doing that as doing the task. Great vid. Enjoyed the recovery from the lost footage, too!
I did a lot of the work you are doing now in the street behind you (facing the burn number 24) in 1980’s. The houses are solid and pretty easy to work on. Watch out for rotten ends to the timber joists on the ground floor. I built a conservatory on the back of mine, a number of the joists had rot on the ends, I just sistered new ones on from the conservatory side. I think the damp proofing in some parts was compromised. I also had the walls insulated, there is a cavity, you can tell there is a cavity by looking at the brickwork, it’s all stretcher course, which is a good indication of a cavity. I like your use of ‘road’ “In any road” or “in the road”. I wonder how many of your subscribers understand the different use of the word, or what it means. Had 20 happy years there, both sons born and brought up there, I’ve told them about the renovation and to watch it, so they can appreciate what their dad went through😂. I looked at a house where you are and tried to buy it for the same reason, the back garden, but was beaten to it by a cash buyer.
The open header tank explains why so many showers have a very weak flow in the UK, I have never seen these in the Netherlands. None such as a rain shower with these open header tanks, a gravity fed system gives you just 0.1 bar of pressure for each meter the tank is above a tap/shower head. In the video the tank is 1.5 meter above the shower head at best, so that's a meager 0.15 bar of pressure Getting hot water directly from a combi boiler will give you a much better flow rate. A combi boiler will feed your hot water supply with 2.5-3.0 bar, that's 20x as much as the tank in the example of the shower. A combi boiler also has at least twice the heating power as the electric shower (why a hot water tank AND an electric shower?)
Nice one, Andy! Might be worth mentioning that some older loft tanks might have an asbestos lining. I'm in the process of selling my house and the surveyor advised that the redundant tank in my loft was asbestos lined - if we weren't moving I had considered chopping up and removing the old tank to give more loft storage...a hard nope now!
I just hoicked a cheapo wetvac into the loft to clean out the header tank before changing it, was alot easier than risking getting an unwanted shower...
I did notice when using the mini pipe cutter you were using it the wrong way. They cut clockwise or the rollers follow the cutting wheel. But really enjoying this renovation. More videos please.
Rock wool/fibreglass insulation. If I'm in a loft for any amount of time, I'll make up a very weak solution of PVA in a garden sprayer and spray the stuff down. Not to soak it but to 'set' the dust and loose fibres. Get yourself a drill powered pump and a couple of short lengths of hose. Ideal for this, toilet cisterns, bowls etc.
Great channel..love your videos and how you do things...i am currently renovating our house and i do all the work myself...just fitting our new kitchen after i have plastered all the walls and ceiling..its great to see someone else with the enthusiasm to try things out and always ready for the next challenge..reminds me a lot of me :)
The pipe cutter should be turned so that the wheel follows the two guide pins, not the way round you were doing it. That way it only cuts once instead of cutting a 'thread'
@@GosforthHandyman I find that you need to wind the knob up when you start so that the cutting wheel is really biting into the pipe - then the first revolution cuts all the way round rather than winding along the pipe and creating a "thread" - whatever, pipe cutters are waaaay better than a hacksaw!
Tyvek suit, gloves and mask or even some kind of respirator. The dust and pollution in a loft in the UK is the thing of horrors, and that Rockwool is very unforgiving stuff. Plus the potential risk of Legionella in an old gravity fed tank and pipework, especially in such an old house. Always better to be safe than sorry, Andy ;)
You should take a couple of plastic sacks with you each time you go into the loft and scoop up some of that insulation for ditching- you’d have it near cleared by now.😉
When I was working as a plumber draining a hot cylinder. A length of 15mm copper pipe long enough to reach the bottom of the cylinder with about 100mm of pipe clear of the top of the cylinder and a hose connected to the pipe and the hose long enough to where you want the water to drain and just syphon the water out.
Thanks for this video. Could you answer a question for me. You know when you cut the cold water supply that feeds the reservoir, before it goes down into the hot water tank, do you put a stop end on that because when you turn the water on you will basically have a fountain in your loft if you don’t?? I just didn’t hear you mention that you did that, but I presume that’s what you do? Thanks in advance and again, thanks for the awesome videos.
Hi Andy congratulations on reaching 154,000 subscribers and well done with all your hard work on the house so fair and well done with all your hard work with the videos as well
Nice video makes it look so easy. What happens to the flow and return from the water tank and header, are they just connected together or are they blanked off.
