Higher pressure at stopcock than all the taps, can i improve it?

[Dazzer-B]

Hi everyone.
Since we have lived here the water pressure has been pretty poor, having showers is terrible and we recently got a quooker tap which is so slow and splutters alot on boiling mode.

We had thames water out today to check. They measured 25 litres per min and 2 bar at the outside tap which is next to the stopcock pretty much. But at our taps it's 10 litres per min.

We recently had an extension so I saw how they did the pipework for that, it was all push fit and there are about 4 or 5 elbows between the tap and stopcock and about 6m max in length.

Is this drop about right or seem excessively low?

 

[thomp1983]

Quooker tap spluttering when dispensing boiling water is normal and not related to the water pressure, proper barista coffee machines do the same when dispensing boiling water too.

How big is the pipework from your stopcock to the taps?

 

[Dazzer-B]

Hi.

Well I assumed it was normal until I used my mates who has the exact same model and his is massively better than mine.

I have 15mm to taps branches off a 22mm main incoming pipe and lever stopcock

 

[CBW]

It seems good pressure and flow rate incoming, so you need to look at what valves are installed. Is everything off the main, or do you have a cistern in the loft?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Have a careful look under the sink once you've verified the cold is mains fed not tank fed. Whoever fitted the posh tap may have installed isolators- the cheap ones are only about 8 or 10mm bore and are often left not fully open.
Replace them with full bore lever ball valves.
After that- yes pushfit tube is thicker than copper (internal diameter maybe 10mm vs copper 13mm), elbows restrict flow, the inserts used at pushfit joints are even smaller internal dia (7, maybe 8mm).
Replace either with copper and swept bends or a single length of placcie tube.
If it helps my flow/pressure at the house stoptap is 2 bar dynamic, 30 litres/min. The kitchen tap (7m of 15mm pushfit away) manages 24lpm, not sure about pressure but its definitely not a dribble.

 

[Dazzer-B]

It seems good pressure and flow rate incoming, so you need to look at what valves are installed. Is everything off the main, or do you have a cistern in the loft?

We used to have the tank in the loft, and immersion in the airing cupboard but the boiler was buggered when we moved in so changed the system to a combi

 

[Dazzer-B]

Have a careful look under the sink once you've verified the cold is mains fed not tank fed. Whoever fitted the posh tap may have installed isolators- the cheap ones are only about 8 or 10mm bore and are often left not fully open.
Replace them with full bore lever ball valves.
After that- yes pushfit tube is thicker than copper (internal diameter maybe 10mm vs copper 13mm), elbows restrict flow, the inserts used at pushfit joints are even smaller internal dia (7, maybe 8mm).
Replace either with copper and swept bends or a single length of placcie tube.
If it helps my flow/pressure at the house stoptap is 2 bar dynamic, 30 litres/min. The kitchen tap (7m of 15mm pushfit away) manages 24lpm, not sure about pressure but its definitely not a dribble.

Thanks for this.

Good to know. I wanted copper under the sink so it's pvc up to the cupboard and then copper with the copper push fit fittings. All the other taps around the house is the existing copper pipework with soldered fittings.

But thanks for the info. Food for thought