What the hell is this tank in my roof space??

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › What the hell is this tank in my roof space??

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blackjack17

1705 posts

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#830185 3-Jun-2013 19:20

joker97: We actually have to shower under a kid's pee

ewww

Hope that kid has been drinking plenty of water

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Mad Scientist
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#830201 3-Jun-2013 19:49

I thought it's sterile?

1080p

1332 posts

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#830210 3-Jun-2013 20:14

joker97: I thought it's sterile?

Yup. You should drink yours.

Hammerer

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#830331 4-Jun-2013 10:24

joker97:But the kitchen cold is slower and i cant believe i drank from that crap. I guess the roof leak was a blessing in disguise ... (that made me go into the roof)

The photo doesn't show the outlet pipes apart from the overflow. Even so, it would be unusual for your kitchen taps to be feed from the header tank unless a pipe to the kitchen was retrofitted. Bathroom mixers were sometimes fed from the same tank to equalise pressures but again that is not that common.

A small leak from the overflow is quite common because of slow dripping from the old ballcock valve. It is unlikely to cause you a problem given that it should be sitting in a large drip tray which will usually have an outlet too.

joker97: ... Might get a plumber to make things more normal ...

Just make sure that the pipes will cope with an increase in pressure particularly to mains pressure. A fast leak is easy to detect but a slow leak from a seam or joint can go undetected.

A regulator set to the high end of low pressure should give you 4+ times the shower flow assuming the existing tank and pipes can cope.

Jaxson

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#830335 4-Jun-2013 10:28

When you fix it, can I have it please?

They can be made of copper or brass, so make sure you retain it and take a trip to a metal recyclers.

lxsw20

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#830368 4-Jun-2013 10:54

Yeap a few years ago me and the old man pulled an old copper wet back unit out of a house, got about $140 for it I think. Copper = $$$.

srob

52 posts

Master Geek

#830410 4-Jun-2013 11:49

The higher up the header tank is above the shower head the more pressure you get. It's measured in metres of head. A bit like holding your kid up higher.

I still dont get how it gives (or innthis case fail to give) my shower ANY pressure. We actually have to shower under a kid's pee

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stuzzo

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#830433 4-Jun-2013 12:40

srob: The higher up the header tank is above the shower head the more pressure you get. It's measured in metres of head. A bit like holding your kid up higher.

I still dont get how it gives (or innthis case fail to give) my shower ANY pressure. We actually have to shower under a kid's pee

And bigger pipes ,and shorter ones to some extent, will give you more flow for the same amount of static pressure, which would give you a more "voluminous" shower.

Jaxson

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#830460 4-Jun-2013 13:05

stuzzo:

And bigger pipes ,and shorter ones to some extent, will give you more flow for the same amount of static pressure, which would give you a more "voluminous" shower.

And drain the storage faster...

stuzzo

534 posts

Ultimate Geek

#830471 4-Jun-2013 13:13

Jaxson:
stuzzo:

And bigger pipes ,and shorter ones to some extent, will give you more flow for the same amount of static pressure, which would give you a more "voluminous" shower.

And drain the storage faster...

Yes, although, depending on the shower head you can translate that flow capability into more pressure (dynamic) from the shower rather than volume.

Bung

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#830520 4-Jun-2013 15:10

joker97: Hey guys thanks so much for all the hints ... Might get a plumber to make things more normal ...

So i guess i'll first clean the tank and the cover it and then find a friend who knows a pllumber :)

I still dont get how it gives (or innthis case fail to give) my shower ANY pressure.

This used to be "normal", it's not unusual. The pressure is the difference in height between the header tank and the hot water tank. When my old copper tank leaked I managed to put the new plastic one about 1.5M higher in the roof space. Mains pressure tanks give more flow but don't last as long as the old low pressure tanks. If you're not swapping houses fast enough you will replace tanks more often if you go cheap.

If you have multiple outlets you could have the toilet cistern on low pressure ( to make refill quieter). If the cistern or ball valve is changed to one that is designed for high pressure it can take much longer for the toilet cistern to refill.

pctek

807 posts

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#833068 9-Jun-2013 16:01

It is normal.
Here:

http://www.qpsltd.co.nz/pdf/hot_water_cylinder.pdf

An explanation......

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