fitting two pumps

[beekeeper]

My daughters house has a fortic tank in the loft , not very efficient, the only other option is to use a heat store,this could be fitted in the single storied utility/boiler room ajoined the house but the existing pump is in the flow on the landing/corridor with feed/expansion pipes on the boiler side of the pump.
if the pump is moved to the boiler house, then the feed and expansion would also have to be moved , a really major operation.
can I just put an additional pump (with appropriate controls)in the boiler house to feed the heat store coil or alternatively move the pump to the return pipe ?

 

[twgas]

just adding a pump is not a good idea, it causes problems with air ingress and pumping over.
What makes you think a thermal store is your only option?

 

[beekeeper]

Thanks for the input
I dont think pumping over would be a problem, a plumber changed the pump and fitted the new one past the feed /expansion pipes it had been between the boiler and the feed expansion/ pipes without any pumping over
The house is a small terrace two bedroom + 1st floor bathroom & kitchen which has been built on at some time in the past, the roof over the bathroom is at right angles to the main roof and several feet lower with no access to it.

There is nowhere in any of the rooms to fit a standard tank, the only place it could go would be in the boiler room , which has been added on behind the kitchen , there is shared loftspace over the boiler room to which there is no access, trying to fit a header tank into the main loft and bringing pipes down to main 1st floor level, then to bathroom floor level ,the boiler house roof is lower than the bathroom floor except for the top 2 ft of its pitch.
it would be a huge undertaking in an occupied house.
while a thermal store would only need a single pipe through into the bathroom from the thermal store which doesnt seem quite as dauntiing

 

[twgas]

If you have a diferent system fitted in a diferent place the chances are you would need some pipework altering between the two positions.If you go ahead with fitting an extra pump, you WILL have trouble with pump over and/or sucking air in

 

[beekeeper]

I am an electrician not a plumber so I must accept what you say is correct but is there a way round the problem ?
I have uploaded a plan of the house, the bathroom is very small and the pipes run under the shower its the only place were it can enter the boiler house
the joists in the bathroom are not very deep and cutting into them again for more pipes is not really an option.
They can not go through the kitchen as it has recently had new fitted kitchen units on the side under the bathroom which goes tight to the ceiling below is a sketch of the house
any advise on how to get round the probles would be appreciated

View media item 34250

 

[twgas]

In your first post you said the fortic was inefficient, in what way did you mean this, poor pressure/flow, insufficient amount of hot water, poor recovery rate, no/little insulation causing high fuel costs etc.....

 

[beekeeper]

The fortic tank, is in the loft and despite of extra lagging round the tank and cold feed pipe and lagging removed from the ceiling under it.
during this winter the ball valve froze and much of the time the water was not hot enought for a decent bath,
Running the kitchen tap means waiting a long time for hot water to come through, it runs through roughly 35ft of 22mm copper to the bath then 15ft to kitchen tap in 15mm
Running from a heat store the kitchen would be approx 15ft the bath 15ft
My concerns with the fortic in the loft is the cost of running off so much cold water,
The tank itself was in when my daughter moved in 14 years ago and is probably reaching the end of its life .
the disaster it would cause if it split or developed a major leak

 

[twgas]

If your daughter has been there 14 years, has the boiler been there all that time or has it been replaced? May-be a nice shiny new combi is the way to go.

 

[beekeeper]

The boiler has been there as long as she has, its serviced every year and has never given trouble other than an ignitor needed replacing
My eldest daughter has a wolsley(think thats how its spelt) combi and its cost her a small fortune , its packed up working several times she calls
out british gas who charge £60 call out plus parts or the option of I think its £170 including parts which is a lot of money to tighten a leaking rad bleed screw and re set the water pressure on the boiler

Perhaps my eldest has been unlucky and combi is the way to go
if there is no reasonable way of fitting a thermal store.

Thanks for all the effort you have put into advising me, I much appreciate it

 

[TheGasMan26]

Well i hate to say it m8 but she'd be alot better paying about £15 a month for full breakdown cover & an annual service.