Mains water pump

[drood]

I am helping a friend install a shower - but he has a weird system. His cold water comes off the mains, and his hot is fed directly from an instantaneous water heater with no tank for storage. I suggested an instantaneous electric shower which only requires cold water, but in the summer the water pressure from the mains drops too low (he thinks) for this option.

We have considered installing a pump where the mains enters the house to improve pressure all round, since you can't install a typical shower pump directly to the mains. What sort of pump would I need for this and where can I get one?

Many thanks.

 

[oilman]

.......... but he has a weird system. His cold water comes off the mains,.........

Sure is wierd. You mean there's no well? Wow!

........in the summer the water pressure from the mains drops too low (he thinks).........

You had better measure it then, otherwise you may be solving a problem that doesn't exist.

 

[AlanE]

And you are NOT permitted to pump mains water.

Alan

 

[drood]

I was hoping for some help from somebody with a brain... better find a better board. If the first two posters need help with comprehension skills, I suggest a course at your local college.

 

[oilman]

drood, you have given minimal amount of information, and yet you appear to expect an almost magical solution to your problem.

Neither I nor AlanE have trouble with comprehension.

I suggested you measure the water pressure in the summer, since your friend "thinks" it is low. When you KNOW, you can use the information to make a decision. (You also point out your friend has a wierd system in that it comes off the mains. Where do you think water comes from (in most cases) if it is not off the mains? and an unvented hot water system is common too....direct from the mains.)

AlanE pointed out that it is illegal to install a pump directly onto the main supply after you asked what sort of pump you can use to increase the mains pressure.

I would ask who is it that has comprehension difficulties?

While you are measuring the pressure, measure the flow rate as well. You will probably need these two pieces of information for when you ask the same question on your next bullitin board. Try www.plumbingpages.com, they are fairly straight with their answers, and very knowledgable.

 

[drood]

Oilman, it's not what you said that I have a problem with, it's the sarcasm that accompanied your statements. I know full well that cold water comes directly from the mains, but few people still use a 30 year old instantaneous boiler to heat all their hot water, with no storage. I understand that modern unvented systems are now common, but this is not one of them. I know that pumps can be used on domestic water systems in certain situations. I thought that these boards were designed to help people out - not take the ****.

Sorry that I didn't give further details, but I did not expect a sarcastic and rude reply. Don't be surprised when you receive a sarcastic reply to a sarcastic statement.

Also apologies to AlanE - I did not intend to include his reply in my earlier post.

 

[AdamW]

Personally I thought it was always illegal to pump your mains water, but perhaps your water company could point you in the right direction? After all, they are responsible for your mains supply so they must know what you are allowed to do or not allowed to do with it. Who knows, they might even say "well, we were planning on turning the pumping station up a notch as of this summer".

Unfortunately I suspect that if the mains pressure is to blame then you will find that the only solution involves a hot water storage and a cold tank, feeding a pumped shower. Obviously that isn't ideal as it is fair bit of work and takes up space.

Let us know if you find out any more info about pumping mains water, especially if you find out that it can be done legally.

 

[oilman]

Drood, if you think my reply was sarcastic, and rude, how would you describe yours? It appears equal in both respects.

I am happy with the label of sarcastic, but I certainly hadn't intended my reply to be rude. If you had intended a particular style of response, maybe you needed to be more conventional in use of words. "an unusual system" would have a different tone to "a wierd system". You may not, of course, view the use of "wierd" as anything unusual, but to me "wierd" conjours up scenes of the unexplicable, magical, spells, haunted, rolling mists, etc..

The implication of your reply is that I haven't got a brain (fairly personal I would say). You are able to get information from this site for FREE! and contributors get no payment for providing it. If you write questions in the form that could be seen as amusing, you may get a reply in a form you had not expected, when you do,....well,.... that's life.

 

[drood]

Oilman,
Indeed,

if you think my reply was sarcastic, and rude, how would you describe yours? It appears equal in both respects.

I agree wholeheartedly. But my statement was a response to yours. If you can't take it, don't give it...

Anyway, my friend wants a powerful shower so he is going to have his system revamped with a new cold water cistern and hot water storage tank, pumped to a thermostatic mixer, similar to AdamW's suggestion, and he's getting a plumber to do it all. Without proper advice, we haven't got a chance.

Thanks to all for your interesting replies.

 

[AdamW]

After reading this thread last night I went on the Three Valleys Water website and read that they guarantee the water pressure to be at 1.5bar. Apparently summer demand is 23% higher than winter demand, hence the drop in pressure.

Perhaps when your friend gets the plumber in, they could get the plumber to flow/pressure test the mains supply before starting on the whole job, just to make sure there isn't something unseen reducing the pressure. You never know.

 

[oilman]

If you can't take it, don't give it...

Er... it seemed like you couldn't take it........

You still want advice for nothing though.

 

[AdamW]

I must say, Drood, you did jump up to Defence Condition 3 immediately at what was (as far as I could see) a jocular comment.

I doubt very much that Oilman was trying to insult you or make fun of you. You are a relatively new member to the forum, you should realise that there is already a rapport between the current members. They will often extend this to you, from their point of view it is being friendly. Plus DIY is usually a bit of a "masculine" subject (despite the "foreman" usually being a woman ). So there will be a certain amount of ball-bashing going on here too. It's a laugh!

I don't remember ever seeing Oilman insult anyone on this board, he is always a helpful and most agreeable chap.

So chill, Winston! And hope that you get more into DIY and become a regular poster here.

 

[drood]

Fair enough. As I write these replies I have moved from annoyed to comical to ridiculous. I think Oilman and I don't want the other to get the last word, and as AdamW points out, I am sure Oilman meant no real harm. He is right about one thing - I do want advice for free, isn't that the point of this forum? I regularly provide free advice on IT issues on other boards. I have got another question to post shortly, and will take any further remarks with good humour. Let's get back to the topic - I don't particularly want this bad feeling to go on and on...

Drood

 

[masona]

Welcome to the forum

 

[PaulAH]

I don't remember ever seeing Oilman insult anyone on this board, he is always a helpful and most agreeable chap.

Whaat? This is the man who accused me of being inebriated when posting. Oh well, I suppose he's got to harden up or he won't get Two Jags' job.