Gravity fed low hot water pressure - pump?

[Millstone]

Hi, Sorry I don't have the expertise to answer all these important questions. But the discussion will help me know what to ask a plumber.
The loft space is really just the eves under the pitched roof of one room, so not much space there, either to raise header tank or to put cylinder higher than tank. Other rooms have no ceilings, exposed beams into the pitch. The header tank itself is about 50cm above where a shower head would be in bathroom, there's really not much drop.
I'm beginning to think a pump would be the cheapest, least disruptive solution - if it's compatible with everything else. Perhaps the pump could be fitted with the cylinder in the basement.
At any rate I don't want to spend thousands on switching to a combi only to find the original problem is not fixed.

 

[denso13]

I'm beginning to think a pump would be the cheapest, least disruptive solution - if it's compatible with everything else.

That sounds like a plan. A decent plumber can advise on the options.

 

[ericmark]

Parent's house, the cold water tank, was just above the cylinder, and up-stairs pressure was low, I did add a pump for the shower down-stairs, and found not really required, but remember the worry was could the pump cause air to be drawn into the cylinder, I was instructed how to plumb it in at the time, to ensure it did not draw air in, and I simply did as I was told, I am an electrician not a plumber, but realised if an immersion heater turned on with no water, it would likely fail.

After all this work, the header tank sprung a leak, sure nothing to do with what I had done, and my dad got a combi boiler under some grant, as cheaper than getting a new header tank, or at least that's what he said.

As to if a combi boiler is good or bad, open to debate. I find in the main I draw around 2 pints of water at a time, rare I try to fill a bath, and the showers are instant heat electric. I have two kitchens, two bathrooms, and a shower room, where ever I fit a boiler, there is a long run to some hot taps. And every time my boiler fires up, it needs to heat the boiler itself, and of course pipework. So the fewer times it fires up, the better.

This is dependent on the house, mine is three stories, and not what I would consider as small, 5 bedrooms. Although one is used as an office, and another as a craft room. And second living room is where my daughter works when working from home, it seems no one is worried it is not from her home.

The point is the size of the home matters, with my home, in summer, using the oil fired boiler for DHW is more expensive to using electric immersion heater, I use 5 or more times the kWh using oil to heat DHW to using electric, but this is all down to having a large house and only two people living there.

So you need to look at your house, with a boiler next to the kitchen sink, likely a combi boiler will work well, but with some distance boiler to kitchen sink, then likely that would be an expensive move.

 

[Millstone]

Yes, my boiler itself is on a level with bathroom, first floor, over staircase. No options to move it from there due to other regulations, need for vent etc.
House is officially 3 bed but one is in extension, not in regular use, one is my study. Just one person living here so I don't use loads of hot water.
Again, my issue is really with the slow flow in bathroom - too long to run bath, no prospect of a shower off it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Again, my issue is really with the slow flow in bathroom - too long to run bath, no prospect of a shower off

Is there any way, to move the cylinder up to the first floor then, maybe form some sort of cupboard, located mid-way between kitchen, and bath?

 

[Madrab]

I'm sorry to disagree with some but moving the cylinder won't really make much of a difference. Yes, it will reduce the length of supply to and from the cylinder but if we are only talking about a extra few M and it's run in 22mm then the reduction in flow due to friction/resistance would be minimal, unless it's spaghetti junction to and from the cylinder of course, which I would hope it wasn't. Any gains made just wouldn't justify the cost of moving IMO.

Ultimately if the height of the cistern is only say 1m above the height of the outlet then there will still only be 0.1 bar @ the outlet regardless of where the cylinder is, so still pitiful.

Pumping is certainly the cheapest and most straightforward option IMHO. Still need to understand how the cold in the bathroom is supplied. Also need to know the size of the CWSC in the loft space and the size of the HW cylinder.

As suggested, someone that is willing to investigate other options for you would be a great asset rather than someone that just wants to throw in a combi.