Moving Hot Water cylinder into loft space / solar cylinder

[Megahertz]

Hello guys,

I'm about to undertake quite an ambitious job but I think it will be worth it in the end. Apologies if this turns out to be a long post.

We live in a big old victorian semi, which has been knocked about a lot - it was two flats at one point, and a residential home in the past too. The water pressure to the bath and shower is pretty poor, I think due to old pipework and a poor design which has been bodged many times in the past.

I'm proposing to put a new 100 gal coffin water tank in the loft, and a new hot water cylinder beneath it. I can get the base of the tank at least 2.5 metres above the bottom of the cylinder.

We have a shower on the ground floor, and a bath with shower above on the first floor - pressure in both is lower than we'd like. We're also getting an ensuite shower to one of the first floor bedrooms. We'd also like to increase the pressure on the bath taps.

So, first question is - can I use a shower pump (one which does hot and cold) on the outlet from the cylinder - in other words all the hot taps (and the cold on the bath) from the pump? This would mean that every hot tap in the house would be fed from the pump. Or do I need to use the pump ONLY on the showers and take a seperate feed to the washbasins and bath?

Second question - I'd quite like to put solar panels on the roof to heat the hot water, although we need to wait till we've had the roof done (about 3 years from now probably) before I can put the panels on. However, is it worth me getting a solar compatible cylinder (ie one with two coils) and connecting both coils up to the boiler for now?

I know a lot of people don't like solar systems for heating, but it's something I'd like to do in the future. We've a big family and we get through a lot of hot water!

Thanks guys.

 

[muggles]

Have you considered an unvented cylinder, or is your mains pressure too poor for this? Something like an OSO Super S

 

[Megahertz]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. The mains pressure in the area is not great - in fact it's as much as the water can do to haul itself up into the loft and trickle into the cold water storage tank. That's why I'm going to fit the biggest tank I can get (100 gallons) and use a pump!

 

[mysteryman]

Fit the cold storage tank as high as you can. Size the pipework correctly, probably 28mm draw offs for the cylinder and tank fed cold taps. Choose quality gravity showers - you really do not need pumps as well. You can get more than enough hot water for your ablutions without a pump.