Pre Purchase House Plumbing, gas fitting or drainage inspections

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Plumber

We have heard it hundereds of times! Please can you come and investigate why there is water in my basement? Try not to buy you new home during summer and if you do make sure you inspect your Sewer, stormwater and subsoil drainage BEFORE you sign the dotted line!

  • Confirm the condition of your drains
  • Make sure there are no existing gas leaks
  • Ensure all plumbing pipe is approved in NZ
  • Ensure all subsoil drainage is installed correctly
inspection report

inspection report

… and the list goes on. These are only a few things you need to look out for before buying.

Many fall into this trap and end up spending a fortune to rectify a problem that could have been identified prior to purchase.

Euro Plumbing offer pre purchase plumbing, gas fitting and drainage inspections to give you confidence before buying your new home or investment.

Give us a ring to discuss your requirments we offer inspections from $99 + GST.
Call us on 09 5506202 or use our contact form for more information

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Priority plumbing, Did your plumber get it right??

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Plumber

Freezing when someone flushes the toilet? Low Pressure when running a bath? These things can only happen if your plumber does not install your plumbing correctly! Giving the fixtures the right priority will save a lot of yelling out of the shower later.

priority plumbing or feed

Correct plumbing, All plumbing installations must comply with New Zealand Building Code requirements. Remember that the plumbing for a hot water cylinder is determined by water pressure and not by the fuel used for heating. For a domestic mains-pressure hot water system, use the same pipe sizes as for a low-pressure system. For a commercial installation, pipe sizes are determined by the number of cylinders used and by the rate of draw-off.

A 20 mm cold water supply is recommended from street to cylinder. Note that the cold water piping is taken directly to the water heater before going on to any internal draw-off point in the house. Both hot and cold pipes should run parallel from the water heater and directly to the shower. The manufacturers recommend a 20 mm hot pipe and 20 mm cold pipe directly to the shower. All other draw-offs should run from a single 15 mm line teed into the 20 mm line feeding the shower, as shown in above In this way, the shower always gets priority, and all outlets achieve equal pressure and equal resistance to flow in both hot and cold lines at each outlet. This is particularly important in providing good temperature control to showers.

Beware of existing plumbing systems that give priority to the bath taps. You may need to alter some of the pipework to overcome this problem.You may install plastics pipes only when they are approved for use by the Building Code.Failures have occurred through poor installation and can also occur through over-pressuring or overheating.

For any advise on plumbing for your new home contact Euro plumbing

 

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Gas heating condensation

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Plumber

When a gas fitting appliance is first ignited the flue is cold, so it absorbs heat from the flue gases, cooling them below their dew point and thus causing condensation inside the flue before the flue gases are expelled.

The condensation runs down the inside of the flue, where a small amount will be reheated and evaporated. This cycle continues until the flue heats up to normal operating temperature, then condensation should stop forming.

If the flue gas temperature is too low to begin with, or if heat loss from the flue is too great, condensation will continue to form inside the flue. If a flue joint is made the wrong way round, then condensation may attack and penetrate the sealing compound and leak through the joint.

In a natural drought flue, excessive condensation runs out of drought diverters, causing water damage. Natural drought appliances usually have fixed heat inputs. If condensation persists after the flue has warmed up to operating temperature, you must insulate the flue to reduce heat loss.

In forced drought flues, excessive condensation runs back into the combustion chamber and may interfere with combustion. Insulating the flue will reduce heat loss, but it is also possible to raise the flue gas temperature above dew point by burning more fuel gas. This adjustment must not cause incomplete combustion or poor thermal efficiency; nor must the appliance be made too expensive to run. Good to keep in mind when your heating your home. A simple gas service can be done to prepare you for the long Winter ahead.

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Emergency van Rental and Car rental

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Plumber

Special thanks to James Blond!

At James Blond car rental Ltd they are used to having companies call at the last minute for an emergency van rental when suddenly theirs are off the road due to mechanical failure or some idiot has driven into our company van meaning it will be in the panel beaters for a week or so.

With a wide range of modern Toyota Hiace vans available in either petrol or diesel manual or automatic James Blond car rental can help with almost any emergency 7 days a week and with simple easy to understand rental rates that include GST, unlimited mileage  and insurance it makes sense for your business too get back on the road with one of their rental vans.

Despite a fleet of 9 vans we also find ourselves needing an additional van for either an extra job or to replace one that’s off the road and they have found that the flexibility offered by renting a van where they can if needed extend or shorten the car rental as required gives them the ability in today’s tough economic times to monitor expenditure and use the van for just enough time to get the job done.

Euro Pluming have also found that the Toyota Hiace’s offered by James Blond Ltd are rugged enough for use in the pluming industry but still modern enough that when they arrive at one of their customers places they are still representing the companies image in a manner their customers have come to expect.

The addition recently of a couple of vans with rear seats to the fleet was an unexpected bonus for Euro Pluming when they had a jib that was requiring more manpower than usual and not as much equipment and they found themselves able to carry 5 experienced staff to the job yet still had two metres of clear space behind the rear seat to enable them to get the required gear onsite at the same time.

So if your company finds itself in need to a cargo or goods van short or long term with or without a rear seat then call on the experience of James Blond Ltd to help your company with a solution that will both fit your needs and your budget, and with a fleet of 20 modern Toyota Hiace vans James Blond have the van that is right for you.

