why do homes need water header tanks?

[sooey]

I posted a reward recently for the first who can give me a reasonable/realistic advantage that open vent rubbish offers over mains/sealed.

Apart from the obvious of complying with water regs in certain situations,
Being capable of being pumped to various outlets simultaneously, which will outperform virtually any combi. There's always the advantage that the tank is somewhere for a burst when you're caught short in the loft.

 

[obiplumbkinobi]

'Put a lid on it'

I believe that the expansion vessel on the non bubble type Unvented can harbour bacteria...

 

[obiplumbkinobi]

Or for emptying the F&E tank

 

[obiplumbkinobi]

As A DIYER, I think the idea is a good one, provided that the pros don't disagree with each other on the DIYers page and create long discussions thus creating confusion among us amateurs.

 

[Axel]

In my earlier years of learning experience, I borrowed the clients Maglite to use in their loft. Dropped it into the tank. It was a huge zinc shared tank in block of flats. Had to strip off and get into freezing winter cold water to retrieve it!

Other disadvantage - most old gate valves on old tanks are knackered - either won't turn off completely, or get stuck permanently closed before wheelhead goes onto free spin.

Some tanks are build into lofts with access holes smaller than tank itself.

Vented H/W cylinders with faulty immersion element stats have been known to fill plastic tanks with boiling water leading to collapse and fatal scalding.

Easier to fit 15mm pipe than 22mm (pressure vs flow rate)

More space in Loft without tank - later loft conversion will be cheaper.

When everyone gets water meters, might make sense to store rainwater and groundwater in ground level tank and pump it for use in bath, when things get desperate...

Megaflo cylinders have a habit of regularly pushing H/W pressure in pipes up to 10 Bar, leading to intermittent leaks of 3/4 inch hand-tight plastic washing machine hose connections and Y adaptors. Unique patented Floating Baffle $hite.

 

[bengasman]

Remind me what your qualifications/experience are/is to dismiss that out of hand?

Can you remind me of what your qualifications are that enables you to dismiss gravity stored water out of hand?
OOh let me guess you are corgi registered or to be more specific a "gasman" who services boilers.
But no experience with installation of h&c water systems.
Oh dear..
There's four solutions to the question I posed earlier and you were unable to propose a single one.

Nuff said...

I really think you need to brush up on your reading skills; I have repeatedly stated that I choose not to get involved in vented cylinders because I see them as uneconomic, unhygienic and inconvenient for domestic use.
There is nothing complicated in sticking a tank in a loft and feeding a cylinder from it; any half clever first year student can do it by simply following the book.

 

[bengasman]

I have never really looked into the legal nitty gritty, as there is nothing to be gained from it.
?

Then why don't you do so, instead of wasting everyone's time with your inane drivel. In fact, you don't need to bother because I can tell you where it is to be found. It is here;

http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consumerissues/rightsresponsibilities/waterpressure/prs_faq03_pressstandards


Your link has nothing to do with regs, it is guide for the consumer, and it didn't take a lot of reading to find contradictions as well.

However, where there is smoke, one usually finds fire, and it wouldn't be the first time that regs/legislation on a subject could be widely avoided by seeking cover using other regs/addendums/interpretations and what have you.


As for looking into nitty gritty of who is responsible, freeholder/watersupplier/leaseholder, that is wholly different from day to day stuff as it has to be done by the client, not by me.

 

[holty]

dont know about london etc. but round these parts theres still alot of old solid fuel back boilers, so a no no to unvented,then theres bore holes with breaker tanks etc.think alot are missing the point that cws tanks will be about as long as theres these components. also try telling an oap that you can pay say 400 for a cylinder change (direct) or pay 4 times as much for an unvented.then look an idiot when there not that impressed with the flow/presure, due to insuficient mains.point on the matter is non are right and non are wrong.if everone on this forum did a job together it would be chaos. more time arguing than doing.

 

[heytesto]

Yeeha!!

Great thread, kept me up late!

Bottom line is, every job must be designed on it's own merits. I suspect Bengasman has only worked in areas where there is bountiful water supply pressures. Sadly the UK is not all like that.

Stored water and open vented systems are often the only option, I think Norcon and others have made this absolutely clear.

 

[RigidRaider]

I was brought up in a doctor's house in rural Oxfordshire that was built in 1930. It had a pump house with a terrifying electric pump over a borehole (chalk ground) and a massive zinc-plated tank in the attic. I expect that when houses like this were built private water supplies were The Latest Thing and British builders, plumbers and architects got into the habit of installing a big safe tank in the attic to store lots of water for those new luxurious bathrooms that people wanted.

Now we have to put up with nasty European-inspired MAINS pressure water for Gawd's sake - fine when things are good but like Johnny Foreigner it's unreliable and soon fades away when the demand is on or something goes wrong at the waterworks.

Give me a tank any day.

 

[Onetap]

Yeeha!!

Great thread, kept me up late!

Bottom line is, every job must be designed on it's own merits. I suspect Bengasman has only worked in areas where there is bountiful water supply pressures. Sadly the UK is not all like that.

Stored water and open vented systems are often the only option, I think Norcon and others have made this absolutely clear.

Agreed, they all have advantages and disadvantages and the installer has to make the best choice, depending on the circumstances. Sadly, many installers recommend systems that are inappropriate for the customer's situation, but which suit their own hidden agendas. Combi boilers have been, and are being, hugely mis-sold in this respect.

With regard to Bengasman's peculiar recommendations, consider this;

I don't have these problems, as I don't install open vented carp, but many people do. Have them, that is.

Don't have unvented papers myself; apart form tyre kickers, I have no demand for it. My mate can do them, but he never gets asked for them either.

Bengasman is a gas man, he doesn't do open vented cylinders and he can't do unvented. He installs combis.

I'm off to earn some beer tokens since Bengasman clearly isn't going to buy me that pint I earned.