Love the notion of someone coming across one of the videos in this series in the TH-cam wild and thinking “13 videos to remove a bloody hot water tank?!” That gets them to click on the video/playlist... Very shrewd Andy, you’re playing chess while other creators are playing draughts, ha.
To stop it threading you don’t do it super tight and you don’t keep going round just back and forth until you have a good cut 😉 first thing you learn as a fridge installer
On a project like this I’d suggest you buy a Wickes wet n dry vac at about £50 and a pair of rotary pipe cutters at about £20 from a plumbing merchant. Stay well, Ian B
For the future just drain via a hot tap, crack the top joint on the cylinder (should only have a dribble left) pop a hose in and Syphon it out. May get a mouthful of limescale though.
Ha ha it's pretty rare over here! Had our first decent snowfall over here in about 10 years (a lot more fell after that). Had the sledges out and everything! 🤣👍
13 parts into this series and I just now clued into this house being a semi-detached unit. So how does one deal with an owner of the adjoining property not keeping his property in good order? Are there ordinances protecting owners of semi-detached properties from the adjoining owner's neglect of his property? Also, do you need the adjoining property owner's approval for any of the renovations you are doing?
Not for the changes inside, but it’s a good idea to make friends with neighbours, and let them know what you’re planning on doing, the times you’ll be working and if they have any concerns about noise, parking etc. He may not need planning permission but that depends on the size and number of floors. If plans are submitted, then the neighbours would be advised and have the opportunity to comment. Comments could be to support or object. I think the local authority also put up notices in the area just so people are aware of the changes. Plans are available to look at online. But as I say it may not need planning permission, the neighbours look like they have had the same work done, so it would be difficult to object.
haha pipe cutters always catch me out also I remeber having to use them on a course I did....managed to perfectly flatten the inside of the pipe somehow lmao
@@GosforthHandyman I was told by a plumber to always try to turn the pipe cutter towards its open throat. More control and you can force it to stay at one height. An tighten the adjuster as you turn, in small steps.
Honest question as I don't live in the UK...why do you need both a hot water tank and an electric hot water unit in the shower? (I refer to the think you can see in the shower at 16:17, I assume it's one of those electrical units where the water gets heated instantly as it passes through) Thank you
Another North American marveling at technology from when my neighborhood was still a cattle ranch. (Perryman Ranch once spanned 250,000 acres and now the last 80 is being turned into a new neighborhood.) Just replace my homes 75gal(284L) with a condensing tankless heater. It’s super awesome to not run out of hot water. 👍🏻 75gal tank is much larger than average and I don’t know the story of the owners previous to the man we purchased.
Gosforth Handyman You won't be saying that when it inevitably fails days before Christmas leaving you with no hot water and no backup! Combi boilers are awful things, they waste water and last nowhere near as long as a heat only boiler. They are susceptible to scale and more sensitive to a dirty system. There is a reason good builders are returning to stored hot water systems for family homes.
The best way to empty a cylinder is to syphon the water out. Put a short piece ( 150 mm) of 15 mm copper pipe into a garden hose then put the pipe into the cylinder via the top connection until it taps on the bottom. Run the hose to a drain point lower than the cylinder bottom and suck the end of the hose. Be careful, you don't want a mouthful of water & debris from the cylinder, so a big suck for 5 - 10 seconds is all you need. Don't let the hose kink shut either as that will make sucking more difficult. Once started the syphon effect will continue, so you need to wait for 20 seconds or so after sucking for the water to arrive at the hose end. This will empty the cylinder so it is light & easy to move. You can stuff kitchen roll in the cylinder connections to prevent dirty drips if there is a nice carpet between cylinder & door. And yes, I'm a plumber.
When I was having Central Heating fitted, I stipulated that the immersion was to be retained for emergency use, the heating engineers were not impressed and had to fit additional valves to isolate boiler water from the immersion water. It paid off as my boiler broke down a few times but I was never without hot water.
I don't think that's anything unusual. In fact, every system I have ever seen with stored hot water (as opposed to a combi boiler) has a backup immersion heater. No additional valves are required- the cylinder is heated by a coil, which keeps the heating circuit separate from the stored hot water, and an immersion heater is installed in the cylinder to heat the stored water directly if required. I would go so far as to say a gas heated system complete with cylinder but without a backup immersion is unusual.
I find the best way to drain cylinder is to stick a hosepipe in top connection of cylinder and then siphon water out if original plumber has not fitted a drain valve at bottom of cold inlet
I'm not sure it's been said but next time take out the top immersion and stick a hose in there or knock a hole in the top with an old screwdriver/chisel. I used to do about 2 of these a week takes about 15 mins once you have done them a few times. The real trick is getting them out of the house without dropping sludge all over the customers carpets.
