If you have a plumbing or heating emergency, call Hippo!

If you have a plumbing emergency and you need help fast - call Hippo Plumbing and Heating. 

Hippo Plumbing and Heating can help you with emergency leaks, repairs, boiler breakdowns, blockages and problems with your heating and hot and cold water, as well as service and installation. They can even install your new bathroom or refurbish your old one. 

Jim Tucker, owner of Hippo Plumbing and Heating, came to the South Hams after moving from Zimbabwe in 2002. A mechanical engineer and farmer in Zimbabwe, he first worked at Stokely Farm before deciding to retrain as a plumber. 

“I’ve always liked working with water and had a fascination with what it can achieve”, Jim said about his choice of career, “I started in 2006 and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

The Hippo Plumbing and Heating family - L-R: Jim's wife Carol, daughter Kim, Jim Tucker, Carol's mum Sue and dad Robin

He has had some exciting call outs in his 17 years as a plumbing and heating engineer, with his most memorable being on Christmas Eve one year. 

“I walked in and the image will never leave my mind”, he explained, “the client was standing on a chair pulling the ceiling down with a garden rake as water just poured down around him because he couldn’t find where to shut it off. 

“It was a block of flats and I couldn’t find the shut off either so I ended up fixing the joint live so we at least managed to stop it but I was absolutely soaked when I got home”, he laughed.

Another one to stick in his mind was a woman in Plymouth who was complaining of a blocked toilet one floor up, I couldn’t find the problem anywhere and it wasn’t making any sense. 

“In the end I cut through the cast iron dow pipe and I finally found the issue - the pipe was chock-a-block full of Cadbury’s sweet wrappers! It must have been at least a decade's worth. She must have just been eating them on the loo and flushing them every day!”

Hippo Plumbing and Heating 

Hippo Plumbing and Heating can service your heating system, whether it is gas, oil or LPG, provide boiler service and repair, new boiler installation, radiators, perform landlord gas safety checks, leaks, overflows, burst pipes, problems with your showers, pumps, toilets, tans and waste disposal as well as many other things. 

Hippo Plumbing and Heating are an OFTEC and GasSafe registered technician and provide a punctual, reliable and friendly service for all your plumbing and heating needs. They operate from 8am-5pm weekdays and 8am-12 noon on Saturdays.  

Find out what Hippo Plumbing and Heating can do for you by visiting their SouthHams.com listing HERE or call Jim on 07894 914442.