Right Pump to Supply Gravity Fed Bath and Shower in Bungalow All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[neilinbal]

Hi
I have recently had a bathroom fitted. I have a bungalow which has a gravity fed system. The copper tank & cold water tank are in the loft. This feeds an upstairs basin (pressures good) & a downstairs bath & shower. The downstairs has very low pressure.
I guess my question is can i fit any twin impeller pump to boost my shower & my bath filler (obviously not at the same time) or do i need an all house pump? I have a small galvanised water tank which i am upgrading to a 50 gallon tank, the pump will be in the loft at the foot of the copper tank. Any advise on which make of pump would be helpful too. Thanks
Neil

[proptech]

Hi neilinbal
This doesn't make a lot of sense. The downstairs bath/shower should have a higher pressure than the upstairs basin. I have to wonder what the pipework is like for this to be the case. I suggest that this be looked at rather than thinking about pumping at this stage.
As you mention a galvanised tank, it could be that some of the piping is also a bit past it's use-by date. A pump will not make up for defective pipework.

[neilinbal]

thanks for reply.
It didn't make sense to me either, i can only guess that as the upstairs basin is fed off 22mm pipe, that the plumber has altered the pipework downstairs to 15mm with iso's & flexi connectors. The pipes from the loft are buried in the wall, i think it then tees off in 15mm to the bath mixer, also with flexis & iso valves reducing the flow even more. I've tried flushing the pipework out, cleaning filters etc but nothing changes. All pipe work is under the floor, in a wall or behind cupboards & the original plumber isn't contactable. I can't even see where it's been connected in the loft space. do you advise against a pump? re piping the shower & bath will probably cost even more.
Cheers
Neil

[proptech]

I really don't think you should consider a pump unless you know for a fact that the pipework is correct. As you mention isolating valves, next time you are in a store, or plumbers merchants, take a look inside one, you may be surprised just how much restriction they can cause. Flexes can be as bad.
That's just one part of the supply. You need to investigate the whole run.

[neilinbal]

Thanks
thats what i thought.
i'll check & get back
Thanks again
Neil