Old hot water tank very noisy when refilling

[japher]

I have just moved in to a new flat which has (as far as I can tell) a pretty dated central heating and hot water system. The boiler is a Potterton Netaheat 10-16, with a seperate hot water tank.

The good news is, it's very well behaved with no squeeling from the pipes or banging noises etc when the heating comes on. The boiler seems to be working without any problems at all . There is, however, one problem with using the hot water:

The tank has a ball-cock inside to allow it to let in cold water as we use up the hot. Unfortunately, the inlet is well above the water level so the filling noise is incredibly loud (water flowing noise from the pipes and loud sloshing of water entering the tank). We live in a ground floor flat and the neighbours seem to be rather sick of the noise .

We're currently refurbishing the bathroom and were hoping to replace our cheap & nasty looking electric shower with a stylish thermostatic valve type that runs off the hot water. At the moment though, there is no way we could have this refilling noise going on for 20 minutes whilst someone is in the shower .

Are there any special valves on the market that can replace this simple ball-cock affair with something a bit more high-tech and (most importantly) a bit quieter?!

Thanks in advance,
Joe

 

[fitz1]

is there not a lid on it.

 

[Nige F]

There is a valve called an equilibrium ball valve...............get a brass one , not a plastic "torbeck" or similar placcy ones........or try a pressure reducing valve on the incoming mains water ,and a new part 2 normal ballvalve in tank .....second option is probably the cheaper of the two....I`ll now wait for the howls that placcy valves are ok. HTH

 

[japher]

Thanks for the advice on the valve.

One of the fundamental problems is the fact that the water actually comes in above the level of the existing water, so it's basically splashing down. Is it acceptable to just attach a piece of pipe to my replacement valve, so that the water then enters below the water level (and hopefully silently)?

 

[Softus]

fitz1 makes a good point.

Also, if everything that should be lagged was lagged, then the noise would not be obtrusive.

 

[fitz1]

cheers softus. at least someone recognises im alive.

 

[Softus]

cheers softus. at least someone recognises im alive.

Join a small club fitz1!

I've got accustomed to being ignored. It seems that hitting the nail on the head isn't what people like to read about.