increasing hot water pressure to kitchen taps
Ian & Hilda Dedic
I have a gravity fed hot water system from a normal hot tank ch in the
upstairs bedroom (a long way away from the kitchen tap)
and the hot water takes ages to run, what's more is there is not enough
pressure to let the new spray tap work properly. Cold water is not a
problem.
can I fit a small pump to increase the hot water pressure?
If so where should I put it? I have two sinks one in the utility room
(ie the old kitchen) and one in my lovely new kitchen in the extension.
The hot water stop valve turns all hot water to taps off, so if I put it
near there it would increase the pressure all round.
Are there any items I should be wary of with the increase in pressure
ie hot feed to washing machine, hot tank bulging? CH hot water system
becoming upset?
what pump could I actually use?
thoughts and advice please,
(or could I get a spray tap which works better with low pressure hot water?)
thanks in advance
dedics
Bob Mannix
news:6aho4bF...@mid.individual.net...
> Hi guys,
> I have a gravity fed hot water system from a normal hot tank ch in the
> upstairs bedroom (a long way away from the kitchen tap)
> and the hot water takes ages to run, what's more is there is not enough
> pressure to let the new spray tap work properly. Cold water is not a
> problem.
>
> can I fit a small pump to increase the hot water pressure?
>
> If so where should I put it? I have two sinks one in the utility room (ie
> the old kitchen) and one in my lovely new kitchen in the extension.
>
> The hot water stop valve turns all hot water to taps off, so if I put it
> near there it would increase the pressure all round.
>
> Are there any items I should be wary of with the increase in pressure
> ie hot feed to washing machine, hot tank bulging? CH hot water system
> becoming upset?
The pump would be between the tank and the taps, most likely near the valve
you mention. It won't cause problems behind it and will only come on when
water is called for. It will be fiddly to fit and a potential surce of leaks
and breakdown and will be noisy. OTOH you'll get pressure!
A good make and something which would (probably) be quieter than the usual
shower pumps might be:
http://www.inspiredheating.co.uk/acatalog/GRUNDFOS_HOME_BOOSTER.html
The fact that the "new spray" tap doesn't work indicates to me it is a
pressure problem in taps designed for high pressure operation, rather than a
flow problem. Were it just a flow problem and were all the piping done in
15mm, you might improve things by going to 22mm - if you do that, remember
that the volume goes with the square of the radius (or diameter) of the pipe
but the flow rate goes with some power less than this. This means you get
more flow but it takes longer to run hot.
HTH
--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)
Bob Mannix
news:g20b60$d59$1...@south.jnrs.ja.net...
> "Ian & Hilda Dedic" <news....@dedics.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:6aho4bF...@mid.individual.net...
>> Hi guys,
>> I have a gravity fed hot water system from a normal hot tank ch in the
>> upstairs bedroom (a long way away from the kitchen tap)
>> and the hot water takes ages to run, what's more is there is not enough
>> pressure to let the new spray tap work properly. Cold water is not a
>> problem.
>>
>> can I fit a small pump to increase the hot water pressure?
>>
>> If so where should I put it? I have two sinks one in the utility room (ie
>> the old kitchen) and one in my lovely new kitchen in the extension.
>>
>> The hot water stop valve turns all hot water to taps off, so if I put it
>> near there it would increase the pressure all round.
>>
>> Are there any items I should be wary of with the increase in pressure
>> ie hot feed to washing machine, hot tank bulging? CH hot water system
>> becoming upset?
>
> The pump would be between the tank and the taps, most likely near the
> valve you mention. It won't cause problems behind it and will only come on
> when water is called for. It will be fiddly to fit and a potential surce
> of leaks and breakdown and will be noisy. OTOH you'll get pressure!
>
> A good make and something which would (probably) be quieter than the usual
> shower pumps might be:
>
> http://www.inspiredheating.co.uk/acatalog/GRUNDFOS_HOME_BOOSTER.html
>
Please note - although this looks like a central heating pump (and, in fact,
is one with some bits added) it is very likely that it MUST be mounted as
the picture shows, or the flow sensor won't work (actual central heating
pumps can be mounted anyway round, as long as the motor shaft is
horizontal). This may make a difference to the ease of fitting!
Roger Mills
Ian & Hilda Dedic <news....@dedics.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi guys,
> I have a gravity fed hot water system from a normal hot tank ch in the
> upstairs bedroom (a long way away from the kitchen tap)
> and the hot water takes ages to run, what's more is there is not
> enough pressure to let the new spray tap work properly. Cold water is
> not a problem.
>
I assume that the cold comes straight off the mains, and so is at mains
pressure.
> can I fit a small pump to increase the hot water pressure?
>
Yes.
> If so where should I put it? I have two sinks one in the utility room
> (ie the old kitchen) and one in my lovely new kitchen in the
> extension.
> The hot water stop valve turns all hot water to taps off, so if I put
> it near there it would increase the pressure all round.
>
It depends where the stop valve is! If it's between the cold header tank and
the hot cylinder (as is often the case) *don't* put it there 'cos it will
pressurise the hot cylinder, which is *very* bad.
