Low water pressure on a newly fitted tap

[boomboomdeals]

We got our old tap changed today. The new tap is a 1/4 turn mixer tap:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110890480.../sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=110890480363&_rdc=1

The water pressure of rest of the hot taps in the house is fine.

Any help would be much appreciated...

Thanks

 

[xr4x4]

You have less than 0.5 bar on your hot water?

 

[Agile]

I dont see how the pressure supplied to you new taps can be any different!

Or do you not understand the difference between pressure and flow?

Tony

 

[boomboomdeals]

Sorry Paul, I would have no idea about that...I am a dummy in this area..

I just know that all other taps in the house (including a different type kitchen mixer tap) is working fine..

Missus was supposed to check the tap before the plumber left - that has not happened and I am sitting and scratching my head here!!

 

[buck51]

Is your hot water gravity supplied by a tank in the loft, or pressure reduced mains?

 

[boomboomdeals]

Tony - yes, its the flow which has reduced...obviously, they are different when I now think about it...

 

[Whitespirit66]

As above.

What type ch system you got?

Also, £11 quid for a tap? I give it a year, 18 months max.

 

[xr4x4]

You may have old style rubber washer taps in the rest of the house, which you wont notice low pressure.

Some new taps can restrict the flow, or there's grit in it.

 

[boomboomdeals]

Yes, might sound stupid - I am renting a property (sorry, didnt want to spend 50 quid on a tap even though it would last longer) which has a very old boiler with a humongous cylinder at a certain height in the utility room and I think the hot water is fed by gravity...

So, the problem is really the tap then and the only solution I have is to buy a new tap?

 

[buck51]

in a word yes!!!the tap you fitted would need a head of 17 feet or more to be in the pressure range it was deslgned to work at!!!

 

[Whitespirit66]

0.5 bar is the tap's minimum operating head. Translated to English, this means that if the difference in height between the new tap and the water level in the cold storage tank (not the cylinder) is less than 5 metres, then the tap won't perform.

You will then need a low-pressure tap. Ones with rubber washers inside are better with low pressure than the single lever mixer type you have.

 

[boomboomdeals]

buck51 - any quick fixes or anything I can do to improve the flow?

If not, can I buy a tap and change it myself or a dummy like me could end up flooding the house

 

[boomboomdeals]

Also, the kitchen tap is a single level mixer tap as well but the flow seems to be lot better there. Just wondering (hoping!) that there could be some other problem with the bathroom mixer tap...

 

[xr4x4]

No quick fixes.

Change the tap for one suitable for low pressure, or raise the height or the cold water tank, but lots of hassle.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Not really much you can do if your head isn't enough. You need to measure this first.

If the head is borderline, you can remove any isolation valves under the basin as these can restrict flow. Also, check that any flexi tap connectors aren't kinked.

Failing that, it's low pressure tap time. Won't your landlord fund it?