Help needed please! Low pressure/flow issues & unsure of reason.

[rebecca1]

I've started to plan the renovation of my existing bathroom, but before I do would like to get the issues I'm having with low pressure/flow sorted, and I'm struggling to ascertain the cause! I have zero experience with plumbing and having scrounged the internet have found plenty of possible causes but I'm unsure of the likelihood of any one possibility over another so seeking advice before getting a plumber out!

Having done a home test I have 10L per minute coming out of my cold kitchen tap (by mains into house).
Upstairs on the first and second floor this reduces to 8L per minute from the cold (sink).
However the hot sink taps upstairs run at 6.5L per minute, and the bath and shower even worse at 5.5L per minute.
I have a ideal logic combi 30 boiler (located on the first floor) and have tried adjusting the temperature down from its current setting to the minimum, with no obvious difference in results.

I was concerned about possible deposits in my pipes upstairs as the original building is very old (the kitchen is a newer extension) being the cause for the reduced pressure, but I believe I have copper pipes everywhere which from my understanding are pretty resistant to sediment build up within normal water conditions? I believe my water is fairly hard from looking on the Severn trent website. Upstairs in my spare bathroom which does not get used a lot I have a considerable amount of blue green sediment on the fixtures within in the toilet cistern (copper?), and brown staining in the bowl (iron?). This is also similar in the sink that drips slightly, with both slight brown and blue staining in the ceramic sink being apparent. The water appears clear when run.

Would anyone possibly be able to help with any guidance on where my problem is likely coming from? Could it just be a relatively low flow at point of entry (10L per min), or should this be sufficient for a small albeit 3 storey house? Could narrow pipes be the cause? (I'm unsure of what dimensions I should have!) or is sedimentation in the pipes a possibility? Of course the other culprit could be the boiler but I live alone so would have expected it to be sufficient to run one appliance at a time? Any other possible culprits?!

Many thanks.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

i would say it down to low flow from the mains

and could also be down to small incoming pipes

 

[rebecca1]

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[rebecca1]

i would say it down to low flow from the mains

and could also be down to small incoming pipes

Hi Shaun

Thanks for your reply. If it is low flow from the mains is there anything I can do to improve this? (that would also work in conjunction with a combi boiler). I'm not sure why its low as house is on fairly flat lying ground, though unsure of the nearest water source the mains is using. Going to try and check all stop cocks are fully open, have discovered my one inside has seized so first step is freeing that up asap! What size would a standard incoming pipe be? Is there anyway to check this size without digging up to locate the pipe underground? Many thanks

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Hi Shaun

Thanks for your reply. If it is low flow from the mains is there anything I can do to improve this? (that would also work in conjunction with a combi boiler). I'm not sure why its low as house is on fairly flat lying ground, though unsure of the nearest water source the mains is using. Going to try and check all stop cocks are fully open, have discovered my one inside has seized so first step is freeing that up asap! What size would a standard incoming pipe be? Is there anyway to check this size without digging up to locate the pipe underground? Many thanks

could be that pressure is low in your area

have a word with you water supplier and ask them what pressure and flow are you supposed to have

and go from there

 

[rebecca1]

could be that pressure is low in your area

have a word with you water supplier and ask them what pressure and flow are you supposed to have

and go from there

thanks Shaun. From looking on their website it would appear I'm getting the flow they want to provide - 9L a minute and I'm getting 10L a minute at the kitchen tap. They believe that this rate is sufficient to provide 'enough pressure to reach the top storey of the tallest buildings', so not really sure where to go from here now, *sigh* never simple is it!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

thanks Shaun. From looking on their website it would appear I'm getting the flow they want to provide - 9L a minute and I'm getting 10L a minute at the kitchen tap. They believe that this rate is sufficient to provide 'enough pressure to reach the top storey of the tallest buildings', so not really sure where to go from here now, *sigh* never simple is it!

maybe phone them up and ask if they could increase your flow and pressure?

 

[Radioman]

It's the conundrum of combi boilers in situations that they where never really intended for. A solution would be to retro fit a gravity system and water softener to take care of water quality, and then install digital pumped systems with diverted for bath fill and shower to bathrooms. With the right products, Aqualisa for example, you will then have a minimum 14 lpm to all showers and baths, mains cold to kitchen and anywhere else you want it.

 

[rebecca1]

It's the conundrum of combi boilers in situations that they where never really intended for. A solution would be to retro fit a gravity system and water softener to take care of water quality, and then install digital pumped systems with diverted for bath fill and shower to bathrooms. With the right products, Aqualisa for example, you will then have a minimum 14 lpm to all showers and baths, mains cold to kitchen and anywhere else you want it.

Hi

Thanks. I did wonder if some kind of secondary system with a tank to store water might be my only choice. Would a gravity system work okay (with a pump) in a situation where my shower is only about 4 foot under the attic? Its a sort of attic bedroom - walls built to half height then roof starts. Unfortunately the stairs to my second floor are incredibly narrow (really old house) so I'm not too sure if I can get anything up there (I wanted to put a bath up there and realised I couldn't as I can't get it up the stairs!). I've got 52cm width if I remove the handrail so not feeling massively optimistic but I'll get googling and see if theres anything fits. If there are different size tanks for gravity fed systems is there a minimum capacity that you would recommend as being fit for purpose?

Thanks!

 

[Radioman]

There's always a way, depends how deep the pockets are! A gravity system with the Aqualisa digital showers etc will work fine. However you will,need at least 50 gallons cold water storage and as big a hot water cylinder as possible. Best idea would be to get a local company that specialises in bathroom installation to do a free of charge survey. Be aware though that a bathroom in a new location may need planning permission and will need building controls to sign off. This will involve

 

[rebecca1]

There's always a way, depends how deep the pockets are! A gravity system with the Aqualisa digital showers etc will work fine. However you will,need at least 50 gallons cold water storage and as big a hot water cylinder as possible. Best idea would be to get a local company that specialises in bathroom installation to do a free of charge survey. Be aware though that a bathroom in a new location may need planning permission and will need building controls to sign off. This will involve

Thanks :smiley2:. Bathroom has to stay in the same space as no room anywhere else (tiny house - one bath and one bed on each floor). Sadly if it doesn't fit up the stairs I think theres no viable way of doing it as only possible way would be crane and the roof off, eek!! The stairs are sandwiched in between two structural walls, and my floors are really old limeash and reed mixture so can't be messed with! Be cheaper to move I think! Oh the trials and tribulations to get myself a decent shower, first world problems eh?!
Ps thanks. Will get a bathroom specialist in to take a look and see if they have any ideas.

 

[Radioman]

There's always a way, depends how deep the pockets are! A gravity system with the Aqualisa digital showers etc will work fine. However you will,need at least 50 gallons cold water storage and as big a hot water cylinder as possible. Best idea would be to get a local company that specialises in bathroom installation to do a free of charge survey. Be aware though that a bathroom in a new location may need planning permission and will need building controls to sign off. This will involve

 

[cmel1975]

On the supply to your taps in the bathroom does it have ball o fix isolation valves if so you could change these for the full flow type