Discovering Water Leaks: What we do and what could be the cause.
Water Leak Detection
Water leak detection is not always obvious and sometimes only discovered when you receive an elevated water bill. The first thing we need to establish is whether the water leak is on the hot or cold service. We do this by isolating each service and pressurising the line with high pressure air. Using a pressure gauge, it immediately tells us whether the leak is coming from the hot or cold-water service. High pressure air and water will also make an elevated noise where the water was escaping. This makes it possible for us to hear and locate specifically where the leak is coming from.
It is not always possible to hear where the leak is coming from. This is due to the fact that water pipes can run underground, through concrete floors and foundations. When cases like this occur, we use pipe locating equipment to trace the water pipe position. We then isolate sections of the water service to determine the approximate leak location. Depending on the accessibility of the pipe we may need to bypass sections in order to repair the leak.
Water Leaks and Hot Water Services
Generally, when a hot water system fails it is due to the hot water service storage tank corroding and then leaking. External units don’t create an issue however, an internal unit can cause considerable damage if it doesn’t have a safe tray that drains the leaking tank to a safe external position. You can quickly prevent the leakage by turning off the cold control tap at the bottom of the hot water service. Supply and installation can usually be done the same day. This is also an opportunity to discuss many options of a similar size or other more efficient and larger unit if needed.
