Removing cold water tanks

[MarkOil]

I know this has been covered before but, can you remove the feed from your cold water tank to the bathroom taps, shower, toilet etc, and connect them to the mains if you have enough pressure?
If you can do this, you have to leave the tank connected to the cylinder is that correct??
If so, why is this? are hot water cylinders just not able to cope with the pressure?
I don't actually do any plumbing, just get asked these kind of questions and if they are possible or why not.

Thank you

 

[Mike Jackson]

Open vented hot water cylinders are not designed to take the pressures involved in being directly connected to the cold main. Cylinders are available that work direct from the cold main but they also have a range of extra safety features because a hot water cylinder connected directly to the cold main has the potential to become a bomb.

Search you tube for mythbusters hot water cylinder explosion.

 

[WHPES]

You can connect taps, wc etc to the mains be bear in mind that the hot and cold pressures will be different so any mixer taps, showers etc will not work properly (probably why the feed was taken off the cistern in the first place). You need a special unvented cylinder and kit to replace the gravity cylinder and it must be done by a registered installer as it could be dangerous if incorrectly installed.