is it possible to add a pump to increase waterpressure & flow? similar to a
shower pump for the whole house?

There are a couple of points that you might like to consider:

1. I do not believe that you are allowed to suck water from the mains -
after all that might result in air being drawn into other people's taps.
2. Low flow rate isn't necessarily associated with low water pressure. If
you have a long feed between the stopcock and your house that is small bore
and perhaps furred up then the pressure might be good but the flow will be
limited.

Southern Water will do a free check of the water pressure at the stopcock
and at your kitchen sink. Possibly your water board will do the same. I
think that they are obliged to ensure that the pressure is good at the
stopcock but they are not responsible for the pipe between there and your
house.

If you decide on implementing the header tank/pump scheme, I would suggest
that you do go for a shower pump. They have integral switches that detect a
small flow (resulting from the header tank) when you turn a tap on. This
small flow activates the pump. You can also get double pumps, of course, so
you could pressurise the hot as well as the cold system. Using one of these
pumps would also protect you from the possibility of damage when/if the
header tank empties. If this should happen the flow would cease and so the
pump would switch itself off and therefore protect itself.

Mike.

"Clive" wrote in message
...
is it possible to add a pump to increase waterpressure & flow? similar to
a
shower pump for the whole house?








---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.381 / Virus Database: 214 - Release Date: 02-08-02

is it possible to add a pump to increase waterpressure & flow? similar to
a shower pump for the whole house?

Exactly like a shower pump for the whole house, in fact. You may wish to
distinguish between outlets, however. The pump is noisy, which isn't a
problem with a shower or bath, but might wake people up if the turning on a
basin tap or the washing machine rinsing at night turns on the pump.

Christian.

In uk.d-i-y, Clive wrote:
is it possible to add a pump to increase waterpressure & flow? similar to a
shower pump for the whole house?

Yes, see http://www.bathstore.com/pumps.asp, especially "Whole house
pumps".


ObGripe: The company's called "bathstore.com" but if you put that into
your browser, you get "Page not found". To get to their site you need to
put "www.bathstore.com". Doesn't give you much faith, does it?

--
Mike Barnes

Mike Barnes wrote:

In uk.d-i-y, Clive wrote:

is it possible to add a pump to increase waterpressure & flow? similar to a
shower pump for the whole house?


Yes, see http://www.bathstore.com/pumps.asp, especially "Whole house
pumps".


ObGripe: The company's called "bathstore.com" but if you put that into
your browser, you get "Page not found". To get to their site you need to
put "www.bathstore.com". Doesn't give you much faith, does it?



(i) flow ios a funcion of pressure and bore, the more of either, the
bigger the flow.

(ii) adding a pumpo will work UP TO A PO*INT.

(iii) THAT POINT is when the flow hrough teh mains supply frim teh water
company exceeds the pressure with which they sup[ply it, and teh dameter
of their pipe.

Or to put it another way, their supply is at a certain pressure, and
just e.. taking teh tap off teh mains supply and letting it gush is
*almost* as fast a flow rate as you can get. Addoung a pump can lower
the pressure at your end of the pipe to (almost) 0, from 1 bar. but not
any more.

So if the water mains can't do the flow rate, no amount of pumping is
going to help on the suction side of the pipe. You need a pump at the
water companies pumping station :-) Or a bigger pipe from them.

To put it another way. A pump can remedy deficencies in YOUR plumbing,
but not the water companies...or only a bit anyway.

Addoung a pump can lower the pressure at your end of the pipe to (almost)
0, from 1 bar. but not any more.

Well it can go below zero (assuming we are relative to atmospheric pressure,
not absolute zero). The problem is that negative pressure means that the
company's leaky pipes start leaking in the other direction, so you get the
earthy skank in the fresh water, rather than fresh water in the earthy
skank. This is why you are not allowed to pump a mains supply.

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:

Addoung a pump can lower the pressure at your end of the pipe to (almost)
0, from 1 bar. but not any more.


Well it can go below zero (assuming we are relative to atmospheric pressure,


We are not.


not absolute zero). The problem is that negative pressure means that the
company's leaky pipes start leaking in the other direction, so you get the
earthy skank in the fresh water, rather than fresh water in the earthy
skank. This is why you are not allowed to pump a mains supply.


I didn't know you weren't, but it ceertainly makes sense.

My real point was to show that there is a limit to how fast you can
deliver water from a mains supply - and tanks will ultimately empty if
pumped faster than replenished. Even IMM should be able to figure that
one out.



Christian.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Christian McArdle wrote:

Addoung a pump can lower the pressure at your end of the pipe to
(almost)
0, from 1 bar. but not any more.


Well it can go below zero (assuming we are relative to atmospheric
pressure,


We are not.

not absolute zero). The problem is that negative pressure means that the
company's leaky pipes start leaking in the other direction, so you get
the
earthy skank in the fresh water, rather than fresh water in the earthy
skank. This is why you are not allowed to pump a mains supply.


I didn't know you weren't, but it ceertainly makes sense.

My real point was to show that there is a limit to how fast you can
deliver water from a mains supply - and tanks will ultimately empty if
pumped faster than replenished. Even IMM should be able to figure that
one out.

Amazing! From someone who didn't know why you can't pump the mains.


---
--

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.507 / Virus Database: 304 - Release Date: 04/08/2003