Why is my water bill so high? Do I have a water leak?
If you have an expensive water bill, this article will help you to determine the accuracy of your meter, and also check if you have a water leak in your pipework. The meter shown above is the most common domestic water meter that I've seen in Adelaide. This meter has...
Backflow Testing – What is backflow?
When I've been asked what backflow prevention is, the question has usually come with a comment that it sounds gross. Backflow prevention actually involves clean water and keeping that water clean. To explain what backflow prevention is, we're best to explain what...
Bosch Hot Water
There's a lot of mechanically controlled Bosch hot water units in Adelaide such as the water wizard, the Bosch 10H, the Bosch 13P and the Bosch 16P. The most common problem people have with these units is the water not getting hot enough - particularly in winter....
How to make Telemarketers stop calling
“Is now a good time to talk?” – A telemarketer really called me at that moment and asked me exactly that. If you've ever advertised a plumbing business or any other small business, you'll know that the first people to notice your ad are telemarketers who will promptly...
Why is my drain making gurgling sounds?
Sometimes when I've been called to clear a blocked drain, customers will tell me about the puzzling noises their drain was making before it blocked. In fact their drain was already blocked and they just didn't realise it. Not every drain will make this noise before...
What temperature should my hot water be?
Whenever I install a control pad to an instantaneous gas hot water system for a customer who has never had one before, the first thing they want to know is what temperature they should set it at for showering. Trial and error will quickly determine that for them but...
Does drano work / which chemical should I use in my blocked drain?
Customers often ask me if I recommend any particular chemical to use in a blocked drain. The short answer is generally no - a blockage is usually a physical problem and requires a physical solution. Caustic soda and acids are often used by householders attempting to...
Westinghouse 476 / 650 gas wall oven noisy fan
The Westinghouse 476 / 650 wall oven was the only gas wall oven you could get in Australia for a few years (a few years ago Harvey Norman started importing Belling ovens from England). The Westinghouse oven has a common fault with a noisy canopy fan (not the...
Westinghouse 476 / 650 gas wall oven not lighting
Josh's Gas & Plumbing has the Westinghouse gas oven ignition module in stock Westinghouse has continued to use the 476 model number on the front of their ovens for many years and this regardless of the fact that they have made significant changes to the model...
Why does my bathroom drain smell bad like sewer odour?
From time to time, customers here in Adelaide ask me about a sewer kind of odour in their bathroom. It might come from the drain in the shower, or the floor waste in the middle of the bathroom floor, or both. Sometimes people don't know where it's coming from - just...
Breaking an expensive toilet
This was a very expensive toilet to break. It's a Caroma Leda Invisi and I had to find one on Saturday morning to get the bathroom going again before this busy Adelaide hotel filled up with patrons that afternoon. The pan was broken low enough that the water no longer...
Water pressure, water hammer and the plumbing code
Thousands of houses in Adelaide receive high water pressure from the street main. People appreciate being able to pressure wash the car using just a garden hose but this convenience comes with nasty side effects both noisy and silent. The noisy one is water hammer and...