On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:15:56 +0000, John Law wrote:

Hi all

The hot water pressure in our kitchen is awful: we have to wait maybe 90
secs for the really hot water to come through from the tank upstairs.
On the other hand, it takes a few seconds only for the water to come to
the upstairs basin.

So far, so fairly bleeding obvious. (Additionally: the kitchen tap is
one of those fancy pull lever up and swing left or right for hot or
cold, on a long flexible pipe so you can hose the dishes, and with a
press-button spray system; and goodness knows (I've forgotten) what
convolutions the feed pipe goes through on its way from upstairs to
down.)

My question: what would The Panel suggest, as a means of improving
reaction time downstairs? Get rid of the fancy tap? Look at and
improve the route? or could I perhaps replace the standard 15mm pipe
with 22mm pipe?

I'll be grateful for any suggestions -- [for those who saw the thread: I
am no Jackie].

John

This is by no means simple to answer!
The likelihood is that you have a conventional (now becoming
'traditional') plumbing system. The kitchen tap is really suited to a high
pressure supply on both the H & C.

Answers
1) Live with it.

2) Rationalising the pipework is unlikely to make a lot of difference
as most of the restriction is in the tap.

3) Going to a bigger supply will only make the delay bigger.

4) A boost pump (a few hundred quid) could help.

5) If the boiler is near the sink AND if it's near the end of its life
then you could consider a combi boiler for the kitchen sink and keep the
stored HW for the bathroom.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
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