What a strange system. So, water goes into the attic, then drains into the cellar to the hot water heater? Why not just have water go directly to hot water heater like a normal system??
Someone can correct me but the disgusting water from the header is from the heating system and goes through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank. The clean water from the hot water tank is what you have a shower in. If I'm wrong, I've been having Fernox showers! Interesting video as always, Andy.
I have what James has, two large tanks in loft, one for central heating the other for hot water, and for some reason a smaller tank above the cylinder in the cupboard. Haven’t worked that one out yet, maybe something to do with the pump?
That is one odd set up (from a North American viewpoint). Gravity feed hot water? Isn't that from the late 9th century? LOL And you seem to have an affinity toward cutting rather than uncoupling. I guess a saw is as good as a "spanner"? Love seeing the progress, Andy. Keep plugging away! Best of luck and enjoy your weekend (yeah, I'm working too).
Cheers bud! Yeah, systems like this are very common in the UK... although now it's mostly either unvented systems or combi-boilers (hot water on demand).
@@GosforthHandyman I love how differently people create systems all around the world. Construction is so fascinating. I guess that's why it's my life. Cheers.
@@GosforthHandyman I definitely couldn't help but chuckle when I heard some Americans talk about that new-fangled combined boiler and water heater that's mounted on the wall... combi boilers have been all the rage in cities since the early 70s in central Europe. Oh and that new American discovery, the tankless water heater - they were invented in something like 1880 and have been popular here since before WWI.
A gravity-feed hot water system wouldn't give you much pressure to a shower head, but I'm sure they had a reason for doing it that way. Perhaps the original installation was just for filling a bath, and pressure wouldn't matter as much for that. Our needs and wants have change quite a bit since that house was built!
They had a separate electric shower so this was only supplying the basin the bathroom and the kitchen sink. The piping is still in place from the old back boiler too! 😁👍
Our whole estate had gravity systems installed and that was in the late 1990's. One bathroom shower was a pumped electric, the other a gravity mixer which soon got changed. The plumber who put in that plastic tank wasn't familiar with the Water Regs.
A simple job made a little harder in that the previous diy fit from the look of it 😂 didn’t fit a drain off which is essential for replacement of the elements.
@@GosforthHandyman I see it all the time diy guy becomes a plumber/ bathroom and kitchen fitter it normally ends in water pouring though the ceiling at some point.
Gosforth Handyman A well designed and specified pressurised system means endless hot water. You just need to choose your tank, coil and boiler size properly. They are infinitely better than a combi. You can also fit a sensibly sized boiler, instead of having to use a 35kw combi to run perhaps five kw of heating demand.
@@GosforthHandyman My parents have got a 100 l pressurised tank connected to the gas boiler and it takes less than 10 minutes to re-heat to 45C. I still wouldn't call that endless hot water though.
@@GosforthHandyman you might be surprised at how much lead pipe there is under the floor don't forget the pipes going to the fire and possibly in walls for old town gas lighting.it all adds up.
Hi, quick question if possible. What do you do with the old tank, are they and the Cooper pipe worth anything for the amount you have or is it easier just skipping them? Keep up the good work. Thanks Neil
Get the scrap / recycle value for your tank! Over £30 if your lucky. Of course you may reuse it yourself although I expect you will have a combi boiler instead.
What is the water pressure coming into the house that you need a header tank? At my North American home it’s typically 50-60psi however I discovered in my newest home I have 100-110psi yikes!
You've gone from about 3 bar to 6bar. Don't know what equipment you have over the pond but I'd think about getting that reduced. I worked on a whole new estate located right next to a pumping station each house hit 8bar..... Cisterns were popping constantly.
I understand how a pressurized expansion tank works, but for the life of me I don't understand how the unpressurized one you removed works. Can you explain?
Cold water flows into the header tank in the loft (mains pressure) until the float closes the supply. Gravity now makes the water run down from the header tank into the immersion tank in the bathroom and out through the taps. If you allow the water to sit in the immersion tank, the element will heat it. Turning on a tap makes cold water from the header tank push out hot water into the pipes and out the tap. Saves you having a sturdier immersion tank with a pressure relief valve, that's the only advantage I can see. The huge downside is obviously the dismal hot water pressure, especially on the first floor where there's only about 2.5 m of head at best. Slightly better on the ground floor.
Missing Scene. Just love that creativity!!
