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Property/DIY

Why has my outdoor tap stopped working??!

7 replies

Erebus · 16/11/2012 15:47

Cannot understand it!

It worked til a week or 2 ago, now a faint trickle.

It comes out of the house wall by the kitchen and more or less straight off the mains (which normally you could cut concrete with!). The mains comes into the house under the kitchen sink, then one 'half' goes to a) a filtered water tap by the sink, and b) this outdoor tap. The other 'half' goes through the water softener (hence some water being diverted for kitchen drinking water and the outdoor garden tap which is just through the external house wall).

I have looked carefully at all the in-line taps under the kitchen sink and they're all appropriately on or off. The one thing is we got an airlock in 'the system' when builders had to turn the water off (I assume!) to fit a radiator 2 weeks ago- involved draining down and refilling the CH system. I imagine this has got something to do with it in that we got some water-hammer when using that outdoor tap for a while- but now, just that little trickle.

Why?!

Any solutions?

OP posts:
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LittenTree · 16/11/2012 19:44

C'mon! Someone out there knows!

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nocake · 16/11/2012 19:53

Has the no return valve jammed?

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LittenTree · 16/11/2012 22:13

Wot's a 'no return valve'? Do I have one? The distance between where the pipe comes off the 'in' pipe to the actual tap is about 8" (passing through an external wall). Where in that might I have that valve, pls? I know the 'in' pipe isn't blocked as the water filter tap works.

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nocake · 17/11/2012 17:28

All outside taps have a one way valve inside them (or sometimes in the pipe). If you connect a hose to the tap then leave the end of the hose in a bucket of water it stops the water in the bucket being siphoned back into the water pipes in your house.

Sometimes the valve will jam so no water comes out of the tap. You'll need to remove the tap (turn the water off first) and check that the valve inside is free to open properly.

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GlaikitFizzog · 17/11/2012 17:30

Is it frozen? We have just turned our outside tap off for the winter.

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PigletJohn · 17/11/2012 18:07

cold water taps supplied from the mains don't get air locks.

might some kind person have turned it off for the winter?

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LittenTree · 17/11/2012 18:37

Thanks nocake- that would seem to be the most likely explanation.

Will investigate further.

Not frozen yet! (sunny Hampshire)

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