Interesting one

[Adric]

Calling all you plumber types out there!

My house has an unusual feature, in that there are two 6" diameter pipes running thro it. These contain the hot water feed / return (I assume the second is return). For a fixed monthly fee, I get unlimited hot water from a communal hot water plant.

Been a 'leccy, and looking at my electric shower, I am wondering why on earth the previous owners fitted it when they could save a lot of electricity bills by putting in a less power hungry pump and a mixer system.

As far as I can tell, the hot water tank is behind a false wall which has the shower bolted onto the other side. There is no cold water tank.

I believe I should get the flow to the pump, but possibly not the pressure.

Do you reckon a pump / mixer shower would work in my house?

If it makes any difference, I have micro - bore central heating pipes, but I believe standard dia water pipes.

Cheers

Cymru am byth

 

[Softus]

...they could save a lot of electricity bills by putting in a less power hungry pump and a mixer system.

Er, what do you think such a "system" would be mixing?

There is no cold water tank.

To me, that sounds like a problem.

I believe I should get the flow to the pump, but possibly not the pressure.

If you have flow then why do you want pressure?

Do you reckon a pump / mixer shower would work in my house?

No.

If it makes any difference, I have micro - bore central heating pipes, but I believe standard dia water pipes.

What does "standard" mean to you?

 

[Agile]

Cymru am byth

"Wales forever"

Its a little difficult for me to understand exactly what you are asking apart from telling you have a district heating system.

Tony

 

[Softus]

Do you reckon a pump / mixer shower would work in my house?

Its a little difficult for me to understand exactly what you are asking apart from telling you have a district heating system.

Really? Is it that difficult?

 

[Nige F]

bath deck mixer shower depends how high up the mountain the feed cistern/reservoir is.......

 

[Agile]

The district heating system is a heat only to feed radiators and an indirect coil in a cylinder.

Any shower will be dependent on the cold water input to the cylinder. He has not given any details of that so we cannot reach any conclusion.

I would not expect any problem but as always the usual answer is that if he is not sure he should consult a competent plumber who can examine the system and advise.

Tony

 

[Softus]

...the usual answer is that if he is not sure he should consult a competent plumber who can examine the system and advise.

Sometimes I wonder why you bother posting Agile. The OP has come here for advice. If you can't work out what he's asking, and can't be bothered to find out more about his system, then why post anything?

 

[Adric]

Sorry gents, been busy at work and stuff.

The thinking behind it all was that if I have a 10kW shower (for example) and a 2kW pump then each shower I have will save 8kW and be a bit stronger!

I cannot see a cold water tank anywhere in my house, so not sure whats going on there. The hot water tank is deffo the hot water tank, as it is warm to the touch. Am unsure of exactly how the systems works, but I do know there is a pretty good amount of both hot and cold water coming from the taps, and that the hot water does not run out (i.e. go cold)...

I know what you are saying about getting a competent plumber around (I am an eleccy and its always the best advice to get someone to see it) but was after a few tests / checks I could do here before I part with cash...

Cheers y'all!

Cymru am byth

 

[Agile]

Well I suppose you could treat it like an electric circuit and trace it out and draw a circuit diagram and post it here for us to see.

I think a 2 kW pump might be a little large! Its almost 3 horsepower and the horses leave their droppings on the carpet.

Its always possible you might have a cylinder powered off the mains. You could prove that by measuring the pressure at every tap in the house and telling us and we will interpret the results. If you dont have a pressure gauge then...

Tony

 

[doitall]

Normal setup for communal systems, would be a break tank in the plant room with pump supplies to the units, including an unventing cylinder or store.

Installing another pump would therefore be a non starter, and in any case the pressure/flow/volume should be acceptable as is.

The best plan would be to consult the building management.

 

[Paul Barker]

As your a sparks I hope you have recognised the need to main bond these two 6" pipes.

 

[baxpoti]

Been a 'leccy

Never heard sparkys, call themselves leccys (ies)?

Is this a Welsh thing?

 

[Biggles..]

'leccy' used to be a term used in the aircraft industry.

 

[Adric]

The plural for "leccy" is "leccuim" by the way, as in "a gaggle of leccuims!".

I was eyeing up a larger than normal pump after putting up with weedy showers for far too long... no worries about the bonding, I keep my 16th edition on site guide and part p regs close to heart at all times, right next to my bible. And if you believe that...

As far as consulting the buidling management, me and the offending city council have never seen eye to eye, and what they don't know wont hurt them and all that.

I will draw a circuit diagram of the waterworks, so watch this space... cheers for all the help so far!

 

[Adric]

Having trouble getting drawing to appear here... help?