I think it's the best part :D
I am in the US and enjoyed the video, but have never seen that kind of unhappiness as far as a gravity filled water heater. I simply cannot imagine. Good grief.
Enjoying the series. My top tip past to me by my old man when I renovated my house was to take off all the internal doors when you start and store them in one room or chuck them. Saves opening and closing and dealing with doors when moving things around. It made life a lot easier and looks like it would for you to going off this video. Looking forward to the next installment, at least the weather is improving now and longer days with the clocks changing today.
Beat me to it, felt like Michael Cain in the Italian Job, “blow the bloody doors off”
instaBlaster...
Thought I was the only one that had to make five trips back and forward for forgotten tools LOL That is why I have 6 tapes around
I spend more time wandering around the house forgetting what I'm even looking for. 🤣
Man that is so exhausting! We are at the point in our renovation where all the tools have been moved to the garage. One day I'm going to get a few different job specific toolboxes lol
@@GosforthHandyman Or Six Tapes, All in the same place.
I’m super impressed with the amount of installation in the property I’m a big believer in the more you insulate the warmer the place will be
Yet (as we can see in another video) there's absolutely zero insulation underneath the floor boards on the ground floor. Cold feet guaranteed.
Took out a cylinder in the Thames Valley. The limescale was two inches thick and it took two of us to carry the tank. Oh, and the bottom boss came away with just a nudge - the copper had been eaten away. I was heart-in-mouth seeing you bending the plastic pipe attached to the bottom boss with 120 litres of water above the joint.
Thanks Andy. A 'top tip' alternative to emtpy a hot water tank is to take the immersion heater out, stick a hosepipe in all the way to the bottom, and secure it with a clamp or cable ties. Take the other end out in to the garden and give it a good suck to get a syphon started... It'll empty very quickly with a 3m head. You can do the same with header tanks too if you wish.
'Tried to shift it, couldn't even lift it'....... 'have to take the door off, that there door is gonna have to go'..... Where was your cup of tea? Appologies to Bernard Cribbens and his piano.
Turning around on the ladder while handling the tank was interesting to watch!
Be awesome to see a video of you taking a house worth of renovation scrap down to the yard, see what you can make then buy something for the house with the money. That's if you've kept hold of everything :)
I'd have used a long hose pipe and syphoned the contents of both tanks down the stairs and out of the front door. Job done. The difference between plumbers and handymen is that two plumbers working together will do that job in about 15 minutes flat, whereas you and I can take all morning.
Right said fred, 'av to take the door off' one each end and steady as we gooo....
Spinning around looking for tools. LOL. I'm fairly certain I spend as much time doing that as doing the task. Great vid. Enjoyed the recovery from the lost footage, too!
I did a lot of the work you are doing now in the street behind you (facing the burn number 24) in 1980’s. The houses are solid and pretty easy to work on. Watch out for rotten ends to the timber joists on the ground floor. I built a conservatory on the back of mine, a number of the joists had rot on the ends, I just sistered new ones on from the conservatory side. I think the damp proofing in some parts was compromised. I also had the walls insulated, there is a cavity, you can tell there is a cavity by looking at the brickwork, it’s all stretcher course, which is a good indication of a cavity. I like your use of ‘road’ “In any road” or “in the road”. I wonder how many of your subscribers understand the different use of the word, or what it means. Had 20 happy years there, both sons born and brought up there, I’ve told them about the renovation and to watch it, so they can appreciate what their dad went through😂. I looked at a house where you are and tried to buy it for the same reason, the back garden, but was beaten to it by a cash buyer.
With the push for air source heat pump you might be glad of the space for a hot water tank!
Great work. I’m on the same journey with a 1930’s house in France 🇫🇷 . Loads of things to think about.
That green door on the back of the garage looks great from 10 meters. Love the color and style. Looks good up close too.
Tanks for another great video 😉
The open header tank explains why so many showers have a very weak flow in the UK, I have never seen these in the Netherlands.
None such as a rain shower with these open header tanks, a gravity fed system gives you just 0.1 bar of pressure for each meter the tank is above a tap/shower head.
In the video the tank is 1.5 meter above the shower head at best, so that's a meager 0.15 bar of pressure
Getting hot water directly from a combi boiler will give you a much better flow rate.
A combi boiler will feed your hot water supply with 2.5-3.0 bar, that's 20x as much as the tank in the example of the shower.
A combi boiler also has at least twice the heating power as the electric shower (why a hot water tank AND an electric shower?)
Long awaited, yet totally worthwile video. I'm in this for the long-haul.
Great informative video. The JAVAC pipe cutters are good, I can recommend.
