Hi all,
I've got an installation in my house that is giving me (via my wife) some grief and I hope someone may have some pointers for me.
The set-up is a standard boiler (oil) feeding the normal copper cylinder in the airing cupboard plus the cold water tank in the loft. I have an en-suite with a thermostatic low pressure shower valve and a bathroom with a shower cubicle with another thermostatic shower valve there. The en suite is fed via standard low pressure and the other is fed by a Salamander pump. There are two 'issues' which I think are linked to a lack of hot supply but I would appreciate any advice...
We use the en suite very day and it's not brilliant flow but OK, however every few weeks the flow drops to just a dribble. I thinks it's a restriction of hot flow because on full cold the flow is great but on mixed 38C the hot is restricted somehow and because of the the thermostatic shower drops the flow down to only what it can delivery at 38C? I can't link any event to when it happens although I check the system pressure at the boiler (1Bar or just over for static pressure) and also I undo an air bleed in the loft but neither instantly seem to resolve the situation. After 2-3 days of using the bathroom shower the en suite will start to flow again OK.
The issue with the shower in the bathroom is that on start up it flows fine (on the Eco stop) but sometimes after a couple of minutes the flow stops and to kick start it again you can either go to 'full flow' on the handle, turn off and on again or strangely if you run the hot tap in the bathroom if seems to kick the pump into action. I want to correlate this also as a restriction of hot flow but is this correct? Does a pump need a certain flow to be able to pump the water faster. In the same bathroom we never seem to have any issue with the thermostatic bath filler (higher flow?)
So, with one fed via gravity and one via a pump they both demonstrate a 'temporary' lack of mixed flow and I can't find exactly what is causing the issue.
As I understand it the pressure of the elevated cold water feeding the bottom of the tank pushes the hot out of the top (22mm out of the top with a 15mm branch to the shower) but there doesn't seem to be any restriction in cold supply. Also the system is not a new installation and has been in place 2-3 years
So, as a non-plumber (but did work for Vernet thermostatics for a few years) I'm looking for some advice before I proceed to find a plumber!
Many thanks,
Carl
I've got an installation in my house that is giving me (via my wife) some grief and I hope someone may have some pointers for me.
The set-up is a standard boiler (oil) feeding the normal copper cylinder in the airing cupboard plus the cold water tank in the loft. I have an en-suite with a thermostatic low pressure shower valve and a bathroom with a shower cubicle with another thermostatic shower valve there. The en suite is fed via standard low pressure and the other is fed by a Salamander pump. There are two 'issues' which I think are linked to a lack of hot supply but I would appreciate any advice...
We use the en suite very day and it's not brilliant flow but OK, however every few weeks the flow drops to just a dribble. I thinks it's a restriction of hot flow because on full cold the flow is great but on mixed 38C the hot is restricted somehow and because of the the thermostatic shower drops the flow down to only what it can delivery at 38C? I can't link any event to when it happens although I check the system pressure at the boiler (1Bar or just over for static pressure) and also I undo an air bleed in the loft but neither instantly seem to resolve the situation. After 2-3 days of using the bathroom shower the en suite will start to flow again OK.
The issue with the shower in the bathroom is that on start up it flows fine (on the Eco stop) but sometimes after a couple of minutes the flow stops and to kick start it again you can either go to 'full flow' on the handle, turn off and on again or strangely if you run the hot tap in the bathroom if seems to kick the pump into action. I want to correlate this also as a restriction of hot flow but is this correct? Does a pump need a certain flow to be able to pump the water faster. In the same bathroom we never seem to have any issue with the thermostatic bath filler (higher flow?)
So, with one fed via gravity and one via a pump they both demonstrate a 'temporary' lack of mixed flow and I can't find exactly what is causing the issue.
As I understand it the pressure of the elevated cold water feeding the bottom of the tank pushes the hot out of the top (22mm out of the top with a 15mm branch to the shower) but there doesn't seem to be any restriction in cold supply. Also the system is not a new installation and has been in place 2-3 years
So, as a non-plumber (but did work for Vernet thermostatics for a few years) I'm looking for some advice before I proceed to find a plumber!
Many thanks,
Carl
