why do homes need water header tanks?

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I often wonder why homes have water header tanks - why cant everything be served from mains supply?
 
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I often wonder why homes have water header tanks -?

They don't need them, it is a left over thing from the mid 20th century


why cant everything be served from mains supply?

They can.

It is simply a matter of: "we have always done it that way"
Which is then backed up/justified with examples like:
At least you have water if there is a mains problem (extremely rare)
Sometimes you don't have enough pressure for mains/combi. ( I come across this about once in every 2 or 3 years.)

In 99.99% of cases, a tank does more harm than good.
 
What about for a vented direct hot water cylinder? Mains?

But who wants an unvented cylinder in the 21st century?
Have you ever looked in the tanks that feed them? Disgusting, and you use that to brush your teeth and wash your face.
Unvented cylinders kill more people than gasincidents.
 
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why not mains?

In a nutshell, it's because vented cylinders need to have an open vent for safety reasons, and the pressure of the mains means you'd need a vent pipe 30 metres or more straight up! So a header tank is used to reduce the pressure.

bengasman, you say unvented, but I think you're talking about vented cylinders.
 
mogget thanks for confirming what i suspected
appreciate the concise informative reply
cheers
 
Nevertheless, I think it would be a good idea to find a pint, just in case that was the reason.
Better safe than sorry.
 
My uncle has a Vaillant ecoMAX plus 600 series system boiler and a 300 litre Range Tribune Unvented cylinder but he also has a cold water tank in the loft...could anyone explain to me why he has this and how does it work with an unvented cyclinder?
 
My uncle has a Vaillant ecoMAX plus 600 series system boiler and a 300 litre Range Tribune Unvented cylinder but he also has a cold water tank in the loft...could anyone explain to me why he has this and how does it work with an unvented cyclinder?

Is the tank connected to anything, or is it left over from the previous installation?
 
Apart from expansion, the main reason for storage tanks is just that, storage. The UK was the first country in the modern era to have a water mains system. 150 year old water sysems cannot deliver enough water for modern demands. Stored water was a way of smoothing out delivery over time.
 

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