Love the improv scenes - top job!
Love the music choice for the lost footage.. Thanks for sharing Andy🙏🏻
Lots of potential entertainment avoided. Well done.
Nice one, Andy! Might be worth mentioning that some older loft tanks might have an asbestos lining. I'm in the process of selling my house and the surveyor advised that the redundant tank in my loft was asbestos lined - if we weren't moving I had considered chopping up and removing the old tank to give more loft storage...a hard nope now!
So glad you bought a new house.
I just hoicked a cheapo wetvac into the loft to clean out the header tank before changing it, was alot easier than risking getting an unwanted shower...
Great vlog buddy and you did very well with only one pair of hand, hope you and yours are keeping well. stay safe.
Well done with getting the water tank out of the loft without spilling then water
Andy, you asked if we had any questions. Well, here's my question. "Can we expect any more Test Tuesdays before the next Millennium ?"
Ha ha might be a while yet! Half the rig is still packed. 🤣
I did notice when using the mini pipe cutter you were using it the wrong way. They cut clockwise or the rollers follow the cutting wheel. But really enjoying this renovation. More videos please.
Cheers! This cutter never works - whatever way you turn it it does the same.
Rock wool/fibreglass insulation.
If I'm in a loft for any amount of time, I'll make up a very weak solution of PVA in a garden sprayer and spray the stuff down. Not to soak it but to 'set' the dust and loose fibres.
Get yourself a drill powered pump and a couple of short lengths of hose. Ideal for this, toilet cisterns, bowls etc.
That PVA tip is brilliant - thanks Andrew.
Great channel..love your videos and how you do things...i am currently renovating our house and i do all the work myself...just fitting our new kitchen after i have plastered all the walls and ceiling..its great to see someone else with the enthusiasm to try things out and always ready for the next challenge..reminds me a lot of me :)
The pipe cutter should be turned so that the wheel follows the two guide pins, not the way round you were doing it. That way it only cuts once instead of cutting a 'thread'
It's crap - it doesn't work whatever way you turn it. 🤣
@@GosforthHandyman I find that you need to wind the knob up when you start so that the cutting wheel is really biting into the pipe - then the first revolution cuts all the way round rather than winding along the pipe and creating a "thread" - whatever, pipe cutters are waaaay better than a hacksaw!
I’ve put an arrow on mine pointing the way to turn the pipe slice.
reminds me of summer 2020, when I helped re-do the bathroom. Having to saw through old thick lead pipes in awkward angles was not fun
Brilliant work and thanks for sharing this with us take care
Thanks 👍
@@GosforthHandyman Your very welcome
The loft ladder looks like it's had better days. Nice vid bye the way.
Just a step ladder 👍
17:33 That Green tank is copper? Did get paid well for it at the scrap yard?
Hope you are staying safe and well and hope you have a good weekend and another brilliant video as always
good job again Andy
Tyvek suit, gloves and mask or even some kind of respirator. The dust and pollution in a loft in the UK is the thing of horrors, and that Rockwool is very unforgiving stuff. Plus the potential risk of Legionella in an old gravity fed tank and pipework, especially in such an old house. Always better to be safe than sorry, Andy ;)
Rothenberger pipe slicers are worth it.
Good old scrap run is called for now mate haha
You should take a couple of plastic sacks with you each time you go into the loft and scoop up some of that insulation for ditching- you’d have it near cleared by now.😉
When I was working as a plumber draining a hot cylinder. A length of 15mm copper pipe long enough to reach the bottom of the cylinder with about 100mm of pipe clear of the top of the cylinder and a hose connected to the pipe and the hose long enough to where you want the water to drain and just syphon the water out.
Yup - great tip! 👍
Thanks for this video. Could you answer a question for me.
You know when you cut the cold water supply that feeds the reservoir, before it goes down into the hot water tank, do you put a stop end on that because when you turn the water on you will basically have a fountain in your loft if you don’t??
I just didn’t hear you mention that you did that, but I presume that’s what you do?
Thanks in advance and again, thanks for the awesome videos.
Fairly certain you were fairly certain throughout this video. Fairly certain I left a like too 👍
Fairly certain I'll thank you for the like. 👍😁
I'm fairly certain you are correct.
