Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.



In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.



Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?



Or is a separate electric shower unit the only way?

Hoping someone can advise me.

Mick.

Mick. wrote:
Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would
like to have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an
insulated tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower
hose fitting?

Or is a separate electric shower unit the only way?

Hoping someone can advise me.

I think you'll be struggling with a gravity fed shower with such a low head.
You could probably add a pump although I'm not sure about adding one if
you've got a combined HW tank & header tank.

Tim

On Sep 17, 6:37*pm, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Mick. wrote:
snip
Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower
hose fitting?

I think you'll be struggling with a gravity fed shower
Tim

Totally agree with Tim; from experience of header tank on floor above
giving a head of about 4'6", if that. This was not enough, until we
put in an Aqualisa. That gave lots of water at a low pressure.
Adequate but not ideal.

Complete re-plumb job eliminated header tank to make a pressurised
system. That is the way to go, if possible.

My query concerns a relation's flat in your situation. Could a single
electric pump power the cold AND the hot water from the header tank ?

muymalestado wrote:
On Sep 17, 6:37 pm, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Mick. wrote:
snip
Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower
hose fitting?

I think you'll be struggling with a gravity fed shower
Tim

Totally agree with Tim; from experience of header tank on floor above
giving a head of about 4'6", if that. This was not enough, until we
put in an Aqualisa. That gave lots of water at a low pressure.
Adequate but not ideal.

Complete re-plumb job eliminated header tank to make a pressurised
system. That is the way to go, if possible.

My query concerns a relation's flat in your situation. Could a single
electric pump power the cold AND the hot water from the header tank ?

if the pump is of sufficient capacity, it will empty the header tank
faster than it refills. And the hot water cylinder too. heap of crap are
those tanks. even a combi is a better option.

But a mains pressure tank is marginally cheaper than a combi of
decentish power levels.

Mick. wrote:
Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.



In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.



Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

No.


Or is a separate electric shower unit the only way?


No. convert the existing tank to a mains pressure one, and live happily
(amd quietly)ever after.


Hoping someone can advise me.

Mick.

"Mick." wrote in message
om...
Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.



In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.



Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

You would be lucky to get more than a dribble of water through the shower as
the head would be only a foot or so below the cold storage tank.

Get a short length of hose and attach it to the tap or hold it with your
hand around tap and hose, turn on tap and start to raise the end of the
hose. As you raise it the water flow will slow and almost stop the closer to
the ceiling you get.

Mick. coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.



In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

Been there- house I was a kid in...

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.


This fact is not a factor in a standard open vented system - only the cold
tank height matters.


Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

Yes it does work - but fairly poorly.

We had an Aqualisa shower mixer in exactly that setup. It was OK for hair
washing sitting in the bath and you just about have a shower standing up
but it was poor.

Have you considered a shower pump - that's a standard solution to this
problem - pressurised the hot and cold feeds (the pumps are actually double
pumps with a common motor).

Cheers

Tim

On Sep 17, 9:44*pm, Tim S wrote:
Mick. coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

Been there- house I was a kid in...

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

This fact is not a factor in a standard open vented system - only the cold
tank height matters.



Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

Yes it does work - but fairly poorly.

We had an Aqualisa shower mixer in exactly that setup. It was OK for hair
washing sitting in the bath and you just about have a shower standing up
but it was poor.

Have you considered a shower pump - that's a standard solution to this
problem - pressurised the hot and cold feeds (the pumps are actually double
pumps with a common motor).

Cheers

Tim

set the pump to the minimum usable speed to address the tank refilling
issue. If necessary use a dropper to do this
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Droppers


NT

On Sep 18, 9:19*am, NT wrote:
On Sep 17, 9:44*pm, Tim S wrote:



Mick. coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

Been there- house I was a kid in...

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

This fact is not a factor in a standard open vented system - only the cold
tank height matters.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

Yes it does work - but fairly poorly.

We had an Aqualisa shower mixer in exactly that setup. It was OK for hair
washing sitting in the bath and you just about have a shower standing up
but it was poor.

Have you considered a shower pump - that's a standard solution to this
problem - pressurised the hot and cold feeds (the pumps are actually double
pumps with a common motor).

Cheers

Tim

set the pump to the minimum usable speed to address the tank refilling
issue. If necessary use a dropper to do thishttp://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Droppers

NT

Would 1 or 2 central heating pumps be sufficient for this? They do
seem to have good life expectancy.


NT

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Sep 18, 9:19 am, NT wrote:
On Sep 17, 9:44 pm, Tim S wrote:



Mick. coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like
to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an
insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

Been there- house I was a kid in...

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

This fact is not a factor in a standard open vented system - only the
cold
tank height matters.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower
hose
fitting?

Yes it does work - but fairly poorly.

We had an Aqualisa shower mixer in exactly that setup. It was OK for
hair
washing sitting in the bath and you just about have a shower standing up
but it was poor.

Have you considered a shower pump - that's a standard solution to this
problem - pressurised the hot and cold feeds (the pumps are actually
double
pumps with a common motor).

Cheers

Tim

set the pump to the minimum usable speed to address the tank refilling
issue. If necessary use a dropper to do
thishttp://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Droppers

NT

Would 1 or 2 central heating pumps be sufficient for this? They do
seem to have good life expectancy.

