Water pressre

[DaveH]

Hi, I am brand new to static caravans and I must say it is one of my better decisions. One thing that's niggling me is that at times the water pressure is low and showers are often a problem.

Has anyone fitted a pump in a static and if so where would it go. Alternatively how can the shower pressure be improved?

Thanks in advance

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[fhb2]

Is it a shower fed by a combi-boiler, or an electric shower?
If either of these, then my understanding is that a pump cannot be fitted as they are already using mains pressure (if a combi, you have told everybody else in the static never to turn on another tap while the shower is in use?).

You may be best to talk to a local plumber, as some showers are much better than others at handling low pressure, but it may simply be that the pressure on site fluctuates depending how many people are using water, and it is simply something that you have to get used to.

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[Sparkalicious]

Hi Dave,

Technically you can fit a water pump. You could do it just for the shower or for the whole van. For the whole van it would need to be at the main intake for the van and before your boiler. You need to make sure that the pump does not have a higher pressure rating than your boiler can handle. The boiler manual will tell you what the maximum is it can take.

If you want it for a shower then it will be after the boiler, would be a bigger bit of kit as it would need a hot and cold feed. Also will exacebate issues elsewhere which would lose almost all water flow as it would be drawn to the shower when it is on.

Biggest issue is location. In houses we have the luxury of lofts etc to house pumps. If it had to be done then I would go for the first option above and see if it can be installed outside of the van in a purpose built weatherproof box bolted to the underside.

Also, what is your water pressure like on the bib tap outside? Ours is very strong and we still get a dip in water pressure when someone is in the shower and the loo is flushed for instnace.

Interesting dilema.

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[DaveH]

Many thanks to you for your prompt replies. I can see the points made and sort knew before hand the situation.

It is a combi boiler and in truth was ok last time I visited but prior was almost impossible. I was looking at the Salamander inline pump which is only about 1.6 bar, well within my combi range. Whilst reading the instructions it did say it has to be frost free, hence the box suggestion. In truth I am just going put up with it, the newer shower head for low pressure certainly helped.

Once again many thanks for the replies, its always good mull things over with people who have been involved much longer than me.

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[Sparkalicious]

Thinking about frost, the other thing to consider would be drain downs. Most pumps have a shut off valve which kicks in when there is high pressure, ie you shut off a tap etc. Now when it comes to drain down I have a feeling that this would be in the closed position, making it impossible to drain down as it would shut off the main intake. Could be overcome I am sure but would need a little bit of thougt which may be more than it is worth

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[DaveH]

Thinking about frost, the other thing to consider would be drain downs. Most pumps have a shut off valve which kicks in when there is high pressure, ie you shut off a tap etc. Now when it comes to drain down I have a feeling that this would be in the closed position, making it impossible to drain down as it would shut off the main intake. Could be overcome I am sure but would need a little bit of thougt which may be more than it is worth
[/quote

Many thanks, I did actually think about that and the drain down complications.

I've a lot to learn. The drain down being one, ]for instance how is the boiler without water and do you turn the gas off etc.

Everyone here has been a great help and I only wish I had done this earlier in life !!!!

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[Sparkalicious]

So in any water system, it is split into 2 parts. Primary and secondary.

Primary, in a combi boiler system, is the water that runs through your boiler and then into the central heating.

Secondary, in a combi boiler system, is the water that runs through your boiler and then to the taps and showers etc. This hot water is then fairly instant.

Primary systems, as they have no risk of coming into contact with people or being ingested, contain inhibitor. This is basically a anti corrosion anti freeze. As it has anti freeze it won't ice up in cold weather so does not need to be drained down.

Secondary systems don't contain inhibitor so have a risk of freezing up. Hence they need draining down.

So in effect you only really drain down half the system, the bit that comes out the taps and showers. The primary side is left alone.

For context, and the reason they have the lables primary and secondary, in a domestic home, pre combi boiler, with a hot water tank, the primary side of the system heats up the water in the hot water tank by being fed through a coil of pipe. The water in the 2 systems never mixes. But for this system the water that does taps etc never enters the boiler but is heated by water from the primary system, hence it is called secondary. Down side of this, you can run out of hot water if too much is used and it takes a while for the boiler, via the coil, to heat the water tank back up. They are coming back into fashion now due to solar power and people using their excess solar generation to heat the water in the tank via the immersion heater, effectivley using it as a type of energy storage battery. 

Our gas is fed centrally on the site so we never turn it off, just turn off and power off the boiler come winter time, in fact any time we leave for an extended period of time.

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[Slowingdown]

I only just read this thread so apologies for the belated input.

I notice there is no mention of a water pressure regulator.
A regulator won't boost pressure at times of high usage but a faulty one ( or one that's blocked/furred up) can cause loss of pressure and fluctuating water temperatures at the shower as we recently learned.  A new regulator, adjusted to suit the combi parameters, has made a noticeable difference.

If you have one it'll be in the mains feed, probably in the combi boiler cupboard and set to about 3 to 4bar max.usually shown on a dial gauge if fitted.  Worth checking or asking on site.
I hope this helps


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