Does anyone know if you need to have your cold water tank cleaned/checked if it is in the loft space? A friend told me her plumber when servicing her heating boiler suggested this. Said you should have it done every year. Any info. on this anybody?
If it's a modern tank, with a good - fitting lid, there should br no need to clean out yearly. But an annual inspection ain't a bad idea (check ball valve for leaks / drips) ;)
Some central heating systems have a feeder tank in the attic, This tank makes up the water that the system loses in its usual operation. Some are not even connected to a feed and need a bucket of water to top them up occasionally. It also acts a a receptacle for the expansion in the system as it gets hot so the tank can get a lot of crud in it.
I think this practice has been outlawed, but I bet there are a few old systems running, even if your boiler has been changed. If your boiler has been changed in the last few years you would have had to have a condenser boiler which does away with your attic tanks and airing cupboard. They are much more efficient, the amount of fuel needed to run mine has really dropped. Pity the price went up though.
I recently helped my mate to install a Multi fuel burner, running a gravity system. He ain't got the luxury of mains gas. Yes you do still have to include an expansion tank, and these have to be connected (via a ball valve) to the mains. I think the tank Tomatoada is refering to is their Main cold feed tank, this (in older systems) feeds the cold to the bath / shower, but is not of drinking quality. They used to be open topped (galvanised / slate with lead lining) but should by now all have been replaced with plastic, these come with a close - fitting lid.
Thanks for these replies. My house was built in 2000 so the tank is just over 8 yrs old. It is plastic with a lid. Someone else said there is new legislation which says tanks in loft space must be checked every 2 yrs. Still a bit confused.
Quote from: tomatoada on February 18, 2009, 10:16:20
Thanks for these replies. My house was built in 2000 so the tank is just over 8 yrs old. It is plastic with a lid. Someone else said there is new legislation which says tanks in loft space must be checked every 2 yrs. Still a bit confused.
Are there 1 or 2 tanks in the loft ? if there are, it's usually 1 small,(Expansion for the heating)and 1 large (cold feed to bath / shower)
Quote from: tomatoada on February 18, 2009, 10:16:20
Thanks for these replies. My house was built in 2000 so the tank is just over 8 yrs old. It is plastic with a lid. Someone else said there is new legislation which says tanks in loft space must be checked every 2 yrs. Still a bit confused.
I bet it is also an insurance issue, no regular check, no payout. Still it does make sense to have somebody check and sign it off as good. Just in case.