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Spent the long weekend getting some maintenance fixes 

Some tips about plumbing:

- either use brass - more ex throughout

- or good PVC plastic

- use large bore copper pipes to carry the water in, you won't regret it and you'll enjoy the hotel like experience of good water pressure 

- don't use cheap tin plated water closet pipes, which will corrode and leak

make sure the pipes are accessible and easy to change too

 

As for the cistern flushing systems use a modular one that's easy to find and change. You'll be shocked about the cost of a replacement module for a fancy brand

 

Likewise for the water heaters, expose them, or make sure the access panel is large enough and there is a light source

Its best to get a storage tank heaters and you may wish to have a few around instead of a central one, so if it goes bust you can always use the other toilet / heater

 

Storage tank heaters won't affect your water pressure unlike instant heater, and make sure the power switch is 20A enabled and in a dry area 

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57 minutes ago, therock said:

Spent the long weekend getting some maintenance fixes 

Some tips about plumbing:

- either use brass - more ex throughout

- or good PVC plastic

- use large bore copper pipes to carry the water in, you won't regret it and you'll enjoy the hotel like experience of good water pressure 

- don't use cheap tin plated water closet pipes, which will corrode and leak

make sure the pipes are accessible and easy to change too

 

As for the cistern flushing systems use a modular one that's easy to find and change. You'll be shocked about the cost of a replacement module for a fancy brand

 

Likewise for the water heaters, expose them, or make sure the access panel is large enough and there is a light source

Its best to get a storage tank heaters and you may wish to have a few around instead of a central one, so if it goes bust you can always use the other toilet / heater

 

Storage tank heaters won't affect your water pressure unlike instant heater, and make sure the power switch is 20A enabled and in a dry area 

Now many contractors don't use normal grey pvc pipes or copper pipes anymore. They have switched to PPR (light green) pipes and stainless steel pipes. Both need specialised tools to (heat for PPR) and crimp. DIY no choice got to stick to old technologies. 

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Supercharged
1 hour ago, therock said:

Spent the long weekend getting some maintenance fixes 

Some tips about plumbing:

- either use brass - more ex throughout

- or good PVC plastic

- use large bore copper pipes to carry the water in, you won't regret it and you'll enjoy the hotel like experience of good water pressure 

- don't use cheap tin plated water closet pipes, which will corrode and leak

make sure the pipes are accessible and easy to change too

 

As for the cistern flushing systems use a modular one that's easy to find and change. You'll be shocked about the cost of a replacement module for a fancy brand

 

Likewise for the water heaters, expose them, or make sure the access panel is large enough and there is a light source

Its best to get a storage tank heaters and you may wish to have a few around instead of a central one, so if it goes bust you can always use the other toilet / heater

 

Storage tank heaters won't affect your water pressure unlike instant heater, and make sure the power switch is 20A enabled and in a dry area 

I spent a few hours changing my basin mixer.... still good condition but one of the flexi hose below the sink had been over-bent in order to fit into an awkwardly positioned water valve outlet, the bent part eventually had slight leak.

Redid the compression fitting for both hot/cold valves to turn them to a better position.

Sad thing is that the replacement mixer turns out to be not as suitable as the original, in terms of size.

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Supersonic
4 minutes ago, t0y0ta said:

I spent a few hours changing my basin mixer.... still good condition but one of the flexi hose below the sink had been over-bent in order to fit into an awkwardly positioned water valve outlet, the bent part eventually had slight leak.

Redid the compression fitting for both hot/cold valves to turn them to a better position.

Sad thing is that the replacement mixer turns out to be not as suitable as the original, in terms of size.

I gave up using a mixer for the basin. Never switched to the hot water side. Even if I did, it was to exercise the mixer to make sure it doesn’t jam. 
it simply takes too much water flow to get warm water in the basin. 

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Supersonic
On 5/16/2022 at 5:49 PM, t0y0ta said:

I spent a few hours changing my basin mixer.... still good condition but one of the flexi hose below the sink had been over-bent in order to fit into an awkwardly positioned water valve outlet, the bent part eventually had slight leak.

Redid the compression fitting for both hot/cold valves to turn them to a better position.

Sad thing is that the replacement mixer turns out to be not as suitable as the original, in terms of size.

Care to share a photo plus more details, maybe the creative MCFers could provide some ideas 😁

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Supersonic
1 hour ago, Volvobrick said:

Came across yesterday. If you need help can call this (don't visit wrong site hor!) :

125926296_797034214176068_803282105031900951_n.thumb.jpg.31e13ba01e7282aac37ac2c6c6cf5cb2.jpg

This is not in Singapore. is there a branch here?

 

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Tonight being Saturday night, my kitchen flooded. Of cuz it chose the worst day/time.

I knew the cause would most likely be the discharge pipe as I've cleared it before.

My worse nightmare came true, pipe got clogged, and I decided to use pressure washer. The last time it worked and flush gunk down the pipe. This time it didn't and flood back upwards. Now it looks like liquid cement, froth and all that stuff and it stinks.

The gunk was too much and it clogged the entire pipe.

I poured in acid. It didn't work.

In my panic, I ordered on Shopee a horobin. It's supposed to push stuff forward into the pipe. But it wouldn't come till at least Monday.

I decided to take a stiff hose and poke at it, near the bottom, hoping to puncture some holes and let the water pass through. It worked ! The water level drops and expose the gunk.