Header tanks... and you lot say we’re backward 😂😂
Going to be a really beautiful house mate :^)
Interesting as always, Andy. Stay safe
Cheers, and you! 👍
That was a very interesting video, thanks for sharing ! great video thanks
Cheers! 👍👍
Hi Andy congratulations on reaching 154,000 subscribers and well done with all your hard work on the house so fair and well done with all your hard work with the videos as well
Cheers Ben! 👍👍
I've put hose in top and siphoned off to drain outside. Gets almost everything out. Have also used small drill pump with the hose
Nice video makes it look so easy. What happens to the flow and return from the water tank and header, are they just connected together or are they blanked off.
A big job but well done
All the stuff in the tank came through the mains!
True, plus some added nasties from the loft
Looking at all that insulation under the roof, and owning a 1911 house with original slates only and no ashfelt under, I prefer mine
Love the notion of someone coming across one of the videos in this series in the TH-cam wild and thinking “13 videos to remove a bloody hot water tank?!” That gets them to click on the video/playlist... Very shrewd Andy, you’re playing chess while other creators are playing draughts, ha.
Lol... I think that every time I publish a video in this series. Wait until it's "Changing a lightbulb... part 523" 🤣👍
@@GosforthHandyman I like to think that video would be part of your “Dad Dancing” playlist. Look out Bollywood. 😂
Always a great watch Andy. Your sense of humor combined with your enthusiasm for doing this renovation is a must watch
Cheers bud! 😁
To stop it threading you don’t do it super tight and you don’t keep going round just back and forth until you have a good cut 😉 first thing you learn as a fridge installer
It's terrible that cutter as it's not spring loaded so you have to keep tightening it as you cut. I should really invest in a better one. 😁
thanks for that tip [from me] as I've always had hit and miss results with my cutter. thankyou
are these lofts any ood for conversions? I don't mean into rooms, but more for storage of Christmas stuff?
I feel a weigh in coming on pal. Pretty good prices at the moment I think. Regards Jim.
On a project like this I’d suggest you buy a Wickes wet n dry vac at about £50 and a pair of rotary pipe cutters at about £20 from a plumbing merchant. Stay well, Ian B
For the future just drain via a hot tap, crack the top joint on the cylinder (should only have a dribble left) pop a hose in and Syphon it out. May get a mouthful of limescale though.
I remember wrestling the cylinder out in our place. Nightmare! Had a drain off valve 2mm from the floor!!
Andy, would you advise having the inside of the roof insulated.
What is that white fluffy stuff on the ground out side the green door? As a Canadian I'm not familiar with it!🤣
It's insulation for the grass in the winter.
@@stuartarnold9444 so kinds like a protective film.😉
Ha ha it's pretty rare over here! Had our first decent snowfall over here in about 10 years (a lot more fell after that). Had the sledges out and everything! 🤣👍
13 parts into this series and I just now clued into this house being a semi-detached unit. So how does one deal with an owner of the adjoining property not keeping his property in good order? Are there ordinances protecting owners of semi-detached properties from the adjoining owner's neglect of his property? Also, do you need the adjoining property owner's approval for any of the renovations you are doing?
Not for the changes inside, but it’s a good idea to make friends with neighbours, and let them know what you’re planning on doing, the times you’ll be working and if they have any concerns about noise, parking etc. He may not need planning permission but that depends on the size and number of floors. If plans are submitted, then the neighbours would be advised and have the opportunity to comment. Comments could be to support or object. I think the local authority also put up notices in the area just so people are aware of the changes. Plans are available to look at online. But as I say it may not need planning permission, the neighbours look like they have had the same work done, so it would be difficult to object.
haha
pipe cutters always catch me out also
I remeber having to use them on a course I did....managed to perfectly flatten the inside of the pipe somehow lmao
Lol yeah, I should really invest in a decent 22mm cutter... but rarely use copper these days and I'm too tight.
@@GosforthHandyman haha same
@@GosforthHandyman I was told by a plumber to always try to turn the pipe cutter towards its open throat. More control and you can force it to stay at one height. An tighten the adjuster as you turn, in small steps.
Honest question as I don't live in the UK...why do you need both a hot water tank and an electric hot water unit in the shower? (I refer to the think you can see in the shower at 16:17, I assume it's one of those electrical units where the water gets heated instantly as it passes through) Thank you
Another North American marveling at technology from when my neighborhood was still a cattle ranch. (Perryman Ranch once spanned 250,000 acres and now the last 80 is being turned into a new neighborhood.)
Just replace my homes 75gal(284L) with a condensing tankless heater. It’s super awesome to not run out of hot water. 👍🏻
75gal tank is much larger than average and I don’t know the story of the owners previous to the man we purchased.
