Plumbing problem

[lindylou16]

Hello Today while using the water from my outside tap the pipes started vibrating and the water stopped flowing. The house water runs OK. When i turn the outside tap off and then on most times the water starts to flow for a second or two then the pipes vibrate and bang and the water stop. Could this be due to an air lock in the system from the mains When i first tried the house mains water it was running OK but for a very short while turned muddy. The pipes in my domestic water supply used to bang frequently but now they don't.

[bookbinder]

You could try this. It usually works with air locks. 1. Turn the main water stop tap (in the house, may be under the sink) off. 2. Turn the kitchen sink cold tap on. 3. Turn the outside tap on. 4. Leave these two taps on, then turn the main water stop tap on. 5. If you have an airlock, the water from both taps will probably at first run in a spluttering, intermittent manner, but after maybe half a minute they might run steadily. I'm no plumber, but it has sometimes worked for me. Best of luck.

[lindylou16]

Thank you for your answer But i find now the main for the outside tap is not the same as the one inside (under the sink)

[bookbinder]

I have the same main tap/outside tap layout as you have. Try this, then: Turn off the main tap under the sink. Turn off the main tap for the outside tap. Turn on the kitchen sink cold tap. Turn on the outside tap. You should not be getting any water out of either tap. (The main tap under the sink will control (well, mine does!) the flow to the outside tap.) Turn on the main tap under the sink. If all goes well, you should now have water flowing out of your kitchen sink tap and out of the outside tap. With a bit of luck, you will have, at first, a spluttering, intermittent flow of water out of both taps. Let it run until it changes to a smooth flow. This might take a few seconds, or the best part of a minute. It depends on how big an airlock is in the pipes. When the water changes to a smooth flow from both taps, turn off the sink tap but do it in small turns of the valve, nice and gradually. Don't give the valve big, hearty turns. When the sink tap is fully turned off, turn off the outside tap in the same gradual manner. To avoid air locks in the future, turn off taps fairly gently and smoothly. I'll come back and have a look here this afternoon. Let me know how you get on. Best of luck.