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General Plumbing and Gasfitting Talk => Ask Plumbers (Public) => Plumbing => Q & A - Water Pressure => Topic started by: myles on March 05, 2012, 07:28:21 PM

Title: low pressure hot water
Post by: myles on March 05, 2012, 07:28:21 PM: Hi plumbers,

I have the same problems as meny others in this forum. reallllly low hot water pressure.

we have just brought a house really old with really old plumbing, it has a low pressure (well i think its a low pressure) rheem alpha hwt with a coal range wet back and a header pipe thats probably 5m from the top of the tank at the most. also has a header tank. The hwt doesnt have a sticker i can see on it to say how high the header pipe can go??

i have been asking around and have been told that getting rid of the header tank and getting a "ajax" valve on the inlet and making the header pipe higher might help?

is this the case and or would a low pressure water pump on the outlet (was looking on trademe) help?

thanks for any help, myles
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: myles on March 05, 2012, 07:39:47 PM: correction""

"header PIPE thats probably 5m from the top of the tank" not header tank!!!
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: Plumber on March 05, 2012, 08:37:34 PM: That is certainly an option just need to be careful what else the header tank feeds before its removed. Most plumbers offer a free quote and advice on what solution is the best in your situation click the link below and get a few quotes in your area. A site visit by a qualified plumber is definitely required to give you reliable advice.

http://www.plumbers.co.nz/business/ (http://www.plumbers.co.nz/business/)
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: myles on March 06, 2012, 04:40:06 PM: cheers, header tank only feeds the hot water cylinder. would just making the header pipe up to its maximum height make any difference?
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: myles on March 06, 2012, 05:57:44 PM: oh and the hot water pipes running through the house are galv steel, i have also been told that they corrode and block. is there anything (chemicals etc) that i can flush through them to make sure there not blocking water pressure and flow?
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: integrated on March 06, 2012, 06:49:06 PM: I would keep the header tank - I think people are all to quick to get rid of them...

nothing wrong with having a reserve of water in times of need...

I would suggest hot water boost pump - they work best with a header tank and the benefit is you wont put any additional strain on that old HWC like you would if you went to a PrV setup

those pumps on trademe are ok - just a bit noisey - have tried and tested a few - cant beat the grundfos/wilo bronzes IMHO

you should see immediate result with either, but I would suggest replacing as much of the galv as you can - any additional pressure on pipe runs risk of prematurely failing the pipe - just something to be wary of..

as suggested a plumber on the spot to inspect will give a much better idea...
Title: Re: low pressure hot water
Post by: myles on March 06, 2012, 08:59:22 PM: Awsome thanks for that.

will get a plumber to have a look, hope we dont have to redo the piping its all through the walls, theres no room under the house ???.