Low water pressure

Don Pedro

Hi All,

I have a water tank in the attic which feeds my supply to the house - shower, washing machine, taps, toilet etc...

I notice when the toilet is flushed for example that the taps have a very very low flow until the cistern fills. Then the pressure is ok (never great)

Another example would be that when the washing machine is on and is being filled with water, pressure in the taps, shower etc... is also very very low.

Since my supply is coming from the tank, is there anything (for example a pump) that can be put in place to boost the pressure?

Any advice appreciated.

ART6

If you use a pump you will need some plumbing, a pressure switch, and a power supply, and you will then have to contend with the noise of the pump every time anyone runs water anywhere. Pumps in attics tend to distribute their noise to every upstairs room.

Personally I'd look into why you have the low pressure problem first. So:

Is the tank in the attic mounted up on a frame or is it on the attic floor? If the latter, consider building a frame out of 2 x 4 to raise it. An extra metre of height will make quite a difference to the flow.

Check to see if the tank has a lot of sludge in the bottom -- they often do, and that could be restricting the outlet.

Try connecting the hot tap to the mains (cold) tap in the kitchen with a length of hose or something. Open both taps a turn or so and then, in the attic, place a thumb over the vent pipe into the tank and see what gets blown back out of the outlet pipe -- you might have a partial blockage or a partial airlock that's restricting the flow.

Don Pedro

Thats great advice. I will have a look at those options so and see what happens.

Thanks a million.