Hot water tank empty and not filling up at all.

[SapphireMoon]

Hi there,
New to this section. 2 baths tonight. Kids 6ish and me 10ish. 2x baths ran fine. Went to add extra hot to my bath and water trickled to nothing out of hot tap. Panic.
DH went in loft and tank empty. Ballcock looks fine [to untrained eye] but nothing happening. We are clueless.
Is this big problem do you think? Just so stressed as will have to clear loft space round tank etc if plumber comes as dh has filled loft with crap. House mess.
Just stressing!
Arghhh...

provided that all the other taps in your house are working, and there is no sign of a leak, then yes, you probably need a new ballcock. You can try jiggling the float arm of the old one up and down. Some plastic ones have a gauze filter which can clog with rust, dirt or limescale.

It is not very difficult for a handywoman or a competent plumber to fit a ballcock. You probably need a brass one. It must be a "part 2" type to prevent possible contamination of the water. The Pegler Prestex is a very superior one and well worth the slight extra cost. see here

Before you get carried away, are you looking in the big tank (about the size of a bath) and not at the small one, about the size of a lavatory cistern? They serve different purposes.

It is possible to repair an old brass ballcock at very low cost. However it takes longer than fitting a new one. If you feel like it, clean and descale the old one after it has been replaced, fit a new cone and washer, and put it, in a plastic bag, next to the tank so you will have a spare ready in 20 years time when it needs changing again.

Thank you for your reply. Won't go up in loft again tonight as had wine!
Had overflow problem not long ago and our neighbour changed our ball cock ball which was brass and small for a bigger plastic ball. Did not change whole arm. Old ball full of trapped water or something.
It is a big square tank in loft with makeshift cover on it.
Cold taps working fine. Hot taps lost pressure to nothing, though trickle in downstairs one when checked. DH says tank seems empty when he managed to get to it through crap in loft!

sounds like the old one could be 50 or a hundred years old, so time it was changed.

Look in the bottom of the tank for grit, scale and rust, which will have come in through the water pipe, and settled. Dirt in the water often upsets ballcocks. Modern, silent, plastic ones are especially prone to grit.

Measure the tank. There may be a standard plastic lid to fit. It also ought to have an insulating jacket.

Brass or maybe copper? Old!
Was plastic a mistake?
Hope ballcock as sounds simplest option. The silence of no water filling up made me think something worse.
I would be so easy to rip off as I wring my hands uselessly!

Cross posts. Thanks again.
This advise is useful and calming.

Got insulating jacket [pretty old]. House built late 1920s.

a plastic float is OK. It will screw onto the new valve. Or you can get an extra one, they are not expensive. The Pegler one I recommend has a screw for the float that can be moved up and down to adjust the water level.

Morning PigletJohn. Will try and chat to our neighbour [long suffering and lovely!] and see what he thinks. Fingers crossed ballcock, if not plumber.
So, the fact cold water fine a good thing even if tank empty? Cold water taps as normal.
Hot taps small amount of water came out this morning and then stopped [plus suddenly thought silly to keep testing hot taps and emptying tank of dribble it has in it].

So embarrassed. Plumber coming out and loft awful. Cleared path to tank. Can see sink type one too covered in moth eaten winter coat. Tanks lagged/ draped with old curtains etc. Dusty mess.
Slightly despairing and nervous at arrival of plumber.

If you feel up to it, a few sessions with binbags and hoover will improve it.

For stuff that you actually need to keep, those translucent plastic crates are light to throw through the hatch, and will stack neatly.

Modern insulation jackets have plastic wrappers, so keep cleaner and if dusty can be damp-sponged.

You can get dust masks and disposable gloves in DIY sheds. The masks with a plastic valve on the snout are best.

Thanks Piglet John.
Do I leave stuff round tank [old material etc]? Plumber over some time this morning. Have done some dust panning and threw away moth eaten coat. Still wrapped in curtains though etc.
After this I feel a big clear up coming on whether dh likes it or not!
There is a limit to what I can clear before plumber arrives. Hope they are slim! Have used dust pan and brush round area and moved some boxes while thinking evil thoughts about dh plus a quick shout at him down the phone.
Also cleared under sink and side of washing machine where red and blue taps seem to be.

Throw out old curtains, felt lagging, and cloth. They rot, create dust, and harbour moths and mites. Put them in a binbag and tie or tape to carry down.

Measure the tanks afterwards, you can most likely get a new plastic lid to fit, and a proper jacket.

If your house has not been reroofed, there may be no felt and it will always be dirty. A felted roof stays clean.

P.s.

If you have a small, light cylinder vac and an extension lead, you can clear away lots of dust and cobwebs easily. Loft dust can be very fine and makes me cough so I always use a dustmask.

I think I will have to apologise to plumber re material etc. Will need dust mask and more bin bags as just run out. Also moved a bit of material and clearly moth and bug heaven under there...Also saw another old heavy coat.
Wish plumber would come now so we can get this over with.
Got school run later so hope not huge job.
Tis embarrassing though...

Ooh I love PigletJohn's advice. Good luck OP.

Hi both,
Still waiting. Loft hatch open. Moths disturbed...

I don't know if a fly spray would be worthwhile.

In warm weather, air rises through the loft hatch and out through the eaves, so you could give it a good spray off your ladder, then close the hatch for a while.

Thanks, will do that after plumber been so as not to gas him!
Like waiting for an exam here...

Well, tank sorted easily. Just new ball cock and arm thing. Quote for lagging in case we want rid of old coats and curtains doing job at the moment and possibly for last 50 plus years.
Some old plastic water waste pipes need replacing asap as very fragile [1960sish].
Thanks for support!

Just been browsing for lagging round tanks and lids.
When have inclination will stick on dust mask and take sturdy bin bags and clear old moth eaten stuff and disturb what ever insects living round tanks.
What fun!
Thanks again for help.