Plumbing

[Vipers]

Question, there is a burst water main down the road and the cold water tap, which comes straight from the mains, is just a trickle, but what does the big tank in the loft do?

There is a little tank in the loft for the central heating, and this girnormous tank of water, what does this do?

[v8will]

Water supply for taps in your bathroom.

[deveng]

Really? General gassing?

[Mr GrimNasty]

v8will said:

Water supply for taps in your bathroom.

Shouldn't do really. All potable water should be straight from the mains. Roof tank usually feeds hot water tank, sometimes toilet, etc. etc.

[munroman]

The big tank will also supply your toilet, and all taps normally apart from the cold tap in the kitchen.

Even though you are getting a trickle at the kitchen tap, it may not be enough pressure to top up the loft tank, the Central Heating should be fine, but you may run out of flushing water.

(Also, there can often be all sorts of crud from the repaired mains, so the less that runs into the loft tank the better! )

[Gingerbread Man]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Shouldn't do really. All potable water should be straight from the mains. Roof tank usually feeds hot water tank, sometimes toilet, etc. etc.

Any cold water storage tanks installed in a loft these days qualify as potable water. The tank has a sealing lid and is fitted with a bylaw 30 kit.

To be honest though, you don't really need potable water in a bathroom.

[Smiler.]

Gingerbread Man said:

Any cold water storage tanks installed in a loft these days qualify as potable water. The tank has a sealing lid and is fitted with a bylaw 30 kit.

To be honest though, you don't really need potable water in a bathroom.

What is bylaw 30? I found a flyer about this & a piece of glav steel with a hole in it on top of my tank, clearly not fitted.

Potable water is present at the kitchen tap though.

[Vipers]

Thanks guys.

[fatboy b]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Shouldn't do really. All potable water should be straight from the mains. Roof tank usually feeds hot water tank, sometimes toilet, etc. etc.

Really depends on the age on the house. Our house was built in the early 80's. The only mains tap was the kitchen one. I got it all switched over when we had the bathrooms redone. Now the cold tank only supplies the hot tank. All cold - incl. loos are mains.

[Mr GrimNasty]

Gingerbread Man said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

Shouldn't do really. All potable water should be straight from the mains. Roof tank usually feeds hot water tank, sometimes toilet, etc. etc.

Any cold water storage tanks installed in a loft these days qualify as potable water. The tank has a sealing lid and is fitted with a bylaw 30 kit.

To be honest though, you don't really need potable water in a bathroom.

I know that thanks. You'll note my choice of words. It still isn't wise. And everyone needs potable water in a bathroom - think about it!

[Simpo Two]

fatboy b said:

Really depends on the age on the house. Our house was built in the early 80's. The only mains tap was the kitchen one.

Same here (1988). The header tank in the roof is constanty being replenished with fresh mains water so there's no problem, it doesn't stagnate and there are no dead pigeons in it because it has an insulated cover. Don't worry about the over-cossetted 21st century 'OMG we're all going to die' stuff.

It also means that if the water is cut off you still have a great big tankfull to keep you going, as Vipers is now enjoying

[Mr GrimNasty]

Simpo Two said:

fatboy b said:

Really depends on the age on the house. Our house was built in the early 80's. The only mains tap was the kitchen one.

Same here (1988). The header tank in the roof is constanty being replenished with fresh mains water so there's no problem, it doesn't stagnate and there are no dead pigeons in it because it has an insulated cover. Don't worry about the over-cossetted 21st century 'OMG we're all going to die' stuff.

It also means that if the water is cut off you still have a great big tankfull to keep you going, as Vipers is now enjoying

It's not quite the same though is it! He did the sensible thing and swapped over to the 'right' way. Yes old houses are often plumbed in a way that would be viewed as a public health risk these days. Your system puts you at increased risked of gastro/dysentery type pathogens - most are so mild you wouldn't even make the association. But there can be more serious bugs. Most water systems work perfectly well until everyone starts dying of cholera or legionnaires. It's just a slightly higher risk - not an automatic death sentence! Although as pointed out you can 'legally' use a correctly fitted out storage tank for drinking, it is still a 'lazy' way to plumb things and still has increased health risks.

[Gingerbread Man]

Mr GrimNasty said:

I know that thanks. You'll note my choice of words. It still isn't wise. And everyone needs potable water in a bathroom - think about it!

New tanks are sealed so allow the water to be classed as potable (drinkable water). Old tanks won't be classed as potable.
Do you drink the water in your bathroom? Might go as far as swilling your mouth with it, but doesn't need to be drinkable as you aren't drinking it.
You shouldn't drink from it unless it's mains fed or from a potable classed cold water tank.

You should only really drink from the water from the kitchen tap as it thd only certain mains (99% of time) fed tap.

[dirkgently]

Mr GrimNasty said:

Although as pointed out you can 'legally' use a correctly fitted out storage tank for drinking, it is still a 'lazy' way to plumb things and still has increased health risks.

Rubbish. Its a perfectly legitimate way to plumb and often superior to a mains feed cold system.

[Simpo Two]

Generally I think the world was a far more sensible place in the 1980s





What would happen if you had all your pipes connected to the mains and then you fell in a hole? In the dark. In a hole in the dark with an owl?

[mk1fan]

That's a 90's quote, shirley.