Distance between combi boiler and pump?

Phibsboro

I am starting to plan a house renovation and am looking at putting a combi boiler in. I am assuming at this stage that I will need a pump as the pressure in the area is low (Dublin 3).

The logical location for the boiler borders on the main living area, I don't mind the boiler being there but I am worried about having the pump in that location. Is it possible to have the pump in a different location? Is there a limit on where in the house the pump could be?

t8010789

We put our combo boiler in the shed/garage. The mains water goes to a vertical water tank in the shed and then between the tank and combi is the pump, all quite close together but I can’t see a reason for not having them further apart. Not hearing the pump is great and safe in the knowledge that we will never have a gas leak in the house.

Phibsboro

t8010789 wrote: »

We put our combo boiler in the shed/garage. The mains water goes to a vertical water tank in the shed and then between the tank and combi is the pump, all quite close together but I can’t see a reason for not having them further apart. Not hearing the pump is great and safe in the knowledge that we will never have a gas leak in the house.

Yes that would make sense. So in theory could the pump actually be in the attic by the tank I wonder?

NickNickleby

My understanding is that the hot water supply from the combi should be fed from the attic tank anyway. So the mains pressure is somewhat irrelevant (unless its not sufficient to replenish the tank). Therefore a pump can be used to force the water from the tank into the combi and out to the tap.

The above is based on observation, I'm am not qualified in any(relevant) way.

Ush1

NickNickleby wrote: »

My understanding is that the hot water supply from the combi should be fed from the attic tank anyway. So the mains pressure is somewhat irrelevant (unless its not sufficient to replenish the tank). Therefore a pump can be used to force the water from the tank into the combi and out to the tap.

The above is based on observation, I'm am not qualified in any(relevant) way.

That's exactly right and it's how my combi is plumbed. Water fed from attic tank, pump next to the tank which pushes water at pressure to the boiler.

Phibsboro

NickNickleby wrote: »

My understanding is that the hot water supply from the combi should be fed from the attic tank anyway. So the mains pressure is somewhat irrelevant (unless its not sufficient to replenish the tank). Therefore a pump can be used to force the water from the tank into the combi and out to the tap.

The above is based on observation, I'm am not qualified in any(relevant) way.

Just to clarify that point, this is the way combi's tend to be done here in Ireland but my understanding is that in fact they are designed to be directly fed from the mains - this is how they work in the UK for example. The problem here is that we haven't had a history of that kind of install and we've ended up with a situation whereby Irish Water will give absolutely no guarantee of water pressure in a given area. So instead combi's are making inroads mostly by being fed from a pumped break tank - usually the old gravity fed tank from the old cylinder based system.

NickNickleby

Phibsboro wrote: »

Just to clarify that point, this is the way combi's tend to be done here in Ireland but my understanding is that in fact they are designed to be directly fed from the mains - this is how they work in the UK for example. The problem here is that we haven't had a history of that kind of install and we've ended up with a situation whereby Irish Water will give absolutely no guarantee of water pressure in a given area. So instead combi's are making inroads mostly by being fed from a pumped break tank - usually the old gravity fed tank from the old cylinder based system.

Thanks for the clarification.
In fact, my son lives in the UK, and he spent some time trying to work out where to turn off the feed to the hot tank, he wanted to fix a dripping hot tap, whereupon he discovered the house has no hot tank. (We don't have a combi, hence his innocence ). :pac:

NickNickleby

NickNickleby wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification.
In fact, my son lives in the UK, and he spent some time trying to work out where to turn off the feed to the hot tank, he wanted to fix a dripping hot tap, whereupon he discovered the house has no hot tank. (We don't have a combi, hence his innocence ). :pac:

Combis are not designed to be tank fed, using a pumped supply goes against the main selling point of a combi which is continuous hot water, tank fed combies only last as long as the stored water, using a pumped supply is a local answer to a local problem.

The position of the boiler is more important than the position of the pump, the nearer the boiler is to your taps the better the performance and the less water wasted.