Blackpowder Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 6 hours ago, DUNKS said: Friend of ours in Canada was brought up in a house his great grandad built in 1800 and something. House is on a beach and water has always been drawn by a siphon pipe from a lake above the house. When his mum passed away at age 96 our friend thought he would rent out his mums house. House had to be inspected by local authority and the water supply was instantly condemned as totally undrinkable. Wife and I have spent many a holiday drinking it with no ill effects. You can perhaps be too fussy. The first 19 years of my life all water came from a well pumped up to former static steam boiler from the former barn thrasher. It was perched alongside out house and served the farm and farm cottages, plenty of open former inspection holes so must have been dead birds and bird poo always in the system. Mind the entire indoor plumbing was a sink with cold water tap. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka54 Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 1 hour ago, Dave-G said: Thanks very much for that superb explanation - it clears the issue up very nicely - and I'll stop drawing from the hot water tap. We do get occasional mail about replacement boilers but the annual British Gas boiler Homecare maintenance chap says our Ideal Classic is in very good order with years left in it and there's plenty of spares for it. I'll keep it in mind. My bit of the spectrum is getting more noticable: I used the junk mail term for mostly leaflet drops - the estate is plagued with them, mostly from local fast food joints and cab firms. That's fair enough Dave, especially as your boiler is still in good nick, but as you say, keep it in mind. Thing to think about is this, there are plenty of government backed schemes available at the moment that will allow you to swap your old boiler for very little money. Whilst your boiler is still in good working order, it will not work as efficiently as a modern new one, such as a Worcester Bosch green combi, these are very energy efficient and could pay for itself in no time, plus cut your running costs in half. I also get where your coming from with the leaflets, they are a right pain for us in Loughborough as well, mostly burger joints and pizza parlours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 2 hours ago, Tonka54 said: That's fair enough Dave, especially as your boiler is still in good nick, but as you say, keep it in mind. Thing to think about is this, there are plenty of government backed schemes available at the moment that will allow you to swap your old boiler for very little money. Whilst your boiler is still in good working order, it will not work as efficiently as a modern new one, such as a Worcester Bosch green combi, these are very energy efficient and could pay for itself in no time, plus cut your running costs in half. I also get where your coming from with the leaflets, they are a right pain for us in Loughborough as well, mostly burger joints and pizza parlours. I am not a heating engineer but I would advise Dave to keep his old boiler running as long as possible. Just recently both my son and daughter have had bother with their combi boilers, they just don't seem to be built to last and you have to run gallons of water to get hot water. Yes I'm biased because I don't like things breaking down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonka54 Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 43 minutes ago, harrycatcat1 said: I am not a heating engineer but I would advise Dave to keep his old boiler running as long as possible. Just recently both my son and daughter have had bother with their combi boilers, they just don't seem to be built to last and you have to run gallons of water to get hot water. Yes I'm biased because I don't like things breaking down. Yes point taken about them breaking down, some are a bit prone to it. Our Valiant broke down twice in 6 years, but touch wood, since we got the Worcester Bosch fitted it's been trouble free. Having said that we have it serviced yearly and check the filling loop regularly to make sure the pressure remains between 1 and 1.5 bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 15 hours ago, Tonka54 said: Yes point taken about them breaking down, some are a bit prone to it. Our Valiant broke down twice in 6 years, but touch wood, since we got the Worcester Bosch fitted it's been trouble free. Having said that we have it serviced yearly and check the filling loop regularly to make sure the pressure remains between 1 and 1.5 bar. My lad had a Bosch one before that kept breaking down, he had Bosch out twice in 2 years at about £250 a trip out, then they wouldn't come out again and said it needed changing. This one he has had about three years and started to get bother with it 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Neal Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 Lead or plastic has nothing to do with it, it's what hot water system you have which would determine whether or not it's a terrible idea. If you have a tank in the loft then there's absolutely no way you should be drinking the hot water, it's sat there at a nice temperature for bacteria to multiply in. If you have a combi that heats mains cold and then a short run to your hot tap then you're probably not taking a massive risk, although after the water has left the boiler the water and pipe are cooling all the way, so you could end up with a bacterial breeding ground shortly before the water exits the tap. Don't forget the water isn't "boiled" in your boiler, at most it will be elevated to 70ish degrees which isn't really bacteria-killing temperatures. Legionella is the beastie you have to watch out for in water supply pipes, it likes stagnant dead ends in pipework where there's no flow to flush it away. I'd stick with the cold, Dave. Happy wife, happy life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 Now sticking to the cold tap thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Dave-G said: Now sticking to the cold tap thanks all. Sensible. Tea will taste better too. Something to do with dissolved oxygen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, amateur said: Sensible. Tea will taste better too. Something to do with dissolved oxygen. Tea tastes worse here because the chlorine is still in the cold tap water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 6 minutes ago, 39TDS said: Tea tastes worse here because the chlorine is still in the cold tap water. But also, presumably, in the hot tap too. Don't ceramic water filters allegedly remove it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmm243 Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 I am lazy and always use the hot tap for filling the kettle.I am right handed so hold the kettle to the tap in that hand and the nearest and most easily accessed tap is the hot water one which is operated by my left hand. No problems so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 10 minutes ago, gmm243 said: I am lazy and always use the hot tap for filling the kettle.I am right handed so hold the kettle to the tap in that hand and the nearest and most easily accessed tap is the hot water one which is operated by my left hand. No problems so far. Making your own tea isn't lazy , i can only just about bother myself to text my Mrs and ask her to make one and bring it to me 😁. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-G Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 After reading some replies I started thinking I might as well not buy energy just to heat the immersion heater if the hot water is only to be used for washing up.... but it also interacts with the home heating so I'll likely still try to find another use for all that gas energy wasting in the tank for something so I still feel that using it for the kettle, spuds and veg given its being subsequently boiled surely kills off any bacteria the chlorine misses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 9 hours ago, amateur said: But also, presumably, in the hot tap too. The chlorine escapes while the water is sat in the cold tank upstairs. Doesn't work if you are on a combi boiler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Neal Posted February 14, 2022 Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 3 hours ago, 39TDS said: The chlorine escapes while the water is sat in the cold tank upstairs. Doesn't work if you are on a combi boiler. I'm not sure there would be a cold tank in many, if not any, households now? Cold will be direct from mains. There's probably regulations about it if a plumber would care to chip in their knowledge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted February 14, 2022 Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 On 12/02/2022 at 20:48, Jim Neal said: Legionella is the beastie you have to watch out for in water supply pipes, it likes stagnant dead ends in pipework where there's no flow to flush it away. This is a good reason to have screen wash in the car water bottle. People have contracted it in this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted February 14, 2022 Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 21 hours ago, mel b3 said: Making your own tea isn't lazy , i can only just about bother myself to text my Mrs and ask her to make one and bring it to me 😁. Do you know how many sugars you have in your tea ? without phoning Lyne 😂😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted February 14, 2022 Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 8 minutes ago, Old farrier said: Do you know how many sugars you have in your tea ? without phoning Lyne 😂😂😂 I'll just text her and find out 😊. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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