Professional Property Maintenance

Don’t Get Steamed!

DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Cowboy Plumbers

For the uninitiated, un-vented cylinders like the one pictured above are like pressure cookers. They are usually found in small offices such as the one above to supply hot water to bathroom or kitchen basins. Unfortunately, being under pressure they could explode if not for a safety valve located on the top of the unit. But what happens if the Pressure Relief Valve pops open with someone standing nearby?

If the unit is not piped up properly then the answer is that scalding hot water will spray at wherever the valve is pointed. The one above is shoulder height and pointed directly at a wall which will deflect the water back into someone’s face. I have seen several others over the last year that were pointed directly into areas where bystanders would mulling around.

The rules around un-vented cylinders are set in stone. You must be registered to install them and they must be installed to a published standard and not haphazardly. As cylinders get older and parts wear out or go faulty the risk of serious problem happening increases.

Beware and be safe. Have your older cylinders checked out or replace them with a new unit and have it installed correctly with the Pressure Relief Valve piped so that if it blows the scalding hot water will be removed to a safe area.

If your public use bathroom or kitchen has an unvented cylinder that goes wrong and a customer or staff member gets scalded or worse then scalding will not be the only problem you have to worry about. Liability, liability, liability!