Ballcock replacement with faster flow

[TechnicMan]

Hi guys

We live in an ex-council maisonette and thus have a fairly small water storage tank located above the bathroom door. There is no scope to increase the size of the tank and we don't have a loft so it cannot go any higher. A few years ago we had a power shower installed using a negative head pump.

When it was installed there was a problem as the water was not flowing back into the storage tank fast enough for the pump to keep up. Consequently the pump would stall after a few minutes. The plumber overcame this to some extent by soldering some extra bits onto the ball cock mechanism making it more sensitive. He also said that the cold water pressure to the tank is excellent and the problem was with the ballcock mechanism.

Over time though the solder has obviously been wearing away as the time before the pump stalls has got shorter and shorter. It now takes three goes to fill the bath, waiting for the tank to refill in between.

Is there any other solution to this problem? Are there ballcocks with higher flow rates available? Or maybe an electronic version? Any help on this would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Julian

 

[justlead1]

Hi, Yes fit an equilibrium ballvalve, the flow rate is 10 fold that of a standard BS1212 > Good Luck

 

[Jimbob]

will only flow aas much as there is pressure/flow in pipe though. no room for large tank at all, or get another tank up there and link them together

 

[Bernie2]

What did the Plumber solder onto a ballvalve to make it flow faster?

I would replace it with a new one, the equilibrium ballvalves are very expensive though and usually used where there is a lot of water hammer.

It sounds as though a normal HP BS1212 ballvalve would do, if your old one supplied your water when it was working. Its just not clear what the job, is really.

The normal BS1212 valves usually have up to three orifice sizes.Low Medium and High pressure. The equilibrium valve is probably better than most of these.

Anyway: You use a High pressure orifice if the water pressure is reasonably powerful and then go down to Medium or Low pressure if its weak.

But you have to make sure the water pressure doesn't increase of a night, if you fit Low pressure on the mains, its really meant for stored water and overflows if the pressure gets to high.

 

[TechnicMan]

Hi, Yes fit an equilibrium ballvalve, the flow rate is 10 fold that of a standard BS1212 > Good Luck

Thanks for the quick reply! Is this the sort of thing you mean?

(1/2'') 15mm Brass Equilibrium Ball Valve

What did the Plumber solder onto a ballvalve to make it flow faster?

I would replace it with a new one, the equilibrium ballvalves are very expensive though and usually used where there is a lot of water hammer.

It sounds as though a normal HP BS1212 ballvalve would do, if your old one supplied your water when it was working. Its just not clear what the job, is really.

The normal BS1212 valves usually have up to three orifice sizes.Low Medium and High pressure. The equilibrium valve is probably better than most of these.

Anyway: You use a High pressure orifice if the water pressure is reasonably powerful and then go down to Medium or Low pressure if its weak.

But you have to make sure the water pressure doesn't increase of a night, if you fit Low pressure on the mains, its really meant for stored water and overflows if the pressure gets to high.

Hi Bernie

Thanks for the advice. The plumber soldered some extra bits onto the inlet end of the arm, the bit which closes the valve. Not sure why, but it seemed to work at the time!

 

[Bernie2]

Hi TechnicMan

I would go for an ordinary high pressure ball valve they are usually about £5 complete. You can get different sized orifices with them. I would say the price difference between an equilibrium valve and a 1212 Part 2 is a lot of money, to spend which you might not need too, if an ordinary ball valve with one of the bigger orifices will do the job. Start with a High pressure, then Medium, then Low. The chances are though it sounds like a straight forward High might do the job.

Still can't figure out what the Plumber would be soldering onto the inlet of the ball valve.

Except if you had water hammer problems he may have installed an air cushion. In which case if you do have water hammer problems, then what he did should still work. It may need refreshing though. Just turn off the mains, drain some water out the cistern and drain off the mains water. Then turn back on. This should have dropped the ball valve and allowed air into the pipe to replenish the air reservoir if it has one.

Good Fortune

 

[TechnicMan]

Hi TechnicMan

I would go for an ordinary high pressure ball valve they are usually about £5 complete. You can get different sized orifices with them. I would say the price difference between an equilibrium valve and a 1212 Part 2 is a lot of money, to spend which you might not need too, if an ordinary ball valve with one of the bigger orifices will do the job. Start with a High pressure, then Medium, then Low. The chances are though it sounds like a straight forward High might do the job.

Still can't figure out what the Plumber would be soldering onto the inlet of the ball valve.

Except if you had water hammer problems he may have installed an air cushion. In which case if you do have water hammer problems, then what he did should still work. It may need refreshing though. Just turn off the mains, drain some water out the cistern and drain off the mains water. Then turn back on. This should have dropped the ball valve and allowed air into the pipe to replenish the air reservoir if it has one.

Good Fortune

Cheers Bernie, I'll give the high pressure valve a go and see what happens.

Many thanks.

 

[justlead1]

Hi The bit the plumber soldered on may have been an extension to the arm, as this may have allowed him to fit a larger orifice to the ball vale, which would allow more flow into the cistern.