Forum Home
PC World Chat
 
Thread ID: 122234 2011-12-09 20:27:00 Any Plumbers in here?? Ajax valve and Sulphur mark1978 (13845) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1247886 2011-12-09 20:27:00 We live in a very sulphury area..
In the hot water cupboard the pipes (Ajax valve etc) are covered in yucky blackish stuff... Is there any way of cleaning it? Or would that just be a waste of time! Is there special stuff that you can get to treat the pipes???

Also..

Why is the ajax valve always "hissing" when the hot water tap is turned on. And what is the cause??? The Hot water cylinder is almost brand new,
only a few years old... already here when we moved in here...
mark1978 (13845)
1247887 2011-12-10 03:49:00 Its a pressure relief valve . It's releasing pressure . If it starts to leak then worry, or is it? That might be what the black is - wet mold .

Hissing itself isn't a worry .

As for the cylinder - how new is a few years? Ours in Wyndham died at 6 years old - due to the acidic water, it ate through the (today's very thin) copper in no time .
We replaced it with stainless steel .
pctek (84)
1247888 2011-12-10 06:07:00 It is actually Hydrogen Sulphide which is causing the ajax valve to go black. It attacks silver and copper , causing it to turn black and corrode. For Ajax valve it shouldn't be a problem as the internals do the work. It is the copper in the brass corroding.
Hissing sound is nothing to worry about and just from the pressure reduction sound. The most common problem is the Ajax valve seat wearing and causing the water to constantly flow out of the overflow pipe on the roof.
pheonix (36)
1