Cold water tank options

jay gatsby

Hello all,

Currently getting quotes on a full plumbing job on house refurbishment. One plumber is recommending a very big cold water tank (nearly 1000 litres I think) and putting it outside. A pump is then fitted to this which pressurises the whole house to the same level. (sorry for the non technical description)

The other plumber is recommending a normal 300-500 litre water tank in the attic to gravity feed. We are stuck for space for a hot press too so this may end up going either in the attic also or building a small insulated shed outside to hold all tanks and plumbing.

Any opinions on which to go for or am I missing something here?

Water supply will be from private well by the way.

TPM

What you get put in will be down to the plumbing system in the house and your requirements, both ways are in use and work well when installed corectly

one major difference between having a tank outside with a pump and having a tank in the attic gravity feeding your house is that with the attic tank in the event of a power failure you will still having water to your taps and toilets untill the tank empties where as with the outside tank and pump your water stops immediately.

you need to decide if you want/need a pressurised system, type of showers, taps etc.

Any outside tank/pipework needs to be protected from frost and sunlight.

In relation to the hotpress I assume you mean the hotwater cylinder, the closer this is kept in relation to the boiler,taps, showers the better.(especially with solid fuel boilers)

Personally I do not like the idea of storage of very large quantities of water, specially untreated water from wells

jay gatsby

TPM wrote: »

What you get put in will be down to the plumbing
you need to decide if you want/need a pressurised system, type of showers, taps etc.

Any outside tank/pipework needs to be protected from frost and sunlight.

In relation to the hotpress I assume you mean the hotwater cylinder, the closer this is kept in relation to the boiler,taps, showers the better.(especially with solid fuel boilers)

Personally I do not like the idea of storage of very large quantities of water, specially untreated water from wells

Thanks a million TPM, its great to have it clear like that. I am leaning toward the attic tank anyway but hadn't considered what you said about storage of untreated water for potentially long periods, not ideal at all when you think about it.

We will definitely have 1 electric shower and it's just the 2 of us for now so not sure we'd get the full benefit of the pressurized system. Can't see enough benefits to justify the costs of a well insulated shed.

Will keep in mind about the hot water tank close to everything, we can probably make room on 1st floor if we try hard enough.

Anyone else's opinion very welcome of course.

TPM

With the attic tank you always have the option to pressurise the system after all be it with the pump in the house (which some can be a bit noisy)

The "hot press" doesnt need to be too big, alot of hotwater cylinders now have all the connections at the same side which means they can be positioned in a corner and still easily plumbed and maintained.

One thing I have seen people do is connect the cold tap for the hand basin in the bathroom connected to the fresh water coming in from the pump, for brushing teeth.

There are many options all with their own pros and cons.
In my own house the well pump feeds all the taps, showers, hot and cold, toilets etc. with no attic tanks.
There are considerations with this set up, Very little reserve in event of power failure is a big one(I have a generator so doesnt bother me)
The volume of water the well can supply is another.

You could fit a smaller attic tank with this to just feed the toilets(could use rainwater harvesting in the future)

The options are endless and Im sure you will get a lot of other good ones on here.

But once the pipes are in you dont want to be digging them up, so its worth spending some time deciding what way you want to divide up(zone) the hot and cold water as well as the heating