Hi,
I have recently replaced the kitchen tap with a mixer tap, but the result is far from what I was expecting. The flow of the hot water has diminished sensibly and mixing it with the cold water is all but easy.
The old tap was soldered directly to the pipes and as I am not comfortable with soldering I decided to cut them and use compression fittings. And since I was there I also fitted two isolating valves to make maintenance easier.
I suspect that (apart from the incompetence on my side) the problem is due to the fact that the number of isolating valves between the hot cylinder and the kitchen tap (four, I think) is responsible for the loss of flow and the last valve I added didn't help. Also, I have later realised that the tap is probably not designed for my heating system.
The heating system
I have got a hot water cylinder in a cupboard, a cold water tank and an expansion tank both in the loft, plus a gas boiler that is also used for the central heating.
The pressure and flow of the cold water is very high in every tap, so I am assuming that it is coming straight from the mains. The hot water pressure/flow is ok in 2 out of 3 mixer taps in the bathroom (I have got a bidet), but in the bath filler/shower is showing the same problems I have in the kitchen.
Is it possible that my heating system is gravity based and the pressure of the hot water simply is not enough to make some of the mixer taps work properly?
Any advice on how I could solve the problem?
Would a pressure equalising valve before each tap help?
Would I also need a pump for the hot water?
Would a pressure reducing valve in the cold mains help? I must admit that I quite like this idea, considering how many leaks I had to fix and the fact that I don't really need that much pressure.
Thanks for reading this far...
Paolo
I have recently replaced the kitchen tap with a mixer tap, but the result is far from what I was expecting. The flow of the hot water has diminished sensibly and mixing it with the cold water is all but easy.
The old tap was soldered directly to the pipes and as I am not comfortable with soldering I decided to cut them and use compression fittings. And since I was there I also fitted two isolating valves to make maintenance easier.
I suspect that (apart from the incompetence on my side) the problem is due to the fact that the number of isolating valves between the hot cylinder and the kitchen tap (four, I think) is responsible for the loss of flow and the last valve I added didn't help. Also, I have later realised that the tap is probably not designed for my heating system.
The heating system
I have got a hot water cylinder in a cupboard, a cold water tank and an expansion tank both in the loft, plus a gas boiler that is also used for the central heating.
The pressure and flow of the cold water is very high in every tap, so I am assuming that it is coming straight from the mains. The hot water pressure/flow is ok in 2 out of 3 mixer taps in the bathroom (I have got a bidet), but in the bath filler/shower is showing the same problems I have in the kitchen.
Is it possible that my heating system is gravity based and the pressure of the hot water simply is not enough to make some of the mixer taps work properly?
Any advice on how I could solve the problem?
Would a pressure equalising valve before each tap help?
Would I also need a pump for the hot water?
Would a pressure reducing valve in the cold mains help? I must admit that I quite like this idea, considering how many leaks I had to fix and the fact that I don't really need that much pressure.
Thanks for reading this far...
Paolo
