UK sizes

kkelly77

Are UK fixture sizes the same as Irish? Asking a dumb question as I am planning to order taps and a radiator from the UK and I'm still relatively new to plumbing. Just want to make sure there isn't a size difference for connections etc. Thanks for the advice.

K

ntpm

kkelly77 wrote: »

Are UK fixture sizes the same as Irish? Asking a dumb question as I am planning to order taps and a radiator from the UK and I'm still relatively new to plumbing. Just want to make sure there isn't a size difference for connections etc. Thanks for the advice.

K

Be careful... very careful.

Some UK fittings are in metric i.e 15mm and 22mm

irish fitings are normally imperial 1/2" and 3/4".

Sometimes simply changing the compression olive in fittings will be ok.
You can get fitting here for converting or connecting metric to imperial.

Also be careful with types of taps.
UK taps may be suitable for high pressure i.e Mains water pressure is used through comi boilersin the UK. Therefore hot and cold pressure is higher.
In Ireland you may be relying on a gravity pressure (cold storage in attic)

Some UK taps and fixtures won't work properly if at all.

The radiator will normally be ok but the radiator valves may be 15mm not usually an issue and worse case senario is that you may need to change the compression fitting or buy new rad valves here.

kkelly77

ntpm wrote: »

Be careful... very careful.

Some UK fittings are in metric i.e 15mm and 22mm

irish fitings are normally imperial 1/2" and 3/4".

Sometimes simply changing the compression olive in fittings will be ok.
You can get fitting here for converting or connecting metric to imperial.

I bought some metric compression olives already as I am fitting shut off valves on all 1/2" and 3/4" copper.

ntpm wrote: »

Also be careful with types of taps.
UK taps may be suitable for high pressure i.e Mains water pressure is used through comi boilersin the UK. Therefore hot and cold pressure is higher.
In Ireland you may be relying on a gravity pressure (cold storage in attic)

Some UK taps and fixtures won't work properly if at all.

According to their site, the taps work on the following systems
· Combination boiler systems

· Pumped hot water systems

· Un-vented hot water systems

· Standard pressurised hot water cylinder type systems

ntpm wrote: »

The radiator will normally be ok but the radiator valves may be 15mm not usually an issue and worse case senario is that you may need to change the compression fitting or buy new rad valves here.

I'll need to confirm valve size with the seller although they are sold separately.

ntpm

kkelly77 wrote: »

I bought some metric compression olives already as I am fitting shut off valves on all 1/2" and 3/4" copper.



According to their site, the taps work on the following systems
· Combination boiler systems

· Pumped hot water systems

· Un-vented hot water systems

· Standard pressurised hot water cylinder type systems




I'll need to confirm valve size with the seller although they are sold separately.

The taps might still be an issue:
Pumped hot water/Standard pressurised normally could mean around 1.5 to 2.5 Bar.
If you are using a gravity feed system ( open vented) you may not have enough pressure. :mad:Email them for suitablity.

Radiator will probably be ok. they usually supply 15mm but they will fit 1/2" copper with olive change only.


To clarify: UK copper is usually 15mm and 22mm
Irish copper is usually 1/2" and 3/4"".

Hope above helps.

kkelly77

ntpm wrote: »

The taps might still be an issue:
Pumped hot water/Standard pressurised normally could mean around 1.5 to 2.5 Bar.
If you are using a gravity feed system ( open vented) you may not have enough pressure. :mad:Email them for suitablity.

Radiator will probably be ok. they usually supply 15mm but they will fit 1/2" copper with olive change only.


To clarify: UK copper is usually 15mm and 22mm
Irish copper is usually 1/2" and 3/4"".

Hope above helps.

My water system uses a cold storage tank in the attic alright. Another silly question is where is the in feed for the hot water delivered from? There is a smaller storage tank in the attic beside the larger one.

Good news about the radiator at least. I use a good bit of PTFE tape to secure the fittings. Thanks for the advice.

ntpm

Large tank is your cold water supply. This should feed all your cold taps (exept the kitchen sink cold which should be mains fed). This tank also feeds in to the bottom of your cylinder which is heated by your boiler (closed) hot water circuit or electric immersion.
hence the term gravity fed hot water. You rely on the pressure exerted by the water in the tank which is far lower pressure than mains or pumped/pressureised system.