Yeah that's a big tank! I love tankless. We call that a condensing combi-boiler over here and they're awesome. 👍
Gosforth Handyman You won't be saying that when it inevitably fails days before Christmas leaving you with no hot water and no backup! Combi boilers are awful things, they waste water and last nowhere near as long as a heat only boiler. They are susceptible to scale and more sensitive to a dirty system. There is a reason good builders are returning to stored hot water systems for family homes.
Lived with both for many years. Each to their own but I wouldn't have unvented again if you paid me.
The best way to empty a cylinder is to syphon the water out. Put a short piece ( 150 mm) of 15 mm copper pipe into a garden hose then put the pipe into the cylinder via the top connection until it taps on the bottom. Run the hose to a drain point lower than the cylinder bottom and suck the end of the hose. Be careful, you don't want a mouthful of water & debris from the cylinder, so a big suck for 5 - 10 seconds is all you need. Don't let the hose kink shut either as that will make sucking more difficult. Once started the syphon effect will continue, so you need to wait for 20 seconds or so after sucking for the water to arrive at the hose end. This will empty the cylinder so it is light & easy to move. You can stuff kitchen roll in the cylinder connections to prevent dirty drips if there is a nice carpet between cylinder & door. And yes, I'm a plumber.
Where did the overflow end up going?
When I was having Central Heating fitted, I stipulated that the immersion was to be retained for emergency use, the heating engineers were not impressed and had to fit additional valves to isolate boiler water from the immersion water.
It paid off as my boiler broke down a few times but I was never without hot water.
I think that's the one benefit of a cylinder. 👍😁
I don't think that's anything unusual. In fact, every system I have ever seen with stored hot water (as opposed to a combi boiler) has a backup immersion heater. No additional valves are required- the cylinder is heated by a coil, which keeps the heating circuit separate from the stored hot water, and an immersion heater is installed in the cylinder to heat the stored water directly if required. I would go so far as to say a gas heated system complete with cylinder but without a backup immersion is unusual.
Wasn't there a cold water tank in the loft?
I find the best way to drain cylinder is to stick a hosepipe in top connection of cylinder and then siphon water out if original plumber has not fitted a drain valve at bottom of cold inlet
Good tip! 👍
@@GosforthHandyman Jumbo car wash sponge and bucket for removing dregs of water from cold water tanks
I'm not sure it's been said but next time take out the top immersion and stick a hose in there or knock a hole in the top with an old screwdriver/chisel. I used to do about 2 of these a week takes about 15 mins once you have done them a few times. The real trick is getting them out of the house without dropping sludge all over the customers carpets.
What a strange system. So, water goes into the attic, then drains into the cellar to the hot water heater? Why not just have water go directly to hot water heater like a normal system??
Love this series! When will #14 be ready?
Someone can correct me but the disgusting water from the header is from the heating system and goes through a heat exchanger in the hot water tank. The clean water from the hot water tank is what you have a shower in. If I'm wrong, I've been having Fernox showers!
Interesting video as always, Andy.
This house doesn't have central heating. Normally you'd have a separate header for the radiators. So yeah, you should be safe from the Fernox. 👍😬
I have what James has, two large tanks in loft, one for central heating the other for hot water, and for some reason a smaller tank above the cylinder in the cupboard. Haven’t worked that one out yet, maybe something to do with the pump?
7:56; excellent choice on incidental music.
lol...
Appropriate. 😁
Get an evolution saw, i cut a redundant metal header tank into two and took it out the loft with ease.
Could you please specify which saw you used? I thought a small grinder would do the job, but am very concerned about sparks in the loft.
Why don't you have the cold water feed just go directly into the hot water tank?
That is one odd set up (from a North American viewpoint). Gravity feed hot water? Isn't that from the late 9th century? LOL And you seem to have an affinity toward cutting rather than uncoupling. I guess a saw is as good as a "spanner"? Love seeing the progress, Andy. Keep plugging away! Best of luck and enjoy your weekend (yeah, I'm working too).
Cheers bud! Yeah, systems like this are very common in the UK... although now it's mostly either unvented systems or combi-boilers (hot water on demand).
@@GosforthHandyman I love how differently people create systems all around the world. Construction is so fascinating. I guess that's why it's my life. Cheers.
@@GosforthHandyman I definitely couldn't help but chuckle when I heard some Americans talk about that new-fangled combined boiler and water heater that's mounted on the wall... combi boilers have been all the rage in cities since the early 70s in central Europe. Oh and that new American discovery, the tankless water heater - they were invented in something like 1880 and have been popular here since before WWI.
