# Constant flow of water out of the overflow pipe



## Ludi

Hi Folks

I have a constant flow of water out of our overflow pipe from water tank in attic. Went up to check. The water coming from the mains into the water tank is also constantly flowing hence its flows straight out the overflow. The problem seems to be the ballcock in that it dosen't cut off the water. Anyone any idea how to fix the problem.

thanks in advance


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## WindUp

is the existing ballcock just badly set up?
easy enough to get a new one


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## ClubMan

If you lift the ballcock arm up above the water level does it stop the water inflow? If so then a simple fix may be possible by gently bending the ballcock arm down so that the ball sits at a lower level and thus closes off the inflow when raised by the water level below the overflow outlet. Be careful though - if you break it then you'll have to replace it. If this does not fix it then maybe the ballcock mechanism needs to be replaced in full. Hope this helps.


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## donee

your better off just changing the ballcock fitting altogether if its worn. a new one costs about €10. if you;ve got to get up to bend the arm you might as well . turn off the mains cold water under the sink in the kitchen, if you live in an old corpo house in crumlin, ballyfermot or whitehall the main is under the stairs.
clondalkin darndale tallaght the main is in the boxing in the corner.once the water is off it takes about 10 mins from start to finish


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## IrishRain

I have the same problem.  The small water tank overflow pipe is constantly dripping.  I changed the ballcock but that has not worked.  Any idea what else could be causing the overflow?


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## Shane007

If the ball valve is not leaking, then the ball valve needs adjusting. It is set to turn off too high, i.e. the water level is reaching the overflow outlet before it switches off. To fix, remove the ball valve arm (by removing split pin), gently bend over knee and refit. Try not to be tempted to bend the arm whilst in the tank as you can damage the valve.


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## Billo

You probably need a new washer in the ballcock mechanism.


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## Billo

Ludi said:


> Hi Folks
> 
> I have a constant flow of water out of our overflow pipe from water tank in attic. Went up to check. The water coming from the mains into the water tank is also constantly flowing hence its flows straight out the overflow. The problem seems to be the ballcock in that it dosen't cut off the water. Anyone any idea how to fix the problem.
> 
> thanks in advance



Take a look at the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTQy27l7qDQ


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## camilla

I guess you need to replace it.


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## donee

IrishRain said:


> I have the same problem. The small water tank overflow pipe is constantly dripping. I changed the ballcock but that has not worked. Any idea what else could be causing the overflow?


 the small water tank in you attic is for your central heating it should have a long 3/4 pipe in the shape of an inverted U above it. if that is over flowing and the ballcock is not leaking the the problem is what plumbers call 'pitching' ie water from your heating system is 'pitching' into the small tank and causing it to overflow.
there are a number of causes of this and you should really call a plumber to diagnose the cause and fix it for you


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## moxy

I had the same thing, and it was the ballcock


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## Shane007

donee said:


> the small water tank in you attic is for your central heating it should have a long 3/4 pipe in the shape of an inverted U above it. if that is over flowing and the ballcock is not leaking the the problem is what plumbers call 'pitching' ie water from your heating system is 'pitching' into the small tank and causing it to overflow.
> there are a number of causes of this and you should really call a plumber to diagnose the cause and fix it for you


 
If it was due to pitching, this would only ocur whilst the heating is on. IrishRain stated that the overflow is "constantly dripping".


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## IrishRain

Actually now that I look at it its only dripping when the heating is on.  I'll get a plumber to look at it.


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## donee

Shane007 said:


> If it was due to pitching, this would only ocur whilst the heating is on. IrishRain stated that the overflow is "constantly dripping".


 I didnt say that pitshing was the difinitive  answer as i said i'd get a plumber to diagnose it properly.
she said that they had changed the ball cock and that did'nt cure the problem so that eliminates that. if the heating is on and it is pitching then it obviously will fill up and then empty slowly during the course of the day. as heating systems are all/mostly on timers this could be filling and emptying constantly during the day and Im sure no one is up in the middle of the night looking at it when no heating is on at all. Sorry


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## Eureka

donee said:


> the small water tank in you attic is for your central heating it should have a long 3/4 pipe in the shape of an inverted U above it. if that is over flowing and the ballcock is not leaking the the problem is what plumbers call 'pitching' ie water from your heating system is 'pitching' into the small tank and causing it to overflow.
> there are a number of causes of this and you should really call a plumber to diagnose the cause and fix it for you


 

I had a similar problem. The thermostat was broken in the "Emersion Heater", the electric hot water heating tank. This caused the ovrheating water to expand into the expansion tank, and then on into the large water tank in the attic. That then caused a constant overflow from the pipe coming out from just below the eaves of the house.


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## IrishRain

Now that I look at the overflow pipe it probably only drips when the boiler is on.  I'll fiddle around with the thermostat on the immersion and see if that does anything.  If the the thermostat is gone is it a diy job to change it?


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## IrishRain

Thanks. I'll check the thermostat tonight.


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## fender64

I have the small tank in the attic coming out the overflow since this morning.I took a look,the ballcock was underneath the water,it looked like it got a belt of a hammer,it had a dent in it.I presume if I buy new one and refit,the problem will be solved.I replaced valves in the bigger tanks over the years,but from reading,the small one is central heating...some suggest it may not be the easy fix.Maybe I am reading between the lines,and getting it wrong


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## Shane007

IrishRain said:


> Now that I look at the overflow pipe it probably only drips when the boiler is on. I'll fiddle around with the thermostat on the immersion and see if that does anything. If the the thermostat is gone is it a diy job to change it?


 
Dripping when heating is on is a different situation. It will be one of two things, either you have as Donee says a pitching problem or when you replaced the ballcock you did not adjust the ballcock filling level and the water level in the f & e tank is too high. When heating is on, the water in the heating system heats and expands therefore raising the level of the water to above the overflow pipe.

To fix this remove the ball cock arm, bend as I previously posted and remove some of the water in the tank to approx 4" from the bottom of the tank *when the heating system is cold*.

To check if the system is pitching, check the open safety vent pipe for water coming out of it when the heating is on. This pipe is the hockey stick shaped pipe bent over the top of the small tank. If it is pitching then you need a plumber or heating engineer to inspect the system to determine the cause.

The immersion heater in your domestic hot water cylinder has nothing to do with your heating system and if this was a problem it would be pitching through the vent pipe in the cwst and not into the f & e tank.


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## IrishRain

Got a plumber to check and it looks like there was damage to the coil in the Cylinder so we've had to get a new cyninder.  Hopefully that works as we've changed ball cock and it wasn't pitching.


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