I think I had better remove the gunk and not push it forward, or it may cause more problem and completely clogged the pipe. Took an old unused ladle and zip-tied to a short pole, and start digging up the gunk. I collected quite a bit (in the red plastic bag) and flush the remaining into the pipe.

Finally, it's cleared.

Cleaning up, I find the hose and ladle oily. I think it's bcuz my wife and tenants like to deep fry and lots of oil get dumped into the pipe. Finally, these stuff coalesce into a sticky mess and clogged the pipe. Perhaps I should have used alkali instead of acid, as alkali is used to turn oil into soap.

Need to wear gloves and eye protection when using these stuffs. And I cancelled the horobin order. 😁

flood.jpg

hose.jpg

trash.jpg

ladle.jpg

clear.jpg

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100% coagulated oil. 
why dump oil into sink. A very bad habit. Use newspaper or paper towel to wipe. Those who continue to dump I will make them shove their hands into the gully hole to clear. I hate clearing such clogs. Thus I religiously  clean all my oil from pots and wok before washing . I throw all my oil into the bin. 
 

next step buy a inspection camera and probe to see how much gunk. Alternatively, pour hot water frequently. 

Edited by Mkl22
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On 12/2/2023 at 9:40 PM, Kb27 said:

Tonight being Saturday night, my kitchen flooded. Of cuz it chose the worst day/time.

I knew the cause would most likely be the discharge pipe as I've cleared it before.

My worse nightmare came true, pipe got clogged, and I decided to use pressure washer. The last time it worked and flush gunk down the pipe. This time it didn't and flood back upwards. Now it looks like liquid cement, froth and all that stuff and it stinks.

The gunk was too much and it clogged the entire pipe.

I poured in acid. It didn't work.

In my panic, I ordered on Shopee a horobin. It's supposed to push stuff forward into the pipe. But it wouldn't come till at least Monday.

I decided to take a stiff hose and poke at it, near the bottom, hoping to puncture some holes and let the water pass through. It worked ! The water level drops and expose the gunk.

I think I had better remove the gunk and not push it forward, or it may cause more problem and completely clogged the pipe. Took an old unused ladle and zip-tied to a short pole, and start digging up the gunk. I collected quite a bit (in the red plastic bag) and flush the remaining into the pipe.

Finally, it's cleared.

Cleaning up, I find the hose and ladle oily. I think it's bcuz my wife and tenants like to deep fry and lots of oil get dumped into the pipe. Finally, these stuff coalesce into a sticky mess and clogged the pipe. Perhaps I should have used alkali instead of acid, as alkali is used to turn oil into soap.

Need to wear gloves and eye protection when using these stuffs. And I cancelled the horobin order. 😁

flood.jpg

hose.jpg

trash.jpg

ladle.jpg

clear.jpg

You should watch a korean youtube channel where a professional drain cleaner team will post videos (using remote pipe cameras) of them clearing customer (mainly restaurants) pipes. Chunks of solid oil like rocks will be cleared.

I don't believe your family is pouring used oil down the sink - most probably their habit is to use water to rinse down all the oily wok/pots/pans/plates/bowls. Recommend to use kitchen towel to wipe off most of the oily stuff from the cookery/cutlery before actually getting down to soup wash.

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On 12/3/2023 at 3:29 PM, t0y0ta said:

You should watch a korean youtube channel where a professional drain cleaner team will post videos (using remote pipe cameras) of them clearing customer (mainly restaurants) pipes. Chunks of solid oil like rocks will be cleared.

I don't believe your family is pouring used oil down the sink - most probably their habit is to use water to rinse down all the oily wok/pots/pans/plates/bowls. Recommend to use kitchen towel to wipe off most of the oily stuff from the cookery/cutlery before actually getting down to soup wash.

My problem will never end. I can't change people's habit. They will wash the oily plates with soap/water down the sink, into the drain pipe.

I just need to invest in a good scoop and be ready to use it every few months.

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On 12/3/2023 at 4:36 PM, Kb27 said:

My problem will never end. I can't change people's habit. They will wash the oily plates with soap/water down the sink, into the drain pipe.

I just need to invest in a good scoop and be ready to use it every few months.

Now you know you can have a second career anytime :

 

 

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On 12/3/2023 at 4:36 PM, Kb27 said:

My problem will never end. I can't change people's habit. They will wash the oily plates with soap/water down the sink, into the drain pipe.

I just need to invest in a good scoop and be ready to use it every few months.

What you can do is also to get a funnel to fit over the gully hole and use a bucket of water to periodically flush. The problem with kitchen water is that it trickle slowly so the sediment has time to sit at the u bend and accumulate. If you flush it often with a pail of water the syphon effect will push everything out of the u bend and down to the straight sewer pipes, then it is no longer your concern. 

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On 12/3/2023 at 10:05 PM, Mkl22 said:

What you can do is also to get a funnel to fit over the gully hole and use a bucket of water to periodically flush. The problem with kitchen water is that it trickle slowly so the sediment has time to sit at the u bend and accumulate. If you flush it often with a pail of water the syphon effect will push everything out of the u bend and down to the straight sewer pipes, then it is no longer your concern. 

Thank you. I will try to flush it more regularly, so it doesn't sit there and build-up.

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Didn't know where to park this, so can I ask if anyone knows person to repair things like a kettle?

Thanks, I know it's cheap to buy but this one has some sentimental value.. cheers

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