Who'd be a plumber?

[V8Ian]

The only jobs worse would be fridgie or Land Rover mechanic.
I got a panic call from a friend, pre breakfast and abloutions, the house was flooding! I dropped everything and got there in twenty minutes. A neighbor had turned off the street supply and four gate valves under the lowset dwelling.
I diagnosed a blown flexihose, under the kitchen sink. There was slight fraying on the extendable mixer to outlet hose, but at over $200 to replace the mixer, it will have to wait until failure. I decided to replace both hot and cold inlets and introduced a ball valve before the flex. Next time it fails, it will be a simple matter of closing the valve to prevent flooding.
Of course, no trip to the big green shed is complete until a minimum of two journeys have been made and this project didn't break that rule. I didn't realise that one of the new hoses was missing an O ring.
The addition of the ball valves and longer fittings on the new hoses meant a bit of fettling to eliminate kinks in the hoses, but was child's play compared to groveling around in the 18" gap, under the house, to turn on the apparent, excessive valves below the floor.

[Ferret]

Those flex hoses are time bombs. I have had at least 3 blow over the years. Luckily I was home on each occasion, heard them, could respond immediately and cut off the water flow off at the wall.

One day I'm going to be out...

[350RRC]

Just out of interest are you guys talking about the braided hoses going to taps these days?

DL

[V8Ian]

Just out of interest are you guys talking about the braided hoses going to taps these days?

DL
Yep.

[Ferret]

That's what I'm talking about.

[scarry]

Yep.

They are rubbish,i had one blow at a shed,upstairs toilet.
Luckily insurance covered the damage.
The plumber said they fail all the time.

[LRJim]

The plumber said they fail all the time.

Why do you think they install them? Haha

[V8Ian]

They are rubbish,i had one blow at a shed,upstairs toilet.
Luckily insurance covered the damage.
The plumber said they fail all the time.
The replacement hoses are guaranteed for ten years from purchase date and there is a tag to write the date on, but I bet it doesn't cover subsequent damage.

[350RRC]

Why do you think they install them? Haha

Regs? Ease of installation?

I've got a collection of them all unused and still attached to the chrome knobbed isolation valves.

Maybe I thought they were the ducks nuts because they sorta look similar to the Goodridge braided brakelines on my POS that are guaranteed for life. [bighmmm] [bighmmm][bigwhistle]

thanks, DL

[theelms66]

We had the flex let go on the hot side in the bathroom vanity.
The steam swelled all the doors and panels on the vanity. Insurance sorted it. I do a flex check every 3 months in my house. The slightest bit of rust stain on the braid, chuck it out.

[d2dave]

Easier to rid them completely and replace with copper pipe.

[scarry]

Easier to rid them completely and replace with copper pipe.

Often impossible as many flick mixers come with them as tails,and can’t be replaced with copper.

[ramblingboy42]

Well the ol'mate two doors up from me is a plumber , doesn't go near **** and seems to have an inexhaustible money tree.

He has managed to secure some local govt contracts and drives a beautifully restored '37 Ford ute with a modern windsor motor as his tradie ute.

he also manages to maintain a fleet of old vehicles in his new 160sq.m shed plus non stop landscaping improvements on his house and block...

yep, I'd be a plumber

[Saitch]

The replacement hoses are guaranteed for ten years from purchase date and there is a tag to write the date on, but I bet it doesn't cover subsequent damage.

I was told by a plumber to work on a 5 year life, max.

What's harder, Ian? Being a plumber or furniture removalist? [bighmmm]

[POD]

edit; thought better of making un-necessary insulting comments about plumbers :)

[V8Ian]

I was told by a plumber to work on a 5 year life, max.

What's harder, Ian? Being a plumber or furniture removalist? [bighmmm]
Some days, just being alive! [bigrolf]

[Hoges]

My plumber nephew advised me to "never" install the wire braided hoses, but instead use the more expensive composite covered ones. The tightening torque is critical (over-tightening is a no-no, but most are overtightened). When we're going to be away, I must admit, I turn off the ball valve supply on both bathrooms.... The RACQ assessor who came to view our colourbond roof a few yrs ago after the 2015 hailstorm told me that over three quarters of his domestic dwelling jobs are braided water hose failures! Average payout well in excess of $15K...

[ATH]

I find on my frequent trips to the local hardware store with a B in the front of it's name, that the hardest people to find if you need a question answered, are in the plumbing section. Strange how they disappear so fast.
I suspect that many of them are actually failed plumbers and went there for an easier life. :)
AlanH.

[350RRC]

Often impossible as many flick mixers come with them as tails,and can’t be replaced with copper.

I have the mother of all flick mixers on a shelf. Came out of a regional morgue, well before these braided lines came along. Might post a pic tomorrow.

It has a manual temp control on one side, I suppose so it can just be flicked (pushed [biggrin]) and have a constant temp and just the flow gets varied. Only goes sideways.

DL

[RANDLOVER]

My plumber nephew advised me to "never" install the wire braided hoses, but instead use the more expensive composite covered ones. The tightening torque is critical (over-tightening is a no-no, but most are overtightened). When we're going to be away, I must admit, I turn off the ball valve supply on both bathrooms.... The RACQ assessor who came to view our colour bond roof a few yrs ago after the 2015 hailstorm told me that over three quarters of his domestic dwelling jobs are braided water hose failures! Average payout well in excess of $15K...

I was speaking to a plumber about this and he reckons the stainless steel wire ones burst because they rust, so he recommends checking them for rust or even worse bulges, and replacing them with the composite ones.

[austastar]

Hi,
I put a dishwasher in a few months ago. The braided hose has the solenoid water valve as part of the tap connection, which I was rather impressed with.
Cheers

[ian4002000]

I was speaking to a plumber about this and he reckons the stainless steel wire ones burst because they rust, so he recommends checking them for rust or even worse bulges, and replacing them with the composite ones.


There seems to be two different qualities with these braided hoses. The cheap ones fail often and the good ones last for 10 years plus.

If you fit a good quality hose you should have no problems , but check every now and then under the sink and if any of the braids has changed or moved, replace the hose immediately.

I have seen two hoses let go, One with enormous damage.

Ian
Bittern

[3toes]

How can a stainless steel hose rust?

[ramblingboy42]

electrolysis perhaps? only guessing but have you ever felt the electricity generated by the flowing water in your shower?

[scarry]

How can a stainless steel hose rust?

There are different grades of Stainless.

Some grades are rubbish and don’t take long to corrode or rust.

I have seen stainless steel condensate trays in refrigeration cabinets with rust holes in them less than 2 yrs old,while others 25 yrs old are still fine and look like new.

[350RRC]

There are different grades of Stainless.

Some grades are rubbish and don’t take long to corrode or rust.

I have seen stainless steel condensate trays in refrigeration cabinets with rust holes in them less than 2 yrs old,while others 25 yrs old are still fine and look like new.

Mostly either 304 or 316 (marine grade).

I can inform those interested forumites that Miele drums are at least 316 grade.

I have the perforated inner front loader perforated drum and the outside solid housing 3 metres away as I write this.

Each has had at least 500 fires lit in them over the years, both have a smidge of surface rust but no sign of failure.

The housing drum has absolutely perfectly positioned holes from the factory for this purpose. Installed a damper in the base last year.

Can burn wood from twig size to logs 600mm in dia no probs. [biggrin]

cheers, DL

[Aaron IIA]

Some steel sold as stainless is made from stainless steel, while some steel sold as stainless steel is made in Stainless.

Aaron