Pro's & Con's of putting a tank in the attic ?

[aquabunny]

Hi guys, anyone one know if there are any reasons/regulations against moving my hot water tank from a small upstairs bathroom up into a large attic ?

The previous 'normal' cold water tank was up there an I have loads of room, if I could move the new mains pressure unvented tank/filling loop/expansion vessel/pump etc up into the attic then the space in the bathroom could be used as a shower.

Obviously I will get a guy in to move it who knows what he's doing, and ensure the weight is a suitable load/spacing....but are there any regulations against doing so in principle? and from past experience, are there any common sense reasons why it's not a good idea ?

 

[kevplumb]

it will have to be in a place where you can get at it for servicing etc i assume you will be lagging all the pipework
chris r or dp will tell you about regs(aint got my ticket )
but cant see why not
hope this helps

 

[aquabunny]

Cheers !....a new shower cubicle !!!!

 

[ChrisR]

Have done it successfully. Major concern is freezing, everything has to be protected. COnsider electric heat-trace tapes on the pipes, as the boiler could pack up...

 

[TheLeester]

I would like to do the exact same thing, however I was put off by an earlier post. I cant remember who or when it was posted. Essentially it was a link to a story where by way of a sequence of failures, the hot water tank in the loft space started gushing hot water out of a leak. The water came down on the occupants who were in bed. One of them subsequently died of her injuries.

Are there any special features on unvented cyclinders that prevent catastrophic mains pressured leaks of hot water ?

 

[ChrisR]

Different animal.
The disaster mentioned was a plastic COLD water tank that ended up with hot water in it because of a fault and (obsolete) bad thermostat design.

Hot water cylinders are designed to cope with boiling water if it should ever happen. Unvented cylinders have minimum 3, usually 5, safety devices, so no need to worry. The 300 litre one comes to about 350kg full, though, so be generous with the timber!

 

[TheLeester]

Apologies if I got the wrong end of the stick. It was quite a scary story and I must have come to the conclusion that hot water in the loft was a bad thing. In light of these safety devices I will rethink my extension plans.

 

[ChrisR]

Unvented hot water tanks are great, but you do need good mains pressure and a decent incoming pipe with low enough resistance to allow good flow. CHeck it first!

 

[aquabunny]

OK...so tell me,..... the diagram of the smartline expansion vessel, safety valve, hot/cold mixer safety valve and pipework shows them all placed above the tank in a convienient position....... is this a requirement....i.e: does the vessel and valve have to be above the tank, or can they be placed some distance away from the tank provided the diagram configuration is followed?