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Just discovered that our water tank doesn’t seem to be flushing our toilets as per our contract 😡. After 7 months we are not happy at all.
I turned our water off at the mains and tried to flush toilets, expecting that they should still flush from the tank... and nothing 🙁
Maybe I am missing something... but my understanding is that they should still flush.
Hoping M can fix this and that it is simply something that needs to be switched on. I don’t want any of our landscaping destroyed to find the problem.
Uh oh!
We have a tank for all of our toilets too (being installed soon). This wasn't cheap either so I can fully understand your frustration with it not working. Silly question.....but is there water in the tank? If its used for garden irrigation as well, it may be low?
If full of water then agree- hopefully its just a switch or basic fix. Your gardens are amazing. Don't really want workers in there!
Yes they are so expensive thru M aren’t they!! Yes it is full - Actually I was surprised how quickly it filled up over summer to be honest – considering it is only filling from our shed roof. So right now I’m not sure if it isn’t flushing toilets at all or possibly if maybe it needs the mains to be switched on for it to work – but that seems strange to me.
Hopefully it is just a switch or a lever – I don’t want to touch any of it, so it’s best for a plumber to check it out. Keep onto your site supervisor to ensure that your tank is working correctly before handover 😀
We are building with TA but still costly. It was important for us because it used tank water and not clean drinking tap water. An attempt from us to be environmentally aware- but clearly they have to work!
Tank has its own pump but still requires mains power to work. Mains power tho- not mains water is my understanding. Hoping for an easy fix!
Don't you guys have recycled water to toilets restriction by your councils? I had those so couldn't connect storm water.
Don't you guys have recycled water to toilets restriction by your councils? I had those so couldn't connect storm water.
The water tank is meant to flush toilets... that is recycled water. What do you mean by restrictions??
Don't you guys have recycled water to toilets restriction by your councils? I had those so couldn't connect storm water.
The water tank is meant to flush toilets... that is recycled water. What do you mean by restrictions??
In some areas toilets must be flushed by recycled water, ie the purple pipes/tap
No purple pipes here. We just needed to install a tank. We thought it was working but it seems not....
No purple pipes here. We just needed to install a tank. We thought it was working but it seems not....
Not really sure how it works but whenever I checked with plumbers they say they can't have the drinking water pipe connected to another due to contamination guidelines. So not sure how they could connect both storm water and normal water to one outlet.
Maybe have a talk with a plumber. They will know what metricon has done wrong.
Not really sure how it works but whenever I checked with plumbers they say they can't have the drinking water pipe connected to another due to contamination guidelines.
They are connected all the time but a check valve must be fitted to prevent cross contamination with the mains water. Maybe they can't access the mains water supply branch as required. See diagram below.
Our tank flushed toilets at our last place used a Rainbank water diverter inline with the plumbing to the toilets and taps from the tank.
When the tank ran dry, and the submersible pump couldn't hold pressure, it automatically cuts across to mains, so you don't need to be involved, you just run the garden tap, or flush the toilet.
Simple and effective
Our tank flushed toilets at our last place used a Rainbank water diverter inline with the plumbing to the toilets and taps from the tank.
When the tank ran dry, and the submersible pump couldn't hold pressure, it automatically cuts across to mains, so you don't need to be involved, you just run the garden tap, or flush the toilet.
Simple and effective
That is what our tank is meant to do: flush the toilets, but when it runs dry it switches over to mains. My tank is full so how come when I turn the mains off to test if the toilets flush they don’t flush? Is my tank hooked up correctly.? I would assume my toilet should still flush on the tank when the mains are switched off???
Our tank flushed toilets at our last place used a Rainbank water diverter inline with the plumbing to the toilets and taps from the tank.
When the tank ran dry, and the submersible pump couldn't hold pressure, it automatically cuts across to mains, so you don't need to be involved, you just run the garden tap, or flush the toilet.
Simple and effective
That is what our tank is meant to do: flush the toilets, but when it runs dry it switches over to mains. My tank is full so how come when I turn the mains off to test if the toilets flush they don’t flush? Is my tank hooked up correctly.? I would assume my toilet should still flush on the tank when the mains are switched off???
Can you take a photo of the connections around the tank and pump? Sounds like somethings been missed
Our tank flushed toilets at our last place used a Rainbank water diverter inline with the plumbing to the toilets and taps from the tank.
When the tank ran dry, and the submersible pump couldn't hold pressure, it automatically cuts across to mains, so you don't need to be involved, you just run the garden tap, or flush the toilet.
Simple and effective
That is what our tank is meant to do: flush the toilets, but when it runs dry it switches over to mains. My tank is full so how come when I turn the mains off to test if the toilets flush they don’t flush? Is my tank hooked up correctly.? I would assume my toilet should still flush on the tank when the mains are switched off???
Can you take a photo of the connections around the tank and pump? Sounds like somethings been missed
Thanks Drew, will do it on Friday. Working tomorrow and come home in the dark 😀
My tank is full so how come when I turn the mains off to test if the toilets flush they don’t flush? Is my tank hooked up correctly.? I would assume my toilet should still flush on the tank when the mains are switched off???
The RainbBank must have sufficient mains water pressure if the pump is to start. Try pressing "manual override" and try again.
My tank is full so how come when I turn the mains off to test if the toilets flush they don’t flush? Is my tank hooked up correctly.? I would assume my toilet should still flush on the tank when the mains are switched off???
The RainbBank must have sufficient mains water pressure if the pump is to start. Try pressing "manual override" and try again.
Ok thanks, so I will need the mains water to be on for the tank to operate and flush the toilets?
No purple pipes here. We just needed to install a tank. We thought it was working but it seems not....
Ours either.....
Ok thanks, so I will need the mains water to be on for the tank to operate and flush the toilets?
Yes. Why would you want it turned off?
A simpler bullet proof and substantially cheaper way to divert rainwater to cisterns is to fit an additional cistern valve so that the mains water is plumbed to one valve and the rainwater is plumbed to the second valve. You will also have two isolation valves on the wall, one will be off and the other on. This is called a manual mains water switching system. The cistern's air gap at the top of the valve prevents cross contamination.
The best cistern valve to fit is the compact FluidMaster 400UK063 ($20 at the big green shed) which is also available with two optional seals, a low pressure one and also the 'red' very low pressure (242LP071) that will operate on as little as 1 metre head. I can turn my pump off for about 7-8 months of the year and just run on gravity pressure as I have found the an 800 mm head will still close the seal once the cistern is full. Less short duration start/stops saves considerable wear and tear on the pump as well as energy.
Negating the need for a mains water switching device and the fitting of a dual check valve represents a considerable $$$ saving but new home buyers are not given this choice.
There are also better and cheaper automatic mains water switching devices than Davey RainBanks.
I just wanted to check if the tank was actually flushing the toilets (as per our contract). I thought if I turned off the mains, I would be able to confirm if I then flushed the toilet that the tank was providing the water.
What is the simplest way to confirm that our tank is flushing the toilets? Our water bill still seems high and the tank is always full. I simply want to confirm M didn’t stuff this up.
If there is water in the tank, it should use rainwater. If it doesn't, then there is a problem.
If there is water in the tank, it should use rainwater. If it doesn't, then there is a problem.
Yep that is what I am trying to establish. How do I know if the water in the toilet is coming from the tank? Is there an easy way to check?
Listen for the pump running.
Do you have a submersible or external pump?
Is there a float? If so, check that the lead is connected to the RainBank. Also check that the float isn't stuck in a low position.
The pump has to be plugged into the RainBank and the RainBank plugged into the GPO.
Is the power supply turned on? If it is off, the RainBank automatically defaults to mains water.