How do I get rid of the water pump?

[Muppet]

(I'm not an English native, so I apologize if this question makes no sense.)

In my apartment, the water is powered by a pump; the only exceptions are the water to the toilet tanks and the cold water to the kitchen.

Is it feasible to get rid of the pump, and if so, what is a rough estimate of the total (parts + work) cost?

In short, the water system has the following layout (pictures are attached):

* The mains is stored in a tank, the base of which is circa 1.40m above floor level.

* Below the tank is an electrical (there's no gas in the house) heater.

* At the floor level is the pump.

The apartment is on the top floor, so I assume that the loft space is available if one wanted to get a bigger distance from a tank to a tap.

 

[Puddle]

May we ask why you want to get rid of the pump

 

[Robtheplumb]

That looks to me to be a negative head pump, you have a pressure vessel on the top, if it is and it is powering a shower then to do away with this would be expensive (unvented cylinder or electric shower). I would not like to coment on a price as I have not seen the whole layout

 

[Muppet]

1. It makes a hell of a noise.
2. When there is a power failure, or the pump breaks down, we have no water.

As far as the noise is concerned, I could hopefully have it sound-insulated, assuming that it is the pump motor, rather than vibrations, that causes the noise.

[I notice that I posted the question on the wrong part of the forum -- I didn't intend it to be on "tools".]

 

[Puddle]

without it your water will be trickling
as regards power cut ,if this happens you turn pump off so when power comes on you do not bring pump on and open the two yellow valves on the pipework above pump ,the valves that are on the pipework connecting the inlet and outlet pipework from the pump,on hot and cold just turn in line,this can be done also if you want to by pass the pump and will show you what water pressure you have if you did have no pump,no need to remove pump
as for sound the pump should be on sponge pad and would advise some sound proofing around pump with ventilation ports as cupboard is empty and will make sound travel,the problem is the better the pump,the louder it is and you have a good pump,it is a negative head,should think gives a nice shower

 

[Muppet]

without it your water will be trickling
as regards power cut ,if this happens you turn pump off so when power comes on you do not bring pump on and open the two yellow valves on the pipework above pump ,the valves that are on the pipework connecting the inlet and outlet pipework from the pump,on hot and cold just turn in line,this can be done also if you want to by pass the pump and will show you what water pressure you have if you did have no pump,no need to remove pump
as for sound the pump should be on sponge pad and would advise some sound proofing around pump with ventilation ports as cupboard is empty and will make sound travel,the problem is the better the pump,the louder it is and you have a good pump,it is a negative head,should think gives a nice shower

Yes, when it works it does give a nice shower

I have tried bypassing the pump but the resulting pressure is very low. For example, it's not good enough for the shower.

Anyway, thanks for your answer; it was very useful. I shall try sound-proofing the pump. Here's a stupid follow-up question: Is sound-proofing the water pump something a plumber would be happy to do, or should I find someone of another profession?

 

[Puddle]

Probably a handy man or a joiner can make a box with vents and insulation inside

 

[Muppet]

That looks to me to be a negative head pump, you have a pressure vessel on the top, if it is and it is powering a shower then to do away with this would be expensive (unvented cylinder or electric shower). I would not like to coment on a price as I have not seen the whole layout

I was considering this work as part of a full refurbishment, so I'm really looking for a *very* general estimate. This is in the Woking area, by the way.

 

[stevetheplumber]

only way to get rid of the pump is to fit a mains fed cylinder or a heatstore system cost is going to be in the region of £1200 as a ball park figure can only be done if you have sufficent mains flow available

 

[WHPES]

Sounds like an installation issue and not a problem with the pump itself.

You need an acoustic mat under the pump. That will easily fix the problem. Currently the pump will be sitting on a wooden board which acts like a soundboard on a piano and will actually be AMPLIFYING the sound.

Is the pump connected to the system with flexible braided hoses or is it with rigid pipework? If it is the latter, that will be the cause of the noise as vibrations will be transmitting through the entire installation.

Probably a handy man or a joiner can make a box with vents and insulation inside

NO NO NO NO!!!
Don't box the pump in! All that will do is wreck the pump as it will overheat. The pump motor requires lots of ventilation. Even with vents it will not fix the problem - Address the CAUSE of the problem!