Update
So he came and did the work. I asked him to take measurements and we saw the below. I didn't take all the ones requested as he wasnt intirely in mood to faf about, and not sure how much difference it would have made given that he was on site to do the job anyway.
Direct from mains
Flow rate: 24L per min
Pressure: 2.4 bar
Flow rate AFTER the water softner: 14L per min
Mains incoming pipe: 15mm > this extended into loft space then converted into 22mm into the unvented tank
So it seems that the water softner (water2buy W2B200) was responsbile for a lot of flow / pressure loss. After testing and discussing, it was case of either removing the water softner and wasting £350 + the labour i paid to fit and gain better flow; but still not the amazing shower pressure that I was used to, and still have potential issues when mutiple outlets open, or, go ahead and install the tank and pump anyway and elminate any issues pre-emptivley.
I opted for the later, as this way, i'd have a 300L store of softened hot AND cold water and wouldnt have to worry about loss of pressure with multiple outlets open. It was an expensive solution / addition, but I think i'm happy with it. I need to actually use everything properly in the real world, but from what I played with for about 5 minutes, It seemed like I had both showers pumped (awesome pressure), and every outlet open with decent flow (i'll confirm this again when I have more time to go around and open everything and flush all the toilets at once. Had I never had the water softener installed, i do question If I would have just settled with the output but.... it is what it is and its done now.
I notice that I hear the pump run for a minute or two each time the hot outlet was open (I think as it was refilling the hot unvented tank), but the pump is pretty quiet and it seems like a small price to pay for the solution. Obviously I expect the pump to run for longer when showering, but again, its pretty damn quiet so it's not so bad.
Here's a few pics of the install. He ran out of 15mm pipe lagging but i'm picking some up after work and i'll do this myself as its a 10 minute job. I've got Kingspan coming in to inspect the unvented tank install still on Friday to validate the warranty - so i'm hoping everything is ok and that the set up I now have is up to scratch.
1 thing he did moan about was that online or in the manual i think it said that it was a 3/4 inch fitting but it was actually a 1inch fitting (or the other way around - not sure) - so he had to make up an adaptor.
Thanks again @ShaunCorbs
I'll let you know how things go.
Happy to hear any comments, questions or feedback from what you can see in the pictures.
[automerge]1578410052[/automerge]
Digging a trench wasnt an option unfortanatly.
So he came and did the work. I asked him to take measurements and we saw the below. I didn't take all the ones requested as he wasnt intirely in mood to faf about, and not sure how much difference it would have made given that he was on site to do the job anyway.
Direct from mains
Flow rate: 24L per min
Pressure: 2.4 bar
Flow rate AFTER the water softner: 14L per min
Mains incoming pipe: 15mm > this extended into loft space then converted into 22mm into the unvented tank
So it seems that the water softner (water2buy W2B200) was responsbile for a lot of flow / pressure loss. After testing and discussing, it was case of either removing the water softner and wasting £350 + the labour i paid to fit and gain better flow; but still not the amazing shower pressure that I was used to, and still have potential issues when mutiple outlets open, or, go ahead and install the tank and pump anyway and elminate any issues pre-emptivley.
I opted for the later, as this way, i'd have a 300L store of softened hot AND cold water and wouldnt have to worry about loss of pressure with multiple outlets open. It was an expensive solution / addition, but I think i'm happy with it. I need to actually use everything properly in the real world, but from what I played with for about 5 minutes, It seemed like I had both showers pumped (awesome pressure), and every outlet open with decent flow (i'll confirm this again when I have more time to go around and open everything and flush all the toilets at once. Had I never had the water softener installed, i do question If I would have just settled with the output but.... it is what it is and its done now.
I notice that I hear the pump run for a minute or two each time the hot outlet was open (I think as it was refilling the hot unvented tank), but the pump is pretty quiet and it seems like a small price to pay for the solution. Obviously I expect the pump to run for longer when showering, but again, its pretty damn quiet so it's not so bad.
Here's a few pics of the install. He ran out of 15mm pipe lagging but i'm picking some up after work and i'll do this myself as its a 10 minute job. I've got Kingspan coming in to inspect the unvented tank install still on Friday to validate the warranty - so i'm hoping everything is ok and that the set up I now have is up to scratch.
1 thing he did moan about was that online or in the manual i think it said that it was a 3/4 inch fitting but it was actually a 1inch fitting (or the other way around - not sure) - so he had to make up an adaptor.
Thanks again @ShaunCorbs
I'll let you know how things go.
Happy to hear any comments, questions or feedback from what you can see in the pictures.
[automerge]1578410052[/automerge]
At the tap with no flow the pressure would be zero (or worse!) so I hope that is upstairs. If its 5 m above kitchen tap you can be sure the dynamic pressure is less than 0.5Bar at the kitchen tap.
What is the flow from kitchen tap only, with softener, and with softener bypassed? All you need is a bucket and a timer to measure this now and it is VITAL information. Maybe a new mains supply pipe wouldn't cost much more than your plans if you can dig a trench.
Digging a trench wasnt an option unfortanatly.
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