The little tank is you Ffeed and Expansion tank for the boiler circuit( heating radiators and cylinder (via the closed circuit I mentioned above).

FYI. The two water systems never mix.

kkelly77

ntpm wrote: »

Large tank is your cold water supply. This should feed all your cold taps (exept the kitchen sink cold which should be mains fed). This tank also feeds in to the bottom of your cylinder which is heated by your boiler (closed) hot water circuit or electric immersion.
hence the term gravity fed hot water. You rely on the pressure exerted by the water in the tank which is far lower pressure than mains or pumped/pressureised system.

The little tank is you Ffeed and Expansion tank for the boiler circuit( heating radiators and cylinder (via the closed circuit I mentioned above).

FYI. The two water systems never mix.

Just found some specs on their taps which state a minimum of 1 bar pressure is required. Is that sort of pressure possible from a gravity system?

DoneDL

1 bar = 10 meters head

kkelly77

DoneDL wrote: »

1 bar = 10 meters head

You'll need to dumb that down a tad for me

ntpm

DoneDL wrote: »

1 bar = 10 meters head

Spot on:

Rule of thumb:
to get water pressure of at least 1 bar, which is equivalent to a gap of 10 meters between the bottom of the cold water storage tank and the outlet of the fixture.
your be lucky if you get this in a 3 storey house.

Buford T Justice

DoneDL wrote: »

1 bar = 10 meters head

To get 1 bar of pressure, you need to have the header tank 10 meters above the taps vertically, so no, those taps are not suitable.

kkelly77

ntpm wrote: »

Spot on:

Rule of thumb:
to get water pressure of at least 1 bar, which is equivalent to a gap of 10 meters between the bottom of the cold water storage tank and the outlet of the fixture.
your be lucky if you get this in a 3 storey house.

Damn it :mad:
Does the type of system I have mean the choice of fixtures is limited due to the lack of water pressure? What makes some taps require a higher pressure than others to work properly?

ntpm

kkelly77 wrote: »

Damn it :mad:
Does the type of system I have mean the choice of fixtures is limited due to the lack of water pressure? What makes some taps require a higher pressure than others to work properly?

they are designed for the UK market and the valves and seats in them would be able to modulate water flow correctly. If you instal them in low pressure systems the water would barely trickle out.


you can get low pressure equivalents but might take a while to search for them.

Joey the lips

This has problems written all over it. I suspect you have bought the fittings all ready and are now asking the questions.

The advice is been given but your now looking for ways around. Are you asking if they will work or how to make them work....

There is a difference.

English taps even on a gravity fed system are usually quoted as requireing 0.5 bar. This is considered high pressure in ireland.

English rads are generally metric so you will need metric valves. These will increase your cost in converting them over. Olives and PTFE are not the way to go on the heating. What are your thoughts on the boiler. Usually a boiler and rad package here is very competitive and a grant is availavle.

I would suggest you have a plumber look into this as the cost of the mistake is greater to remedy then your initial cost...

You will not be insured if someone RGII registered does not fit this and a conformance cert is not issued.

Please consider carefully your next steps.

kkelly77

Joey the lips wrote: »

This has problems written all over it. I suspect you have bought the fittings all ready and are now asking the questions.

Fittings have not been purchased as I'm not at that stage in the project yet. Just want to be prepared and informed prior to buying anything. The fittings I found are exactly what I'm after and seem to be a good price. I don't use the credit card so blasé

Joey the lips wrote: »

What are your thoughts on the boiler. Usually a boiler and rad package here is very competitive and a grant is available.

I would suggest you have a plumber look into this as the cost of the mistake is greater to remedy then your initial cost...

You will not be insured if someone RGII registered does not fit this and a conformance cert is not issued.

Please consider carefully your next steps.

Replacement boiler and rads are totally out of the question. Don't have that sort of money to spend unfortunately. If I did, I'd let someone else do all the work while I drank all the tea

DoneDL

There are plenty of options available to you. Try bes ltd in the UK for the taps and the rad should be a simple case of an olive change.