relocating hot water cylinder in the attic All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[andymort]

i am considering moving my hot water cylinder from the airing cupboard on the landing to the attic.

to maintain a pressure differential between the cold and hot i will raise the cold water storage by 1.5m

my thinking is that ...

it doesnt matter how big the difference is between cold storage and hot cylinder is ... so long as there is one, and cold is drawn in as hot is taken off

i should get a better flow from both hot and cold (increasing the head by 1.5m) as both will still be governed by the head of cold, they should also remain balanced ... ?

have i missed anything ?

any advice much appreciated

thanks

[jondeau]

No, you haven't missed anything, it all sounds fine to me.

[andymort]

your reassurance much appreciated ...

thanks (the work begins) ... i'll let you know how i get on

[andymort]

actually ... whilst i think about it and before i spend my hard earned cash

i am planning on buying a new cold water storage tank and was going to get the 50 gallon one from screwfix (coffin style) ... will this be enough for 5 adults ?

also ... should i use this opportunity to invest in a new hot cylinder ? ... the current one is about 20 years old (450 x 900) ... was thinking of going up a size

[plumbers1]

It would be a false economy not ot upgrade the cylinder. Have you considered upgrading to unvented hot water and mians cold. The hot water cylinder would be more exspensive but you would be sving on the cold cistern and creating more space, worth a thought.

[andymort]

i did look into this (megaflow) but i don't think it would work ...

the megaflow requires 20 l/min and a minimum of 1.5 bar pressure

i guess these are minimum values but the guy from megaflow (technical advice) thought it was highly unlikely that my system would achieve them

my mains inlet is reduced down to 15mm (from 22mm) immediately after the stop cock under the kitchen sink ... it then goes through a water softener (which shouldn't matter i guess) but it then would have to go up to the loft (losing more pressure)

i was nervous about it not working and also about the installation ... whilst not a qualified plumber i am reasonably handy with the blowlamp and will produce as neat a job as i've seen anywhere, i feel confident in relocating the cylinder storage tank, not so with a megaflow (regulations, pressurised, expensive !) ... bottom line is that i would have to pay somebody to fit it

space in the loft is not an issue

thanks for the prompt anyway

[andymort]

after much struggling this job is now done ... works OK, notably more pressure at the gravity fed shower.

bit of a nightmare with refilling the system and getting all the air out ... was only able move it by blowing back down the vent pipe.

just one concern that some may be able to help with ... whilst filling the system (from the attic) I came downstairs and noticed a small puddle below one of my soldered joints.

got a container and put it below the connector ... thinking i'll need to fix that later.

however after 2 days container remains dry

as the fitting will be under floor boards should i be concerned or can this happen with soldered joints ?

andy

[jondeau]

Well...........hmmmm......

It's not normal to have a puddle under a soldered joint, so it really depends how big it was and whether it might have been just a bit of condensation.....

Sometimes there can be a microscopic crack through the solder or even the fitting itself which is rapidly sealed by any detritus in the pipework.

So it's down to you really........

Personally, if it had remained perfectly dry for several days and draining down was going to be a problem I'd leave it.

(maybe leave a trap in the boards just in case)

[andymort]

mmm ... worried me a bit ...

think i'll change the fitting, a pain yes, but a couple of hours and peace of mind

dread the thought of having to go back once all the decor etc is done ...

(probably leave a trapdoor as well !!)

[jondeau]

I thought you would.......'cos it niggles away at the back of the mind and you can never rest easy...........


Best of luck, JD.