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Closed-system heating

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Plumber

Closed-system heating

A mains pressure system does not have an open vent. It is a closed system. Naturally, when we heat water in a closed system, the water expands and exerts more pressure on the system. If this process were allowed to continue uncontrolled, the system would yield under pressure, so a pressure relief valve is fitted to the cylinder to restrict maximum
pressure.

The cylinder is designed to hold a known volume of water at a known mains pressure. The rise in temperature caused by heating the water is also known and, from that, we know the increase in pressure due to thermal expansion. This is the pressure at which the relief valve opens. Remember, the cylinder is tested at 2.5 times this pressure, so the safety margin is very large.

While water is being heated in the cylinder, it is expanding and increasing pressure inside the cylinder. The relief valve, therefore, opens during heating and allows the expansion water to escape through a relief valve drain pipe, which discharges through an open end over a gully trap. Once the water is heated and the burner shuts off, expansion stops and the relief valve closes.
The relief valve also contains a thermal element that expands when heated above normal water temperature and opens the relief valve, regardless of pressure. Hence the name temperature and pressure relief valve (TPRV). The thermal element may open the valve anywhere from 93°C but never at more than 99°C.

The TPRV also contains a vacuum break device that relieves partial vacuum in the relief valve drain pipe by allowing air to be sucked in. This device will collapse and blow out if back pressure occurs due to a restriction in the relief pipe. Once the vacuum break is blown, a pin protrudes from the TPRV and cannot be reset. You must clear the relief pipe and replace the TPRV plumbing by a plumber.

A manually operated easing gear lever allows you to open the relief valve to flush out any grit or sediment that may settle on the seating and prevent the valve from working.

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High Power bills?

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Euro-Kathy

If your power bill suddenly spikes for no other apparent reason, it’s more than likely there’s a problem with your hot water cylinder. There could be a fault with one or more of the valves on your hot water cylinder. It needs attention immediately and may require a new diaphragm, washer or total replacement. Generally we replace the whole valve if it’s more than a few years old so we can be sure it will solve your problem and not need re-visiting in a year or two. The best thing you can do to reduce your power bill is call Euro to fix the problem as soon as possible! Don’t forget, the water that is leaking from your cylinder has been heated and paid for by you, hence the high power bill.

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Sewage Treatment

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Plumber

The aim of sewage treatment is to remove the bulk of suspended organic matter and provide an end product that is environmentally acceptable for disposal.

Communities situated along the coastline may use milliscreening to remove organic matter prior to discharging the partially treated into the sea.

Inland communities need to provide additional treatment before discharging into a river or lake.

the process of treatment consists of:

  • The removal of as much of the objectionable matter as possible.
  • Breaking down the objectionable matter that cannot be removed to unobjectionable compounds.
  • the destruction of harmful bacteria

Sewage is in a state of decay and is chemically unstable. Fresh sewage contains 2 to 4 parts per million of free oxygen and with the oxygen content certain bacteria exist and decompose the sewage by using up the available oxygen. this oxygen is used up after about thirty minutes when the sewage is said to be “stale” after which the aerobic bacteria can no longer operate. The process is then taken over by other bacteria, anaerobic bacteria. these bacteria break down the organic matter into simpler forms, at the same time giving off various gases, for example, hydrogen sulphide and ammonia, which have characteristic, unpleasant odors (Thats what you smell when someone farts!) The final step in the breakdown of the sewage is oxidization (combining with oxygen) of these last organic forms.

Sewage treatment aims to accelerate this decomposition process by providing suitable conditions for the various processes.

Speak to Euro Plumbing about how we can help design and install the right sewage treatment system for you. Whether you building at lower level and require a pumped sewer chamber or building were no Council sewer lines are available, we can help with right Sewage treatment system. Plumbing is not the only thing we are good at, Euro Plumbing are certifying New Zealand registered drainlayers with over 15 years experience in most available drainage systems.

 

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Stormwater drainage traps

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Plumber

Where the stormwater is only rainwater from roofs, the downpipes discharge the water into self-cleansing gully-traps or directly into a drain. Where the stormwater consists of surface washings, it can carry silt, sand, shuingle, and organic litter, such as paper and leaves. You must prevent this silt entering the stormwater drainage system. This is a New Zealand regulation. Euro Plumbing can supply and install a simple silt trap to stop these materials getting into your drain. For more information please contact us on 0508 446 892

Auckland plumber at your service!

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Storage/Collector Systems

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Plumber

Did you know that Integrated storage/collector systems can be used to provide solar preheating of warm to hot water in hot-humid climates, if thermal performance is not critical but cost is?

In these systems the storage tank itself acts as the collector. Provided that overnight temperatures are not to low, which is the case in humid tropical areas, if overnight temperatures are low (or if night skies are clear as in hot dry areas) heat loses may be excessive leading to unacceptably low water temperatures in the early morning.

Excessive overnight heat loss from the tank may be overcome by fitting a movable, insulated cover to the front of the unit. This solution is of course only effective of the user remembers to put the cover in place at night and to remove ot in the morning.

Additional problems with this type of solar water heating system are; corrosion of the tank and the bursting of the tank (due to poor water quality and excessive mains water pressure). Considerations of roof strength generally restrict the capability of integrated systems to 100 liters or less, due to their concentrated mass.

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Radiation

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Plumber

Did you know that radiation is a form of heat transfer that can take place through a transparent medium such as air without even affecting it? It can even take place through vacuum. Neither convection nor conduction can take place in a vacuum! Think about that for a minute!

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