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New Plumbing Glossary

thermostat

New Plumbing Glossary

New Plumbing Glossary

New Plumbing Glossary

We launched our live plumber service in summer last year and we’re hoping that more and more of our customers will discover the ease and comfort of the service.  Being able to reach a plumber or heating engineer in real time, show them the problem and get it solved immediately or get a quote and follow up appointment within seconds surely is a good thing.

We expect you will need and use live plumber this year. So we’ve dug up a new glossary of plumbing terms and extracted the words we think you might come across as you DIY your plumbing emergencies with help from our expert plumbers based in Wandsworth, Chelsea and Clapham.

New Plumbing Glossary A – D

Apron – the skirting of your bathtub that covers the rough-in area from the floor to the top.

Ball joint – it allows for many bathroom and shower accessories to rotate and pivot easily.

Ball passage – refers to the size of the ball that can pass through the u-bend of a toilet – it also relates to the size of the u-bend.

Ballcock – the valve that controls the flow of water from the mains water supply into the toilet tank.

>Basin wrench – a wrench with a long handle and jaws attached to a swivel that can reach nuts and fasten taps.

Butterfly valve – a valve that allows water to flow through it when open and stops the flow when closed

Check stop valve – shut-off valve used with tub/shower faucet that is activated by turning a slotted stem with a screwdriver – also known as a screwdriver stop or a service stop.

Cistern – rainwater storage tank that is often underground

Closed system – a system where the incoming cold water has a device that will not allow water to expand when it’s heated

Dam – the barrier built into the u-bend of a toilet that controls the water level in the bowl

Dishwasher slip joint – a flanged adaptor connecting a basket strainer to the drainpipe with a dishwasher inlet

Drip leg – a stub end pipe attached at a low point in your gas piping. It collects condensate and allows it to be removed.

Dynamic pressure – the pressure when the water is flowing


New Plumbing Glossary 2


New Plumbing Glossary E – H

EF – Energy Factor – a measure of the overall efficiency rating of the water heater based on the model’s recovery, efficiency, stand-by loss and energy input

Elbow – sometimes called an ell – a fitting used to change the direction of rigid pipe or tubing

Expansion tank – a tank designed to absorb extra pressure because of  heat expansion

Feed pump – the pump that supplies water to your boiler

Gas cock/ gas isolating valve – plug valve installed in the main gas line

Gasket – flat device, usually made of rubber, which is used to provide a watertight seal between metal joints

GPF – Gallons Per Flush – the rate of water flow by which toilets and flush valves are measured and regulated

Greywater – waste water from sinks, showers and bathtubs, but not from toilets

Grounding – connects a piece of electrical equipment to a ‘ground wire’, which is connected to the electrical system ground at the circuit breaker box – this helps to ensure the circuit breaker will trip and cut off power in the event of a short circuit or damage to insulation. Although, you shouldn’t ever need to touch electrical fittings near or around your boiler.

Hard water – natural water containing impurities in various proportions – traditional hardness is a measure of calcium or dissolved solids in a solution, measured in parts per million.

We’ll continue to Z in another post. But for now, we hope this helps!

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