Hot water cylinder leak repair – save money

I was recently contacted by a regular customer with regard to a leak from his hot water cylinder. He pays an additional premium on his house insurance to cover call out on his boiler and plumbing so when he discovered his cylinder was leaking he called them and an engineer came out straight away, so far so good. The engineer looked at the cylinder and the connections and informed the customer that he needed a new cylinder and estimated the cost to be in excess of £1,000.

I listened carefully to what the customer had to say and went to look at the cylinder while he made me a cup of tea.  After a quick check I knew what the problem was. There is a flange connecting the pipes where they come out of the cylinder and it was this joint that was leaking – the washer in the joint had obviously disintegrated and was letting the water leak out.  This joint cannot be taken apart to fix by putting in a new washer. You would have to take the whole thing apart in order to do this and so most engineers will say that you need a new cylinder (or at least a new valve) and there is a lot of work involved.

My solution?  Once the hot water cylinder is drained and you can undo the joint – you can use plumbers tape and a bit of silicon, with know-how and experience, and seal it up again. I can guarantee it will never leak again.  Cost?  Our usual hourly rate of £94 (and the job was completed inside an hour) and my tea was still warm.

My advice is always get a second opinion, it can save you a great deal of money, please don’t hesitate to call The Plumber ABS and ask – 01276 682752