Water tank in loft no lid? New lid or new tank????

[Mojo12345]

Hi everyone been in my loft of the house I recently brought and realised the cold water storage tank has no lid????, what do I do I don’t know if the tank came with no lid or if the previous owner misplaced it, should I buy a new lid or make one out of something or should I get the whole tank replaced or can I buy a replacement lid for this tank?The tank looks like it has crusty toenails init or something like that, Any help or advice would be great thank you (added pictures)

 

[polesapart]

I think a new tank would be in order.

 

[muggles]

I've never come across one of these tanks with a purpose-made lid - if they have a lid at all, it's usually plywood.

If there's a lot of contamination in the tank, a replacement tank with a tight-fitting lid certainly wouldn't be a bad idea, although before you rush in you should maybe consider what other works you plan to do to the house. If there's a chance you might change over to a pressurised hot water system, for example, then buying a new tank would be a waste because you'l soon be throwing it away

 

[Tigercubrider]

I'd be tempted to just buy two sheets of foam insulation and make a two part lid that meets where the central pipe goes. It will be foam so won't rot

If you want to clean out the tank then use string to tie up the ballcock and run the water off, then soak up the remaining water with a sponge. It's probably just limescale

 

[Mojo12345]

Thanks for the advice

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

The whole lot needs insulating, cistern and pipework are extremely susceptible to freezing if left unprotected, particularly with the cistern on that platform. Personally I'd also be removing that redundant dead leg that fed the Feed and Expansion cistern, and strip out what copper you can from the redundant sections, and have a weigh in.

As Muggles has advised, if you are not planning on replacing the HW cylinder for the Unvented type, I'd replace the cistern with new, and fit the appropriate Byelaw 30 kit, which will include an air tight lid, and suitable insulation. Make sure platform is solid enough to support the weight, there's around 120kg of water there.

 

[Mojo12345]

Hi thanks for the advice would an invented hot water cylinder provide me with any advantage? Is it costly to in st all and maintain it is it better to stick with the vented type?

Also what’s the best type of bylaw 30 kit to fit could you please send me a link or example I searched but couldn’t find it thanks

 

[Mojo12345]

Would this be ok for a replacement cold water tank ???

https://www.screwfix.com/p/polytank-cold-water-tank-25gallon-uk-690-x-515-x-520mm/10500

 

[muggles]

Yes, perfect

 

[Burnerman]

Excuse me for sticking my neb in but I'm not sure the polystyrene insulation in the roof is a good move.....there needs to be an air gap behind the slates / tiles for ventilation?
John

 

[Mojo12345]

Thanks for the advice the previous owner of the property put it in, but the tiles have no backing felt behind them so I think that’s why they are there, am I able to fit felt in now, I suspect it would be difficult ?

 

[Burnerman]

Fitting felt in there means a roof tile strip, I'm afraid but your roof looks in good order so I'd leave well alone.....its not unusual, there are many older roofs like that. Your tiles have nibs to hook over the slaters laths so maintenance isn't too difficult either.
So long as air can ventilate below the tiles things should remain dry, but I've seen examples where cosywrap was packed tight in there and also spray foam - which both produced rafter rot
I'd go for 300+mm insulation above the ceiling, and thorough pipe lagging which includes the tanks.
John

 

[Mojo12345]

Thanks for the advice

 

[Tigercubrider]

you could staple something like tyvek under the rafters. Start at the top so that any water that does get in falls onto the sheet below.
It breathes and provides a wind barrier.