TECHNICAL

51

By

Terry Smith , Legacy Plumbing

A fire occurred in the middle of the night , in the ceiling , at one of our clients ’ homes . He had managed to put out the fire with an extinguisher and then had the wisdom to drop all switches on the DB board and close off the water at the mains .

We were called first thing in the morning to investigate why there was water everywhere and what the damage was in terms of the plumbing .

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Once on site and in the ceiling , we found that plastic piping had been used by the previous plumber when installing the three geysers . The result was that the pipes melted in the fire and water was dispersed everywhere , which inadvertently contributed to putting the fire out . The flip side of this , is that the water caused observable and extensive damage , perhaps more than the damage arising from the fire itself .

The geysers had all been damaged in the fire , and in discussions with the client we advised installing the new geysers outside instead of in the ceiling . This way , we could prevent future possible damage if the geysers were ever to burst – there would be no chance of damage to ceilings , floors , walls , or cupboards .

Because we had done a similar installation in the clients ’ guest cottage , he was keen to proceed with our suggestion .

We ended up installing the geysers in an outside atrium , in a space not easily visible thus not an eyesore for the owners or neighbours . The installation was done in series – two geysers feeding three bathrooms plus a guest bathroom , with the third geyser feeding both the kitchen and domestic quarters . The benefit was that when our clients ’ children were away on school camp or visiting granny , he could reduce water usage from 400l to 200l , and save on electricity by switching off one of the geysers .

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Standard Hotbox attachment .

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All images : © Plumbing Africa | Rory Macnamara

Aside from reducing risk and insurance claims , the outside installation of the geysers means that maintenance would be far easier as there would now be easy access to change the elements , thermostats , and anodes .

Prevention is always better than cure , and when you can show a client how to reduce the risk of future plumbing issues ( wasted time , money , and the associated inconvenience ) it will always stand you in good stead as a plumber . PA

November 2021 Volume 27 I Number 9 www . plumbingafrica . co . za