A gravity-feed hot water system wouldn't give you much pressure to a shower head, but I'm sure they had a reason for doing it that way. Perhaps the original installation was just for filling a bath, and pressure wouldn't matter as much for that. Our needs and wants have change quite a bit since that house was built!
They had a separate electric shower so this was only supplying the basin the bathroom and the kitchen sink. The piping is still in place from the old back boiler too! 😁👍
Our whole estate had gravity systems installed and that was in the late 1990's. One bathroom shower was a pumped electric, the other a gravity mixer which soon got changed. The plumber who put in that plastic tank wasn't familiar with the Water Regs.
@@nickbea3443 best shower I used was a electric pumped power shower
Electric pumped are good but they drain the hot water tank VERY quickly!
A simple job made a little harder in that the previous diy fit from the look of it 😂 didn’t fit a drain off which is essential for replacement of the elements.
Believe it or not this was a pro install as part of their bathroom renovation about 5 years ago. Lots of shoddy work. 🙄👍
@@GosforthHandyman I see it all the time diy guy becomes a plumber/ bathroom and kitchen fitter it normally ends in water pouring though the ceiling at some point.
Just seeing you keep going in an out to get things, why didn't you take the doors of the airing cupboard/bathroom first?
Because I didn't know it wouldn't fit. 🤣👍
Don’t leave the copper Cylinder out side it will get pinched
This is Gosforth, there are no thieves in Gosforth😂
@@grahameburnip5880 😂😂 get about 80 pun for them that al feed a family of 10
Gloves and mask with that glass fibre wool? I know it's horribly uncomfortable but big regrets I played fast and loose with h&s for 50 years
Have you considered sticking an unvented back in? Showers will be amazing quality with the water pressure you had.
Yeah, we'd also run out of hot water very quickly. Been there, done that, never again. 👍
Gosforth Handyman A well designed and specified pressurised system means endless hot water. You just need to choose your tank, coil and boiler size properly. They are infinitely better than a combi. You can also fit a sensibly sized boiler, instead of having to use a 35kw combi to run perhaps five kw of heating demand.
Eh? How's it endless hot water? Once the tank is empty you have to wait several hours for it to reheat.
@@GosforthHandyman My parents have got a 100 l pressurised tank connected to the gas boiler and it takes less than 10 minutes to re-heat to 45C. I still wouldn't call that endless hot water though.
Where’s the main tank that does the hot water cyclinder
Andy does that foam roof insulation make the roof sweat?
When you say bucket, I think of Mr Creosote from Monty Python.
🤣🤣
Save all the old pipes and cylinder and cash in at the scrap metal place when you're finished the whole house!
If there was lots of lead I would but I'm keeping the local scrap man in business. 😁
@@GosforthHandyman you might be surprised at how much lead pipe there is under the floor don't forget the pipes going to the fire and possibly in walls for old town gas lighting.it all adds up.
Almost asmr with the missing footage, it made it more interesting to be honest!
Ha cheers! I was gutted. Stupid GoPro. 🤣
If there is no water in the tank sometimes you can fold them.
Hi, quick question if possible.
What do you do with the old tank, are they and the Cooper pipe worth anything for the amount you have or is it easier just skipping them?
Keep up the good work.
Thanks
Neil
I'm kind to the local scrap man, but yes copper prices are good at the minute!
Get the scrap / recycle value for your tank! Over £30 if your lucky. Of course you may reuse it yourself although I expect you will have a combi boiler instead.
I'm very kind to the local scrap man. 😁
What is the water pressure coming into the house that you need a header tank? At my North American home it’s typically 50-60psi however I discovered in my newest home I have 100-110psi yikes!
You've gone from about 3 bar to 6bar. Don't know what equipment you have over the pond but I'd think about getting that reduced. I worked on a whole new estate located right next to a pumping station each house hit 8bar..... Cisterns were popping constantly.
That is odd that the hot water tank is fed by that tank instead of directly plumbed to the system.
I understand how a pressurized expansion tank works, but for the life of me I don't understand how the unpressurized one you removed works. Can you explain?
Cold water flows into the header tank in the loft (mains pressure) until the float closes the supply. Gravity now makes the water run down from the header tank into the immersion tank in the bathroom and out through the taps. If you allow the water to sit in the immersion tank, the element will heat it. Turning on a tap makes cold water from the header tank push out hot water into the pipes and out the tap. Saves you having a sturdier immersion tank with a pressure relief valve, that's the only advantage I can see. The huge downside is obviously the dismal hot water pressure, especially on the first floor where there's only about 2.5 m of head at best. Slightly better on the ground floor.