Improve Hot Water Pressure (Whole House)

[sgreenwood1]

I have a vented gravity hot water system with direct mains cold. Cold tank in loft. Hot cylinder in airing cupboard on first floor. Worcester Bosch 15ri boiler.




The hot water is pressure throughout the whole house is pitiful.

It produces 1 litre of water in around 17 seconds and takes 1.5 minutes for hot to arrive at the furthest tap (kitchen / most used!).

All taps are monoblock / mixers - which I understand makes the hot water pressure worse with such systems as mine? - but the shower is electric and works well.

Can anyone suggest a suitable pump to fit to increase this? I called Stuart & Turner but they weren't particularly helpful.

Is it a DIY job or an expensive one for a plumber?

If I added such a pump then would it actually solve the problem or simply make things slightly better?

A further issue is that my youngest sleeps to the very left of the airing cupboard. Therefore, any pump / solution would need to be quiet enough not to wake him (current heating pump doesn't).

Obviously any alternative solutions or suggestiongs would be welcome.

 

[cross thread]

Are your taps suitable for low pressure

 

[sgreenwood1]

Are your taps suitable for low pressure

I believe so. The one to the downstairs vanity basin certainly is and it's no better than any others.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Mixer taps are not usually suitable for use on low pressure hot water systems.

I have two mixers, on my low pressure system. One on the upstairs w/basin, which I modified to improve the flow - besides it is close to the hot source. Plus a normal low pressure tap, fed via a temperature controlled mixer at the downstairs toilet w/basin, which works fine.

One way to get hot water out quicker, is to add a circulation pump and have it circulating water round a loop. That only gets the hot water coming at the tap quicker, makes no difference to the flow at all.

 

[sgreenwood1]

I believe the pressure to be 0.3 bar. The tap I fitted recently allegedly worked off a pressure lower than this. It is no better than the non-mixer tap it replaced. Likewise the bath - the mixer replaced 2 single taps and is no better / worse (albeit was 5 years ago).

I will look into this as a solution though - are there any non-mixed yet mixer-style taps? I can't remove the taps I have and replace with two separate taps due to design of existing sinks etc.

I have also stumbled across this kind of solution;

The upstairs bathroom is copeable with. The kitchen tap isn't.

Perhaps an alternative - and just to get HW quicker to the kitchen - is something like this although I've no idea if they're feasible long term & would need to get electric to under the sink; https://rb.gy/h86wom

 

[sgreenwood1]

I could look at full turn mixer tap presumably for the kitchen sink (current is quarter turn)? This may improve the situation?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I could look at full turn mixer tap presumably for the kitchen sink (current is quarter turn)? This may improve the situation?

It will make a considerable difference.

 

[sgreenwood1]

It will make a considerable difference.

Thanks. There's not much choice these days - Franke Rotaflow and a Swirl version seem to be the only types in Screwfix at least but I will widen my search.

Thank you for your help - I'll let you know how it works out if I change it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks. There's not much choice these days - Franke Rotaflow and a Swirl version seem to be the only types in Screwfix at least but I will widen my search.

Thank you for your help - I'll let you know how it works out if I change it.

If it's any consolation, I fitted 1/4 turn ceramic taps long ago, before it became common knowledge that the would not work very well, with a low pressure system.