Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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I’m suggesting they fit a meter in your house, its got buggerall to do with you what happens before then
- Thread starter reb78
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I’m suggesting they fit a meter in your house, its got buggerall to do with you what happens before then
Shox Dr
Chief Engineer to Carlos Fandango
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OK, understand. I’ll shut up
8ob
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They will quote for this sort of thing but it would be cost prohibitive, standard road connections of a few mts can run into 2k+, add distance and its gets silly very quickly. Factor in the ballache of way-leaves before they even touch the job and you can see why folk just do it themselves.
That 1.5 miles would be a days work for a decent top cut machine or trencher, cheapest way would be to factory order the pipe as one roll,get the trench opened up with the view to lay the service and backfill yourself.
Bob
Its getting to this point. What sort of rock will trenchers and moles deal with? I can barely dig a small hole with a spade in places here. The hardest part will be the garden at the top of the run and where it runs under a road (neither of these bits are the likely problem points at the moment).
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
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I'm intrigued ..you mentioned a PRV to obviously relieve pressure in the pipe , it might also be used to remove air in the pipe . It would be ideal if you can find it's location
We live on a long hill near to the top & get half a dozen air bubbles in the cold water every morning and late evening when nothing much has been drawn off , we are not on a meter thankfully.
I recall a landlord with the pub situated near the crest of a big hill , having a meter that whizzed round even when all the pub stops were turned off. A PRV/ auto air bleed relief had been fitted years previously by the water board . Further investigation ensued even with the latest air bleeds & pressure relief devices it didn't solve things . My thoughts at the time were that the pressure relief/bleeds should have been in the water boards pipework several metres before the landlords side of the stop valve.
So you putting a second meter in a few mtrs on from the boards unit could be helpful to you .
Question what does the 200 litres of missing water cost you ?
I think I would makeup a pressure tank with a pressure gauge in the filling pipework , half fill it with water connected to the mains then take a pressure reading . Turn off the boards stop valve , note mains pressure in the tank and watch the gauge for a couple of hours or over 12 hours .
It would at least prove your own pipe work one way or another & also compress any air in your very long pipe work. Those amounts of air passing through a meter or within your own long pipe work can cause havoc with the readings as it acts like an air spring .
Such a long run will hold loads of air in your pipe work as it runs along undulating ground . It's very difficult to flush all air from such long runs .
If IIRC...... All water boards flush the mains every now & then by pumping air or nitrogen in at one point & opening the mains stop stand pipe a long way off so the entrained bubbles scarify the old cast ion pipe work of deposits & the movement of water carries the loose debris out along the pipes to the opened valve . It certainly happens in our locality .. we had two hours of very brown water three weeks ago .. impossible to make a cuppa with it at 07.30 hrs .
We live on a long hill near to the top & get half a dozen air bubbles in the cold water every morning and late evening when nothing much has been drawn off , we are not on a meter thankfully.
I recall a landlord with the pub situated near the crest of a big hill , having a meter that whizzed round even when all the pub stops were turned off. A PRV/ auto air bleed relief had been fitted years previously by the water board . Further investigation ensued even with the latest air bleeds & pressure relief devices it didn't solve things . My thoughts at the time were that the pressure relief/bleeds should have been in the water boards pipework several metres before the landlords side of the stop valve.
So you putting a second meter in a few mtrs on from the boards unit could be helpful to you .
Question what does the 200 litres of missing water cost you ?
I think I would makeup a pressure tank with a pressure gauge in the filling pipework , half fill it with water connected to the mains then take a pressure reading . Turn off the boards stop valve , note mains pressure in the tank and watch the gauge for a couple of hours or over 12 hours .
It would at least prove your own pipe work one way or another & also compress any air in your very long pipe work. Those amounts of air passing through a meter or within your own long pipe work can cause havoc with the readings as it acts like an air spring .
Such a long run will hold loads of air in your pipe work as it runs along undulating ground . It's very difficult to flush all air from such long runs .
