I just had a british gas guy around to give me a quote for some work. (Or more importantly tell me what he thinks since they're bound to be really expensive.)
He seems to think that in order to put in their Albion thermal stores, you need to increase your water main to 25mm plastic.
Is this true?
Regards,
No. It is the pressure and flow of the main pipe that matters. 25mm is ideal, but not necessary, if pressure and flow is fine with a 15mm/1.2". Did he take the mains pressure? Did he measure the flow? You can do the flow yourself by timing the filling of a bucket.
That depends on what you have at the moment. Find the best mains tap in the house. This always used to be the kitchen tap, but these often now have restricted passageways that affect the result, making it look worse than it is. Sometimes the garden tap is a better bet. Measure both and take the highest figure.
Now, time how long it takes to fill a bucket when the tap is on full. Divide the capacity of the bucket (in litres) and divide by the number of seconds taken to fill it. Multiply by 60. This gives you your flow rate in litres per minute.
For a mains pressure stored energy system, I'd say:
< 10 lpm - absolutely no good for anything 10-20 lpm - v.poor 20-30 lpm - poor to marginal 30-40 lpm - OK 40+ - excellentShould you get below around 30lpm, start thinking of upgrading your water main. 25mm MDPE would be a reasonable good sized water connection for a house. If you're rich, then consider doing if you are below 40lpm.
Christian.
Upstairs in the Bath, I got 20 litres per minute.
I'll get the Mains Pressure, what should I be looking for?
Regards,
Is the bath tap connected to the mains?
Christian.
Static pressure is rarely a problem in itself unless really low. Flow rate is much more important. However, low static pressure may be a cause of low flow rates.
To measure it, you need a pressure gauge. Alternatively, try to block off the flow from a mains cold tap with your finger. If it is impossible to do so without squirting water sideways, the static pressure is OK in itself.
Christian.
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