One for the country folk

[Pipedream]

Good evening from darkest and deepest Wales.

I have a customer who has just bought a two bedroom two bathroom stone cottage and large out building which they are hoping to convert to a three bed two bathroom holiday let.

They have an oil fired range cooker / boiler, which they are not happy with.

They have a private water supply from a well about 200 metres away from and about 15 metres higher than the property.

The water source is a 2 metre deep, 1 metre wide well. The supply to the house is via 3/4 inch (I think) black plastic pipe and is not pumped.

The water enters the house and immediately reduces to 15mm copper. Someone has installed a Grundfoss House booster (looks just like a heating circulation pump.)

The pump serves the kitchen tap and fills the Cold Water Cistern which feeds all of the other cold taps. They have a small vented cylinder and as the cistern is only a couple of feet above the cylinder, the upstairs water pressure is poor. There is no space in the roof void for a bigger cistern. The customer has plans for the space the current cistern is occupying.

The pressure at the kitchen tap is about 0.8 bar and the flow rate is around 6 litres a minute.

They are keen to install an external oil fired system boiler and a large unvented cylinder with spare coils for solar and or heat pump in the future.

I have considered a submersible pump in the well with an expansion vessel in the house, however the well is on the other side of a public road with no obvious way of getting power to it. I am also not sure if a submersible pump would cope with the distance

I was thinking about finding a suitable location between the well and the house and putting in as large a tank as I can get in, preferably buried, upgrading the supply pipe from this tank to the house and pumping the water from the tank, again utilising an expansion vessel.

My logic is that this intermediate tank will act as extra storage which can be topped up from the well, whilst allowing sufficient pressure / flow to allow the customer to benefit from unvented

Any one any thoughts / ideas particularly on supplier for such items particularly the tank.





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[ecowarm]

I'm thinking the supply pipe 3/4" needs to be bigger but look here give them a ring, they know everything about pumps and pumping

 

[SimonJohns]

I would say that all you need to do is boost the supply from the tank in loft

But speak to Grundfos. Even get them there for a site visit and they will spec it all for you

 

[ecowarm]

I would say that all you need to do is boost the supply from the tank in loft

But speak to Grundfos. Even get them there for a site visit and they will spec it all for you

Simon they want an unvented cylinder

 

[SimonJohns]

Ok. But if the supply is poop. Use the current cwsc. Boost it to say 3bar. And robs your mothers brother. No need to alter the pump in well or major alterations to pipe work

 

[dontknowitall]

We have a bore hole and pressure/flow rate is pathetic - our's is pumped up to the cistern in the loft with a float valve.

Our neighbours have a bore hole and their pressure and flow rate is perfectly acceptable. They have a second pump at the edge of the house and while the hot water is supplied via the cistern the cold is on demand from the pump and makes a great difference.

 

[ecowarm]

And if the cistern is 20 gallon? how long is that going to last

 

[dontknowitall]

I must admit that when it comes to outdoor plumbing I tell people to go to WB and AD Morgans as they know what they're doing (and I'm not 100% sure).

Here's the link:

Water well drilling, boreholes and private water supply providers, WB+AD Morgan

 

[SimonJohns]

Ok. I'll shut up. I did suggest getting Grundfos there to spec system.

 

[snowhead]

There's something wrong with the Home booster if you only get 0.8 bar at the tap, I'd expect that pressure directly from the water source.

My Son has a private water supply, with a 70mtr head over the property, the incoming pressure to the property is over 6bar and the water travels 750mtrs to get there thro a 32mm OD mdpe pipe.