Hello,

My small flat has a Combi boiler (fed from the mains, obviously) for hot
water and heating, and a cold water tank which provides cold water for
the bathroom: bathtub, washbasin and the toilet cistern.

Do I need this cold water tank? Can I just remove it and run a pipe from
where the water came into the tank to where it goes out? Or am I missing
something obvious and important?

Thanks!

T

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tosser wrote:

Do I need this cold water tank?

Probably not - unless you want it for some reason (like if you have a
unreliable supply)...

Can I just remove it and run a pipe from
where the water came into the tank to where it goes out? Or am I missing
something obvious and important?

There is a slight risk that the toilet cistern valve may not handle the
pressure rise (pretty unlikely)... you can assume the bath and basin
taps will be Ok since they are coping with mains pressure on the hot one
presumes.

--
Cheers,

John.

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John Rumm wrote:
tosser wrote:

Do I need this cold water tank?


Probably not - unless you want it for some reason (like if you have a
unreliable supply)...

No, am in the middle of London with a good supply. I in this small flat
I could really do with the room the tank takes up.


Can I just remove it and run a pipe from where the water came into the
tank to where it goes out? Or am I missing something obvious and
important?


There is a slight risk that the toilet cistern valve may not handle the
pressure rise (pretty unlikely)... you can assume the bath and basin
taps will be Ok since they are coping with mains pressure on the hot one
presumes.


OK, thanks. So I should be standing by the toilet cistern when I've put
mains pressure to it then, ready to turn the stopcock!

Thanks, John, for your help.

tosser wrote:

OK, thanks. So I should be standing by the toilet cistern when I've put
mains pressure to it then, ready to turn the stopcock!

I should not worry too much (well at all in fact)... if it is not happy
is is more likely to make itself known by banging excessively on
shutoff, or by continuing to drip and causing the cistern to overflow.
The chances of it having any difficulty really are very small though - I
only mentioned it for completeness.

--
Cheers,

John.

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| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
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On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 11:06:05 GMT
tosser wrote:

John Rumm wrote:

There is a slight risk that the toilet cistern valve may not handle
the pressure rise (pretty unlikely)... you can assume the bath and
basin taps will be Ok since they are coping with mains pressure on
the hot one presumes.


OK, thanks. So I should be standing by the toilet cistern when I've
put mains pressure to it then, ready to turn the stopcock!


Just a note about an occurance here on Sunday last. The house was
built with a HW tank, but converted to a Combi-boilered mains pressure
system in the early 90's. Sometime, possibly later, I don't know when,
a new plastic toilet cistern (Fordham FlushPanel) was also fitted. I
also have hostital-style taps with 90 degree levers. I shut the cold
tap on the sink rather sharply, and heard the plastic diaphram valve in
the cistern explode! Well, in fact, one of the plastic parts inside had
been overtightened and the increased stress from the water hammer made
it split - our water pressure here is high, so a fountain of water from
the cistern resulted - fortunately the main stopcock was within reach
and only about a gallon of water overflowed. It's made me look at brass
ball valves with a whole new appreciation!

The moral of this story? You might have to wait a bit to be sure that
the mains pressure isn't going to result in a leak. However, I think my
experience is unusual.

R.