Cold water storage tank - replacment with two joined tanks?

[TheGovernor]

Hi all, long time lurker here I'm afraid

My cold water tank (Ferham FRL50) has begun to fail, the struts on one side have come loose. I've been able to secure the upper metal tube with cable ties for now, but the lower L Shaped strut keeps popping out of it's channel. So it's got to go as eventually I assume it will fail.

I just had a guy 'round and he was saying because of its size he'd need to put a smaller 40 gallon tank in, but we have digital shower pumps which need 50 gallons according to the specs.

His alternative was to put three 20 gallon tanks joined together, will this affect water pressure?

In my (albeit simple) mind, three tanks joined together with a small pipe is going to be a reasonable amount less pressure than a single 50 gallon body of water?

Am I overthinking it?

 

[terryplumb]

yes .just reservoirs.pumps supply pressure.

 

[Terrywookfit]

yes .just reservoirs.pumps supply pressure.

And the head does not ???

 

[terryplumb]

head is expressed in units of height .for example if the cold water storage tank is 1 metre above the pump there would be 0.1 bar of pressure at the pump. this is not altered if the tanks capacity is 50 litre or 150 litre .the head is exactly the same .

 

[Terrywookfit]

head is expressed in units of height .for example if the cold water storage tank is 1 metre above the pump there would be 0.1 bar of pressure at the pump. this is not altered if the tanks capacity is 50 litre or 150 litre .the head is exactly the same .

But you said they were just reservoirs.....................Pumps SUPPLY pressure.

Pumps only BOOST the existing head.

 

[terryplumb]

you are being pedantic terry. the op' s questions are related to changing one tank for two or three ,and will it cause loss of pressure. can't see where your posts are relevant to him.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Stop it children, we will be there soon!

What the OP needs is a coffin tank, get more quotes. Joining 3 separate tanks has the opportunity to have more leaks due to more joints being fitted that is not necessary.

Andy

 

[Madrab]

You mention size but what's the size issue? Is it access to get the tank up there or something else? Why cant a new support platform be installed?

 

[Hot&Cold]

A few inside photos if possible of the tank drained so the ribs are visible ,could show if a repair is possible.

Maybe the support ribs were removed and the plastic tank was scrunched up and squeezed through the loft door opening,seen that done before and the support ribs either thrown away or fitted incorrectly.

Could be fixable unless you need to change the tank for any other reasons.

 

[TheGovernor]

Thanks for the replies gents, apologies I'm not getting email notifications about responses

The size issue is the loft hatch, although I doubt it's insurmountable, but you know what some people can be like about not 100% straightforward jobs. I was also thinking a coffin tank would be best, although that would mean the platform would need to be lengthened as as far as I can tell because the coffin tanks are long it would dangle off the end. So a coffin tank would probably be good from a getting it in the loft perspective, but would require more work in the loft with the platform.

My preference is that a tank the same dimensions as what I have is put in, and if that means widening the loft hatch and repairing that then so be it...

Just on the support ribs question, on my existing tank, the ribs are on the outside, the inside doesn't have any supporting fixings.

Overall though, outside of there being more joints, there's no pressure difference (or at least not one worth worrying about? BY the way, this is currently being done as part of my British Gas Plumbing cover, so it was a Dynorod guy who came out, it was him talking about three tanks. I do know a couple of lovely bathroom fitters who would do the job for me, but that would mean I'd have to cover the whole cost, which I will if push comes to shove, but it just seemed sensible to use my cover if I can...

 

[HERTS P&D]

Get a sheet of 8 x 4 18mm shuttering ply and have it ripped down the middle, that is the base for the coffin tank.

Then a few lengths of 4 x 2, platform made.

Andy

 

[Nige F]

Wookfit + Plumb - pedantic ! have they learned from The Master ?

 

[Nige F]

BY the way, this is currently being done as part of my British Gas Plumbing cover, so it was a Dynorod guy who came out, it was him talking about three tanks. ...

Maybe he's just a drain cleaner, unlike other Drainage/Plumbing guys 3 Cisterns to me suggests the middle one could stagnate

 

[TheGovernor]

Maybe he's just a drain cleaner, unlike other Drainage/Plumbing guys 3 Cisterns to me suggests the middle one could stagnate

They're connected in series though, so assuming we get through 60 litres + every couple of days, which I'm sure we do as I have 3 women in the house there shouldn't be any stagnation.

I agree though, I'd prefer a single tank if I can get it.

That reminds me, my hot water header has stagnant water in it, I need to drain that out.

 

[TheGovernor]

Here's an update (not that anyone cares!)

Storage tank finally started leaking so BG agreed to replace it. Guy came today and fitted three tanks, I was concerned about stagnation but he addresses that by fitting each bathroom to a tank, all three are in regular use so that's fine there'll be a good turnover of water.

He forgot to fit the overflow, so had to come back for that. I've gone up there to double check things, and pretty much every joint is leaking in some way.

Why they didn't just fit a single 50 Gallon coffin tank (which would fit through the loft hatch) I can't imagine. So they're back tomorrow to sort it.

I can see this one running and running.