If IIRC...... All water boards flush the mains every now & then by pumping air or nitrogen in at one point & opening the mains stop stand pipe a long way off so the entrained bubbles scarify the old cast ion pipe work of deposits & the movement of water carries the loose debris out along the pipes to the opened valve . It certainly happens in our locality .. we had two hours of very brown water three weeks ago .. impossible to make a cuppa with it at 07.30 hrs .
qwakers
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why all the pussyfooting about?
you've either got a leak or someone else is tapped in after the meter. (the latter would explain why it varies so much).
dig the pipe up for its entire length and see with your own eyes. you've already got permission from the farmers to dig...
you've either got a leak or someone else is tapped in after the meter. (the latter would explain why it varies so much).
dig the pipe up for its entire length and see with your own eyes. you've already got permission from the farmers to dig...
Yeah like its that easy to dig down 1 metre for 1.5 miles in rocky ground. If i do that the whole lot can be replaced anyway. Easier to type the words i suppose.
brightspark
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whats stopping u finding it in the middle cut and test either side see which it is that's leaking
qwakers
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not saying its easy, but digger hire isnt that expensive. i wasnt suggesting you go at it with a spade.
whats stopping u finding it in the middle cut and test either side see which it is that's leaking
Thats what i am describing. Badly by the looks of the way this thread is going!
premmington
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Drastic - but the above post has a point.
It is a defined diagnostic result you are after.
brightspark
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its practical if it can be located .once u know which side is leaking you can half that and test again and that only needs a quarter to replace or whatever no different from finding a damaged section of cable without high tec gear
premmington
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whats stopping u finding it in the middle cut and test either side see which it is that's leaking
Not such a stupid idea - few test digs every 400mts - isolate - then fit a valve at test dig points.
Would not take too long to find which run had a leak in it....
hotponyshoes
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Mine is just under £2/unit so 200liters is about 40pence but that's £150 odd a year.
I dont know if the pressure is limited by the water company but if you live near a couple of farms its possible they could be using a large amount of water during the day keeping the pressure low when over night they stop, pressure goes up, a split in the pipe opens and pumps out water springing shut again once the pressure drops below whatever.
If this is the case you could fit a pressure reducing valve at the meter outlet end.
I have installed a few on lub equipment that limits the pressure to 50psi but they would not flow enough for a house but I expect bigger are available.
If you are just running a household and not using large amounts yourself I would fill a load of bottles and just turn it off at the meter for as long as you can.
If 200liters a day is being used somewhere else they are going to be trying to get it turned back on pretty quickly!
I am sure the farmers next door are as honest as the day is long but if you were installing a trough on your own land over a mile away from someone's house and you found a live pipe more than likely you would think it was yours and connect up to it. If you install a new trough 3 times a year you will not remember what connected where after 5 years...
500e
Always buy fire insurance a flood is a hard start
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You already have a trench dug for the old pipe so digging is not in undisturbed ground, as @8ob said the board will stop at the meter after that their costs will be eye watering
A decent trencher & back fill as you go with another machine, new pipe no joints no problems put it on a good bed if stony.
Leaks have a habit of multiplying & you said that in part there was not enough bedding which suggests stone damage
Did I read it goes under a road ! private or highways?
A decent trencher & back fill as you go with another machine, new pipe no joints no problems put it on a good bed if stony.
Leaks have a habit of multiplying & you said that in part there was not enough bedding which suggests stone damage
Did I read it goes under a road ! private or highways?
Chaps @brightspark and @premmington - this is what I am doing. There are three sections we can now isolate on the bottom half of the pipe - i am just trying to work out if it is really a leak now as the very low loss over the day has confused me. Hence the very first post about the meter! Plan is to turn off all night following some comments here and monitor loss when pressure is highest!
brightspark
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fit a temp meter where u can isolate in the line then check all 3 daily for a week there will be diferential between readings on the faulty part