> Are there any items I should be wary of with the increase in pressure
> ie hot feed to washing machine, hot tank bulging? CH hot water system
> becoming upset?
>
Put it close to the hot cylinder's hot *output* - then it won't pressurise
the cylinder but will boost *all* hot taps. It won't upset the primary
circuit used by the CH and by the coil inside the HW cylinder. It shouldn't
upset the washing machine - but you may have swap a low-pressure inlet
nozzle with a high pressure one. Read the washing machine manual!
> what pump could I actually use?
>
You need a pump designed for this purpose - with a built-in flow-switch so
as to turn on as soon as you open a tap. It probably needs bronze internals
since it is dealing with constantly changing oxygenated water - unlike a
central heating pump which is simply circulating the *same* water (hopefully
containing corrosion inhibitor) all the time.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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Ian & Hilda Dedic
>> The pump would be between the tank and the taps, most likely near the
>> valve you mention. It won't cause problems behind it and will only come on
>> when water is called for. It will be fiddly to fit and a potential surce
>> of leaks and breakdown and will be noisy. OTOH you'll get pressure!
>>
>> A good make and something which would (probably) be quieter than the usual
>> shower pumps might be:
>>
>> http://www.inspiredheating.co.uk/acatalog/GRUNDFOS_HOME_BOOSTER.html
>>
>
> Please note - although this looks like a central heating pump (and, in fact,
> is one with some bits added) it is very likely that it MUST be mounted as
> the picture shows, or the flow sensor won't work (actual central heating
> pumps can be mounted anyway round, as long as the motor shaft is
> horizontal). This may make a difference to the ease of fitting!
>
>
ok thanks for that, so it's the same size and shape as CH pump, I'll
have to see if I can actually find space to fit one.
I was hoping there would be a smaller sized solution more the size of a
washing machine pump.
dedics
Bob Mannix
That was one example, there may be other shapes but not many smaller IMHO.
Clealry this one is made by a central heating pump manufacturer so they have
modified what they have. It won't give a huge pressure but probably good
enough but should be quieter!
>
> I was hoping there would be a smaller sized solution more the size of a
> washing machine pump.
>
Well you might get a small one but it's unlikely to last as long. Your
choice!
Chris J Dixon
>ok thanks for that, so it's the same size and shape as CH pump, I'll
>have to see if I can actually find space to fit one.
>
>I was hoping there would be a smaller sized solution more the size of a
>washing machine pump.
>
Basic physics is your foe here Ian, a washing machine pump really
doesn't develop much head, and it would probably end in tears if
you gave one such a task.
Compared with the expensive engineering from Monsoon, which purrs
quietly in my garage to supply bath and shower, this Grundfos is
tiny and cheap.
Does your tap have a pull-out spray, or simply a spray nozzle? I
guess even if you can find a new tap, it could easily cost more
than the suggested pump.
Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
ch...@cdixon.me.uk
Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.
Ian & Hilda Dedic
> Ian & Hilda Dedic wrote:
>
>> ok thanks for that, so it's the same size and shape as CH pump, I'll
>> have to see if I can actually find space to fit one.
>>
>> I was hoping there would be a smaller sized solution more the size of a
>> washing machine pump.
>>
> Basic physics is your foe here Ian, a washing machine pump really
> doesn't develop much head, and it would probably end in tears if
> you gave one such a task.
>
> Compared with the expensive engineering from Monsoon, which purrs
> quietly in my garage to supply bath and shower, this Grundfos is
> tiny and cheap.
>
> Does your tap have a pull-out spray, or simply a spray nozzle? I
> guess even if you can find a new tap, it could easily cost more
> than the suggested pump.
>
> Chris
it's a franke pull out spray jobby....
we only really need a bit of a boost in hot pressure to this one tap,
the other mixers in the house seem fine so I wonder if looking at the
inner workings might be a possible way to go.
tap experts anyone?
(Definition of an expert:-)
an unknown quantity under a lot of pressure!)
dedics
Ben Willcox
I had the same problem, after buying an Ikea pull out spray type, which is
probably the most unsuitable tap possible for a low pressure hot water system!
I bought the Grundfos home booster pump, and while not perfect, it was a
better solution than buying a new tap as I had already fitted it to the sink!
Without the pump fitted, although the hot would run (very slowly), any amount
of mixing with the cold forced cold water backup the hot pipe and back into
the hot water cylinder. This is because of the pullout spray nozzle meaning
the mixing is done within the tap body rather than having separate hot and
cold channels exiting at the end of the tap.
So, in addition to the pump I fitted a single check valve to the hot pipe
under the sink. This was not without problems though, as this restricted the
flow too much so the pump did not trigger automatically! I removed the return
spring from the valve, and all is well.
The pump is totally silent in use, the only problem is that when you want to
run the hot, or mix with cold, it works best if you switch on the hot to full
until the pump comes on, then close down the flow and/or mix as necessary.
Luckily when I fitted the kitchen I installed mains sockets in the back of
every cupboard just for this type of eventuality, and so I installed the pump
in the cupboard under the sink.
Cheers,
Ben