Why do I have a Third Tank in Loft?

[PaddyBourne]

In the process of trying to understand my installation to solve the other post I tried yesterday, I tracked the various pipes into the loft.

I have the normal large cold water tank and the much smaller expansion / filler tank for the heating.

I also have a third tank, the am esize as the big cold water tank. This has no ballcock and only one pipe connected into the bottom of it which I cant track further than the void between the bedroomm floor and the downstairs ceiling.

Has anyone any clues as to why I might have this third tank?

 

[tomy]

it is there to double up the size of your main cold tank to give you better hot water performance, the pipe will link it to your other cold tank .

 

[PaddyBourne]

Would'nt that have the pipe from this third tank connected to the same pipe that goes into the bottom of the cylinder (cold feed from what I have read).

My cylinder is perfectly visible in the airing cupboard and only the one pipe goes into it from the bottom of the main cold water tank.

Also, this third tank has no ballcock, so how does it fill?

I will go back in the loft and ensure there is no connection from the third tank to the main cold tank sat next to it.

 

[Bambergaspipe]

Would'nt that have the pipe from this third tank connected to the same pipe that goes into the bottom of the cylinder (cold feed from what I have read).

My cylinder is perfectly visible in the airing cupboard and only the one pipe goes into it from the bottom of the main cold water tank.

Also, this third tank has no ballcock, so how does it fill?

I will go back in the loft and ensure there is no connection from the third tank to the main cold tank sat next to it.

Sounds a strange setup, you can link up 2 header tanks if supplying a larger than average house but both tanks would have float valves more info required I think on this one.

 

[gas4you]

The 2 tanks will be linked with usually 22mm copper pip at the bottom, Only one tank will have a ball valve and this fills both tanks similtaneously.

The cold feed to your hw cylinder should come from the tank WITHOUT the ball valve. This is to stop the water stagnating in one tank.

 

[Bambergaspipe]

The 2 tanks will be linked with usually 22mm copper pip at the bottom, Only one tank will have a ball valve and this fills both tanks similtaneously.

The cold feed to your hw cylinder should come from the tank WITHOUT the ball valve. This is to stop the water stagnating in one tank.

Which is absolutely correct, I was thinking about more than one cistern supplying a manifold to feed a number of appliances where one can be isolated, normally in larger buildings, completely wrong , of course.

 

[PaddyBourne]

As predicted, there is a 22mm pipe connecting the two tanks, effectively making them one big tank. This was hidden by the insulation surrounding the two tanks so I hadn't seen it before.

Now the bad news - the cold feed to the cylinder definately comes from the tank with the ballcock, not the other one. The one without the ballcock certainly "smells" less fresh - ie noticably less chlorine so I might have a "stagnation" problem, if this is something to worry about It has been like that since the builders built it some seven years ago - Jerry I think his name was........or was it Beazer?

In addition to the link pipe between the two big tanks, there is still a pipe which goes from the second tank, down through the airing cupboard, past the cylinder, into the floorboards and then I lose sight of it - could this be some feed to the boiler as it has me confused - it does have a stopcock on it, as does the feed from the ballcock tank which goes into the bottom of the HW cylinder.

Sorry if this is a bit rambling but I think I understand all the other pipework I can see.

Thanks

Paddy

 

[Bambergaspipe]

Could be connected to nothing. open all your taps, see if the water in the stagnated tank moves, sounds to me as though it`s a tank that has been set up for something you ain`t using, may be a tank full of useless ,stagnant water.

 

[fumb]

Turn off the stopcock and see what taps stop

Start with the bath cold tap

 

[PaddyBourne]

Again as predicted by Fumb, the pipe does indeed go to every cold tap in the house except for the kitchen tap which is connected to the cold main (I think).

Similarly the toilet cisterns are fed from it so it is the main cold-water feed for most of the house.

In my previous house everything was connected to the pressure main with no tank so I had assumed that that was the norm.

Thanks everyone for clearing that up, now if I can only get the radiators to heat up...................

All the best

Paddy