Gravity fed hot water and a pump

[custardpie]

Hi,

Where to start...

We have a gravity fed system which has no hot water pressure at all. To make do I installed a shower pump in the en-suite so we could at least have a shower and that has worked fine for the last 5 years.

A couple of months ago British Gas replaced the hot water cylinder due to a small leak so while they were there I asked if it was feasible to fit a pump to the system (not them do it, just was it an option) to which they said NO, not recommended at all.

Seemed a bit strange as it doesn’t seem that much different from the shower pump, but hey they are the experts.

More research leads me to think it is an option as I have found a number of posts and references to doing just that, even found that something like the Stuart Turner Monsoon single booster pump to do the job.

So my first question is, is what I am thinking completely ludicrous as BG say or a suitable solution? (replacing the system is not an option at the moment)

Second, if I did go ahead with the plan, how would the Plummer install it? The tank has an inlet at the bottom, outlet in the middle, a capped outlet near the top and the ‘overflow’ on the top.

Would he need to divert off the outlet halfway up (which seems the most logical and minimum work) or something else? The pump manual seems to refer to the very top connection.

Thanks in advance.

M.

 

[picasso]

Sounds like you have a fortic tank/cylinder, if so you cant pump the supply to it as you cant pump the supply to any vented cylinder.

 

[terryplumb]

Sounds like you have a fortic tank/cylinder, if so you cant pump the supply to it as you cant pump the supply to any vented cylinder.

Isnt it the hot water distribution that the op wants to fit a pump to ,so all taps / outlets have pumped pressure ?

 

[picasso]

Could be

 

[custardpie]

Sorry yes I want to pump the hot water to the taps/showers, not the feed to the tank.

 

[terryplumb]

Can you post a pic of your hot water cylinder ?

 

[custardpie]

Thanks Terry, here it is.

 

[terryplumb]

Cheers ,i see no sign of your existing shower pump so its either been stripped out , or in a remote position. The hot water distribution is from the top of the tank and combines with the vent pipe.the pipes lower down are the flow and return from your boiler ,and go through a coil inside the tank. There is a capped off tapping higher up near the label ( which i can't read ) but is invariably a connection for a shower supply .the supply of hot water to a shower pump needs to be free of air ,so it should be via a special flange on the cylinder ideally ,but yours apparently isnt. But the capped off tapping is an option. I can see no reason why you couldnt introduce a booster pump to improve your hot taps pressure.