Central heating pumps will not be any good at all to pump water up to a
shower.
They are only circulators and will not pump to any significant pressure.

On Sep 18, 7:39*pm, "Heliotrope Smith" wrote:
"NT" wrote in message

...
On Sep 18, 9:19 am, NT wrote:

On Sep 17, 9:44 pm, Tim S wrote:

Mick. coughed up some electrons that declared:

Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like
to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an
insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

Been there- house I was a kid in...

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

This fact is not a factor in a standard open vented system - only the
cold
tank height matters.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower
hose
fitting?

Yes it does work - but fairly poorly.

We had an Aqualisa shower mixer in exactly that setup. It was OK for
hair
washing sitting in the bath and you just about have a shower standing up
but it was poor.

Have you considered a shower pump - that's a standard solution to this
problem - pressurised the hot and cold feeds (the pumps are actually
double
pumps with a common motor).

Cheers

Tim

set the pump to the minimum usable speed to address the tank refilling
issue. If necessary use a dropper to do

thishttp://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Droppers



NT

Would 1 or 2 central heating pumps be sufficient for this? They do
seem to have good life expectancy.

Central heating pumps will not be any good at all to pump water up to a
shower.
They are only circulators and will not pump to any significant pressure.


In this case though the water already reaches the shower head, just
with not much flow.


NT

On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:44:26 -0700, NT wrote:

Would 1 or 2 central heating pumps be sufficient for this? They do
seem to have good life expectancy.

They would but they'd corrode badly in fresh water. Grundfos do one
designed for hot-water boosting, which contains a flowswitch too, to
switch the pump on when water starts flowing (under gravity - so there's
got to be enough un-boosted flow to kick it in). Or an ordinary
double-ended shower pump can be used single ended. Either way the OP
would need to ensure that the little header tank of the cylinder doesn't
empty when the pump is running. Replacing the standard filling valve with
an equilibrium valve (e.g. "Torbeck") may help, as would adding a second
filling valve to further increase the flow.



--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

Thesaurus: extinct reptile noted for its wide vocabulary.

On Sep 17, 6:18*pm, "Mick." wrote:
Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

Or is a separate electric shower unit the only way?

Hoping someone can advise me.

Mick.

Is your water heater a Pulsacoil type like this:

http://www.advancedwater.co.uk/prod_...acoil2000.html

If it is then it supplies water at mains pressure and already has a
pump so will give you plenty of pressure for a shower.

Hi thanks for answering,
It is round not square but does look Similar All I can see written on it is:
Harton Heating Appliances Ltd, Hatley Road, Thamesmead, Erith Kent.
I cannot see a model no anywhere on it.
The block of 4 flats were built in 1986, and as far as I have been told this
is original equipment..
I will try a hose on the hot tap to see the pressure at head height but
there does seem some pressure.
Mick.

"chudford" wrote in message
...
On Sep 17, 6:18 pm, "Mick." wrote:
Hi all, I live in a ground floor all electric 1 bedroom flat.

I do have a bathroom with a short bath in it; if possible I would like to
have fitted a bath mixer tap with a shower hose fitting.

In the airing cupboard there is a cold water tank on top of an insulated
tank with an off peak immersion heater .

The top cold water tank is at the ceiling level.

The hot tank below is at the top 4'2" from the floor.

Could this have enough pressure to use a bath mixer tap with a shower hose
fitting?

Or is a separate electric shower unit the only way?

Hoping someone can advise me.

Mick.

Is your water heater a Pulsacoil type like this:

http://www.advancedwater.co.uk/prod_...acoil2000.html

If it is then it supplies water at mains pressure and already has a
pump so will give you plenty of pressure for a shower.

"Mick." wrote in message
om...
Hi thanks for answering,
It is round not square but does look Similar All I can see written on it
is:
Harton Heating Appliances Ltd, Hatley Road, Thamesmead, Erith Kent.
I cannot see a model no anywhere on it.

I have had a look at the Harton web
site.http://www.hartons.co.uk/boostedhotcoldunits.html

It looks like you have a system 4 or 5 in which case it looks as though you
would not have a problem using the type of shower you have in mind.

Hi all,
Thanks for the help.
It does seem to be a system 4 or 5 but the ones on the website seem to have
a pump fitted on the front of them, and the one in my flat does not!
Perhaps this was to save money as around 90 flats were built at the time.
I did get a "push on" cheapish shower, it does work at lower levels but on
trying to use it standing up the hot feed reduces to a trickle.

So it looks like I will need a mains pressure cold instant heater one after
all.
Thanks again.
Mick.
"Heliotrope Smith" wrote in message
...

"Mick." wrote in message
om...
Hi thanks for answering,
It is round not square but does look Similar All I can see written on it
is:
Harton Heating Appliances Ltd, Hatley Road, Thamesmead, Erith Kent.
I cannot see a model no anywhere on it.

I have had a look at the Harton web
site.http://www.hartons.co.uk/boostedhotcoldunits.html

It looks like you have a system 4 or 5 in which case it looks as though
you
would not have a problem using the type of shower you have in mind.