Mains water pump

[BigMacRacing]

Hi all,

Our cold water pressure is ok but our hot pressure is pretty rubbish.
I have decided to go down route of fitting pump, although not sure which one is needed - don't want to spend a fortune but at same time, would rather not be disappointed with the end result. Not sure if pump should be on cold feed as well as hot feed? Not sure where to start in terms of fitting/how to go about it, tools, etc??

I'm after:
A pump that is quiet
Pressure that will match that of good hotel
Balanced with price

I would really appreciate steps on how to do this myself, what I need, and any links to pumps you would advise please? I'm a novice DIY'er!

Some details on my house:
4 bedroom detached
1200 sq ft
2 adults, 1 child
Water tank in airing cupboard
Boiler in kitchen, controlled via thermostat
Water tank in loft

I believe this is what is referred to as a conventional system/gravity fed?
I can take a picture of the boiler and piping in the airing cupboard to help, as I presume the pump will need to be added there.

Many thanks,
Kieren

 

[twgas]

Upload the pics and someone may be able to help\advise.

 

[ALCPlumbing]

Are you wanting to run the whole house from the pump or just a shower?

Where is the highest outlet you want to pump in relation to the cold water storage tank in the loft?

Whichever pump you use will be quite noisy but if you only pump the shower/bath then at least it will only be noisy whilst having a shower. If you pump your whole house then it will go off if u flush your toilet in the middle of the night.
I tend to use/recommend Stuart turner pumps. As stated you need to give us more info on your requirements and some pictures of your airing cupboard would help as this is usually the easiest place to fit although sometimes they go under the bath if you only want to pump the shower.

 

[BigMacRacing]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your replies.

Firstly, here are a couple pictures in the airing cupboard:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9lxy8di4ifve8jj/2014-11-01 12.25.29.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mj0pcprybtu1fbk/2014-11-01 12.25.50.jpg?dl=0

We have 2 bathrooms upstairs - en suite with a shower, toilet & sink (we plan to re-do this room) and main bathroom with a bath, shower head, sink & toilet. Downstairs we have one bathroom with toilet & sink.

Main requirement is to feed the en suite shower and bath with "hotel-like" pressure. Although if it is applied to the mains hot feed then I think that would be fine - my old house was done like that so of course kicked in whenever a hot tap was turned on. That was a bit noisy but it was a cheaper pump and I understand there are some higher priced pumps that are a lot quieter. It sounds like pumping the cold feed would be unnecessary seeing as the pressure is ok & to avoid pump going on for toilets & kitchen appliances.

I guess the highest outlet would be the en suite shower, upstairs, below the loft & I guess roughly 5 meters across & 1 meter down. Hope that's what you were asking?

I did a few tests for the water pressure - hot feed only:
Main bathroom shower head at highest point - 1.5L in 32.49s - 2.8L p/min
Main bathroom bath tap - 1.5L in 7.97s - 11.2L p/min
Main bathroom sink tap - 1.5L in 12.87s - 6.9L p/min
En suite shower at highest point - 1.5L in 29.45s - 3.1L p/min (although it only gets luke warm, presumably some cold is still being fed & adjustment needed with the fitting??)

I guess this clearly shows the main problem areas are the 2 showers due to height/hose/head presumably.

Here are a couple of pics of the showers:
En suite - https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4e7r0d7bs50iqu/2014-11-01 13.37.12.jpg?dl=0
En suite mixer - https://www.dropbox.com/s/e19jydimp2rjjfe/2014-11-01 13.37.18.jpg?dl=0
Main bathroom - https://www.dropbox.com/s/6pz7pbbov4qyk1g/2014-11-01 13.38.36.jpg?dl=0

Many thanks,
Kieren

 

[twgas]

The pipe from the top of the cylinder, does it slant down toward the tee, or is that an optical illusion?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Stuart turner pump fitted in air-in cupboard:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/stuart-turner-44424-positive-head-3bar/42415

Put a timer on it, so it only works between 6.30 and 11pm that way if you flush the toilet at 3am it wont wake up the small child.

I have the same pump and my little boy does not wake up when I have a shower and he's in the next room.

Andy

 

[BigMacRacing]

Thanks guys.

I see what you mean about optical illusion - I went to look and had to download a spirit level app onto my phone to check it!! It is level

Nice one for providing that link and good tip with the timer. So presumably that pump would be for hot and cold?

Any advice/steps/links that you can share for fitting please based on what you can see in the pics I've provided?

Cheers,
Kieren

 

[picasso]

Your gonna have to spend some money if you want reasonable pressure at all the taps and showers, have a look at getting an unvented cylinder installed if your mains pressure is up to it,

 

[BigMacRacing]

Thanks all for your help.

FYI, I've just started a new thread for help fitting the pump I have just purchased:
//www.diynot.com/diy/threads/help-to-fit-hot-water-pump.417679/#3241497