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Total Members Voted: 3

[chrisgixer]

The flow is so poor throughout the house, we had to install the pump.

I've even considered fitting a switch near the sink to activate the pump electrically. Somehow.

[05omegav6]

How old is the washing machine? Our one, about 4 years old, only has a cold feed and heats the water to the desired temperature  Thinking out loud... if the washer doesn't require a hot feed, and the hot feed to it is fine, then can you not divert this to the kitchen tap, isolating the feed which doesn't work as it should

[Rods2]

Yes, so how to get it working? It is high pressure approved. Although ours is pumped gravity feed. Not entirely the same I know.

We want to keep the tap. Or she wants to keep the tap, put it that way. 

You might have to offer her some choices, like keep the system how it is with no hot running water to the sink, or alternatively "how about a new tap that works". 

Can't you find a tap that is basically the same design, but works at 0.3 bar or less.

I would try the hot washing machine feed next, to eliminate the plumbing. No hot water to the washing machine if it has a hot feed, will not stop it working as it will just use the element to heat the water to the wash temperature.

ex taxi Al, keep up,  if you read my posts you will see I suggested this a few posts ago.

[05omegav6]

  might have skipped a page inadvertently... it did jump from page 2 to 5 over the evening

[MR MISTER]

It's definitely the crappy tappy and, if Mrs Gixer won't let him change it, then he'll have to live with it.
Now move on please or this could become another of his 'obsession' threads.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Oh great, another plumber calling themselves an engineer when they are not (as is clear by the non engineering approach lol)

The pump will already have non return valves as this is how they maintain the pressure on the outlet and is a fundamental for thier operation.

Adding another one is a daft thing to do so get rid.

A possible would be to add a small pressure vessel to the hot outlet side of the pump to overcome cooling of the hot water resulting in lower pressure initialy (some pumps have this), easy to check, once the tap is delivering hot water with the pump running (via what ever trick is used), turn the tap off, wait a few seconds for the pump to stop and turn it on again....does the pump run again?

It may well be that the flow is just to low to trigger the pump, some pump types have varying modes (pos and neg head) which effectively alters the pressure trigger point (e.g. the salamander ESP100) and would solve the issue.

As for the noise, poor installation often makes the pump very noisy, I will check your pic again and then post regarding that one.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Right, it appears to be not well installed and is sat directly on the floor?

If so the pump will resonate through the flooring, a better install is to have the pump 20mm plus off the floor and sat on some insulating material, even old capret underlay works well. Doing so will drasticaly reduce the noise, you cna go furtehr and creat a well ventilated box lined with underlay to furtehr reduce the noise (yes it can be done without affecting the cooling)

[chrisgixer]

Re noise, yes it could be better installed, but it is sat on a black mat just visible bottom left of pic, but it could be thicker.

Main issue is the original plumbing when the house was built. It's crap, rests on floor boards, pushes against joists and has no clips or mounting points in any if the boxing. So the dishwasher piping bangs in the boxing between floors when flow is called for instance, although that run is not on the pump circuit, but it shows the standard of work. Some of which is visible by the lime scale on the pipework in the pic, plus the never soldered since install leaking central heating pipes under the concrete floor in the lounge.

The cold flow to the Kitchen tap was always slow/low volune, as was the rest if the house. Hence the pump.

When we chose the tap we may have confused a gravity fed system pumped system for a high pressure system. Hence the issue.

Changing the tap would solve it, but we spent ages finding that item so, it stays.

Sounds like a vessel would help, as its more responsive/pauses slightly less once the tap has flowed recently. In fact, would a big(ger) pressure vessel overcome the problem completely given how well the one in the heating system works. ..?

I will check later but I suspect another restriction on that pipe run somewhere, behind the dishwasher. Somats not right there.

As usual with these border line things, it looks like a number of factors could/are contributing.

[Marks DTM Calib]

If the pump is correctly installed with its flexis and a good insulator underneath then close to no vibration should be transmitted and hence you are left with pump noise only.

A better thicker insulator would significantly improve things (even folded t-towels would be better).

A pressure vessel will work IF the issue is the hot water cooling as it will maintain a constant post pump pressure, as per the above, does it work ok of the tap is operated shartly after it was turned off ?.

Banging from pipe work is easily sorted with the installation of arrestors 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Do you have a link to the tap type?

Many have a ceramaic cartridge which can be changed, I have replaced a low flow one with a free-er flowing variant before

[chrisgixer]

Here's the tap itself
http://www.tap-spares.com/sections.asp?id=48&sortit=3&pg=2

And here

http://www.howdens.com/media/library/pdf/108.pdf

For The Master.

[chrisgixer]

I should add, there appear to be two types. A single digit difference in the part no. Iirc.

Finding out which one we have will be, a challenge.

[Rods2]

Right, it appears to be not well installed and is sat directly on the floor?

If so the pump will resonate through the flooring, a better install is to have the pump 20mm plus off the floor and sat on some insulating material, even old capret underlay works well. Doing so will drasticaly reduce the noise, you cna go furtehr and creat a well ventilated box lined with underlay to further reduce the noise (yes it can be done without affecting the cooling)

I built a vented box around mine and used loudspeaker sound absorption material, where I had build some speakers many years before, and had still got the excess materials left over, stored in the garage. You can only hear the pump when in the bedrooms with the en-suite shower and it is not intrusive.

[Marks DTM Calib]

I should add, there appear to be two types. A single digit difference in the part no. Iirc.

Finding out which one we have will be, a challenge.

Whats the difference between the two spec wise?

[chrisgixer]

I should add, there appear to be two types. A single digit difference in the part no. Iirc.

Finding out which one we have will be, a challenge.

Whats the difference between the two spec wise?

http://www.howdens.com/media/library/pdf/109.pdf

Different spout, same supply spec, flows slightly less l/min, bigger foot print fitting. Nothing really I guess..?