Utilities - Maintenance
Gas
Gas is normally available in small bottles which can be bought at local hardware stores or filling stations, or pumped into a storage tank at your home. The nearest anyone will get to ‘maintaining’ a gas system will be to monitor a pilot light in a gas boiler. Sophisticated safety devices protect you from danger should the pilot light go out and if it can’t be re-lit, call a specialist.
Electricity
A residual current circuit breaker (RCCB) is designed to open a circuit extremely quickly if it detects a current imbalance. But in order to operate properly and within the designed break time, an RCCB must be operated on a regular basis. RCCBs have a test button which is simply pressed. Re-setting the device is very simple. Switch off and then switch on. The test ensures that the mechanism doesn’t freeze up when needed.
Alternating Current (AC) is transmitted at 50 cycles per second (Hertz). This creates vibration. This vibration has a long term effect on electrical installations. It causes connections to loosen. Loose connections create high resistance points which become hot over time. The most obvious outcome will be fire. This is not usually spontaneous. As systems get hotter they will give off distinctive smells which usually result in an investigation which finds the problem. I have personal experience of major meltdowns on both commercial and domestic installations caused by this phenomenon. The answer is to check all connections every 5 years.
Water
Every drop you use you pay for. Put in a slightly different way, every leak you have will cost you a fortune! If you own a 2nd property in Spain which you may not see for months on end this can be a very serious problem. You should get regular meter readings sent back to you so that you know what the consumption is at all times.
Leaking taps are a visible sign of a water problem. Less obvious may be a problem with the seals on the cistern of a WC. Here, (as with modern UK suites) the overflow is diverted back into the WC pan and unless it is a major leak, it could be difficult to spot.
Modern cisterns have a single plastic unit comprising the siphon and a second fitting which controls the incoming water and the final level in the cistern. Both have rubber seals fitted and both are extremely simple to replace; an operation that can save many Euros.
Gardens may have watering systems installed. There will be a programmable flow valve which can be set to allow water through the system to water plants on a set basis. Even an apparently low setting can result in very large consumption if you are not aware of the amount released each time it switches on. Also, a setting of, say, 30 minutes per day, doesn’t necessarily reflect how much water will flow. If the hoses are not closed off properly, water may be quite literally, going down the drain at enormous cost!
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© Ray Chiverton
Costas Property Services
27 August 2009
