Accumulator or Break Tank

[GeorgeBramwell]

Certain makes of accumulator are available with a insulating jacket. They can be sited outside, they will need a shed or similar.

We succesfully buried one last year.

You can also boost them with a charger pumpset, to lift the pressure to 3 or 4 bar. I have photos of such installations if you email me.

Break tanks are old hat and best avoided. There is very little justification for fitting such things in domestic environments where periodic bacterial protection is unlikely to be considered. Especially in this hot weather. Not to mention the noise.

I agree, breaks tanks and pumps set are old hat if the static cold main pressure is fine then accumulators are hard to beat.

What are the details of the charging pump setup?

For interest, who makes the pre-insulated accumulators?

You buried an accumulator? Sounds good. Was it stainless steel? How do you get to it for maintenance?

 

[simond]

Accumulators are available in a GRP format from GAH for this type of application.

The boosted equipment and insulation comes from Trentcylde.

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

Accumulators are available in a GRP format from GAH for this type of application.

The boosted equipment and insulation comes from Trentcylde.

Thanks. It was thinking if I ever needed to do this. Using a cheap stainless steel cylinder (maybe an unvented with the controls taken off, this could be buried under the ground upside down to eliminate the dead section at the bottom, which may accumulate debris. Cold in the bottom cold out of the top. Use plastic piping and wrap joints. Fill in around the cylinder using gravel to keep water away from the cylinder. It then needs no servicing staying under the ground. Above ground on the feed to the cylinder have a tee and fit a suitably sized potable water expansion vessel, that is accessible for maintenance. Obviously a check valve at the main tap. The expansion vessel would force the water out of the cylinder and be smaller than an accumulator.

 

[fatplumber]

So what's the layout for a domestic accumulator? I've only fitted big boogers in industrial settings.

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

So what's the layout for a domestic accumulator? I've only fitted big boogers in industrial settings.

Generally it is best to fit a check valve at the stoptap. Before the check valve you may want to have the kitchen tap teed off here. From the stop tap run 22mm pipe to the combi, thermal store or unvented cylinder. Off this pipe tee in and run 22mm pipe to the accumulator. Done.

When the main is poor and cannot be upgraded because of cost or the mains are so bad, fitting an accumulator and a high flow combi works very well. You still have a cylinder and boiler. But the cylinder (accumulator) can be anywhere, in the garage, in a shed, etc, so more flexibility.