A tap with a mind of its own
 

I have a perfectly standard mid-range kitchen mixer tap. Just recently,
it's taken to releasing a short (around one second) stream of water (from
the cold side I think but I'm not sure) when it's turned off. Sometimes
this happens directly after the tap has been used, sometimes completely at
random.

It's almost as if there's been a sudden increase in pressure which forces
the water momentarily past the tap's mechanism, but it's happened so often
that this seems pretty unlikely, even if it wasn't unlikely in the first
place.

So what might be the cause? And should I be concerned and try to do
something to stop it happening?

Many thanks.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Bert Coules used his keyboard to write :
I have a perfectly standard mid-range kitchen mixer tap. Just recently, it's
taken to releasing a short (around one second) stream of water (from the cold
side I think but I'm not sure) when it's turned off. Sometimes this happens
directly after the tap has been used, sometimes completely at random.

It's almost as if there's been a sudden increase in pressure which forces the
water momentarily past the tap's mechanism, but it's happened so often that
this seems pretty unlikely, even if it wasn't unlikely in the first place.

So what might be the cause? And should I be concerned and try to do
something to stop it happening?

Most likely - the cold water still in the neck, expanding as it warms
up, then dribbles.

My electric shower does the same - cold water in the hose warms up to
bathroom temperature, then dribbles out of the head.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

Most likely - the cold water still in the neck, expanding as it warms up,
then dribbles.

Thanks; it sounds likely. My only slight reservation is that I'm not sure
I'd characterise what happens as a dribble: it seems a little more (and a
little more forceful) than that.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Bert Coules wrote:
Harry Bloomfield wrote:

Most likely - the cold water still in the neck, expanding as it
warms up, then dribbles.

Thanks; it sounds likely. My only slight reservation is that I'm not
sure I'd characterise what happens as a dribble: it seems a little
more (and a little more forceful) than that.

I have occasionally noticed my 8 year old bathroom mixer tap (wash hand
basin) doing that since new and have always wondered.
It's not a dribble, more a very short trickle.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Bert Coules wrote:
I have a perfectly standard mid-range kitchen mixer tap. Just recently,
it's taken to releasing a short (around one second) stream of water (from
the cold side I think but I'm not sure) when it's turned off. Sometimes
this happens directly after the tap has been used, sometimes completely at
random.

It's almost as if there's been a sudden increase in pressure which forces
the water momentarily past the tap's mechanism, but it's happened so often
that this seems pretty unlikely, even if it wasn't unlikely in the first
place.

So what might be the cause? And should I be concerned and try to do
something to stop it happening?

Many thanks.



Could it be a combination of limescale reducing the nozzle size slightly
and surface tension now being sufficient to hold back some water for a few
seconds after turning off?

A bit like the ketchup bottle problem. Neck/nozzle is full of ketchup/water
and it hangs there until air can enter the neck/nozzle releasing the
ketchup/water.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Tim+ wrote:

Could it be a combination of limescale
reducing the nozzle size slightly...

Thanks for the thought but I think that's unlikely: this particular tap is
fed (on both hot and cold sides) with softened water.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Mr Pounder Esquire wrote:

It's not a dribble, more a very short trickle.

That's quite a good description of what I'm seeing.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Aha, so could you have some blockage in the water softener?
Brian

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"Bert Coules" wrote in message
o.uk...
Tim+ wrote:

Could it be a combination of limescale
reducing the nozzle size slightly...

Thanks for the thought but I think that's unlikely: this particular tap is
fed (on both hot and cold sides) with softened water.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

on 08/03/2018, Mr Pounder Esquire supposed :
I have occasionally noticed my 8 year old bathroom mixer tap (wash hand
basin) doing that since new and have always wondered.
It's not a dribble, more a very short trickle.

The skin effect of the water, means it will sit in the neck of the tap,
until it expands enough to overflow, once the over flowing begins,
close to the entire lump of water will flow out in a trickle. If the
trickle repeats, then your tap is passing/ leaking.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Brian Gaff wrote:

Aha, so could you have some blockage in the water softener?

Thanks for the thought. It's possible I suppose but would that cause the
effect I'm seeing?

Also, the same softener feeds two other taps, two cisterns, a shower and a
washing machine and I've never noticed any problems with any of them.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
on 08/03/2018, Mr Pounder Esquire supposed :
I have occasionally noticed my 8 year old bathroom mixer tap (wash
hand basin) doing that since new and have always wondered.
It's not a dribble, more a very short trickle.

The skin effect of the water, means it will sit in the neck of the
tap, until it expands enough to overflow, once the over flowing
begins, close to the entire lump of water will flow out in a trickle.
If the trickle repeats, then your tap is passing/ leaking.

It has been doing that since new.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Bert Coules wrote:
Brian Gaff wrote:

Aha, so could you have some blockage in the water softener?

Thanks for the thought. It's possible I suppose but would that cause
the effect I'm seeing?

Also, the same softener feeds two other taps, two cisterns, a shower
and a washing machine and I've never noticed any problems with any of
them.

Indeed!
It is only the tap over the wash hand basin that does this. I've never seen
the bath, shower or the kitchen tap do this.
We live in a soft water area.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Reading these replies, I wonder if it could be, in my case at least, because
the tap has a particularly lengthy spout which rises almost vertically from
the body of the tap and then curves forward and slightly down. When the tap
is turned off there must be a reasonable amount of water still in that spout
and if the suggestion is right that it expands then wouldn't it produce
exactly the effect I described?

A tap with a mind of its own
 

"Bert Coules" wrote in message
...
Reading these replies, I wonder if it could be, in my case at least,
because the tap has a particularly lengthy spout which rises almost
vertically from the body of the tap and then curves forward and slightly
down. When the tap is turned off there must be a reasonable amount of
water still in that spout and if the suggestion is right that it expands
then wouldn't it produce exactly the effect I described?

Your spout is just as I suspected. I think the water between the highest
part and the exit is held there by air pressure provided no air can get in,
but probably after one or two drips of water, sufficient air can tunnel in
behind the suspended water which then falls out.
--
Dave W

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Dave W wrote:

"Bert Coules" wrote in message
...
Reading these replies, I wonder if it could be, in my case at least,
because the tap has a particularly lengthy spout which rises almost
vertically from the body of the tap and then curves forward and slightly
down. When the tap is turned off there must be a reasonable amount of
water still in that spout and if the suggestion is right that it expands
then wouldn't it produce exactly the effect I described?

Your spout is just as I suspected. I think the water between the highest
part and the exit is held there by air pressure provided no air can get in,
but probably after one or two drips of water, sufficient air can tunnel in
behind the suspended water which then falls out.

Maybe the o-ring that seals the nozzle swivel is worn and is allowing air
in.

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

A tap with a mind of its own
 

Have you had your prostate checked?

A tap with a mind of its own
 

"Cynic" wrote:

Have you had your prostate checked?

I was going to, but I thought stripes would look better so I went for them.

A tap with a mind of its own
 

I have exactly the same issue and your description of the tap matches mine too. It happens about 10 mins after use and only happens once. The heating of the water to room temperature and expanding enough to break the surface tension sounds plausible to me