Hello All.
As per subject line, I am having trouble drawing satisfactorily hot water u pstairs in my house. Downstairs, the kitchen and bathroom hot taps supply w ater that is plenty hot enough. Upstairs (shower, bath, basin taps), the ho t tap/shower water temperature is often lower than is desirable (but someti mes works fine). A notable aspect of the problem is that running a cold tap can cause the hot taps (separate hot and cold, not mixers) or shower tempe rature to increase.
My mains pressure is 3-4 bar (varies). The pressure is high-ish, but within spec for the boiler. However, noting the temperature-increasing effect of running a cold tap, I can't help but think that the problem is pressure-rel ated and more particularly, that it relates to the pressure change when hot water is drawn. Upstairs, with a head of water higher than downstairs, the percentage pressure drop, on opening a tap/valve, will presumably be lower than for a downstairs tap/valve. However, when a cold tap/valve is opened somewhere in the house, boiler inlet pressure is reduced and then, presumab ly, the percentage pressure drop when an upstairs tap/valve is opened is in creased. Might it then be worth my while trying a pressure reducing valve o n the boiler cold water inlet?
To be clear, the problem is not that the upstairs taps/valves allow a flow that exceeds the boiler's heating capacity. With a cold tap running, I can get a greater flow of hot water from an upstairs hot tap than at *any* sett ing of an upstairs hot tap, running alone.
Advice appreciated.
Regards.
Terry.