Valve Identification

[rocklobster]

I have a hot water tank in my airing cupboard and a cold water tank in the loft. I understand this is an open vented system. I'm trying to understand what the valves do below. I can see 7 in total which are numbered. Can anyone shed any light?

 

[Last Plumber]

4/ That is the valve to close the feed and expansion to the cylinder.
2/ I would guess is the mains cold to the ball tap in the tank and possibly other things.
1/ I would guess is Hot to a shower?
3/ I would guess is cold to a shower or a tank fed cold supply to something else, or a feed and expansion to heating?
5/ Looks like the return from the coil in the cylinder.
6/ That is really hard to see but I would hazard a guess it is the flow to Heating.
7/ Again, difficult but looks like a bypass?

There you go, a quick guess for you but I'm not committing from a photo!! You need someone to look at it in real life really.
The photo gives a good idea of what's there but not enough info.

For example if you have a Shower (tank fed) and the hot is taken up and over to it, the chances are that they would take the cold the same way straight from the tank above. That's why I am unsure as to where it goes. It could well be for that but it could also feed say, a WC. It could also, as I said above, be a tank feed for the heating form another tank.

 

[rocklobster]

Thanks for the reply.

So I've just looked again.

1) This one splits. One side goes to the top of the cylinder and the other to downstairs.
2) Doesn't connect to the hot water cylinder. It looks like it goes from the loft straight to downstairs.
3) Again this one doesn't connect to the cylinder it goes from loft to downstairs.
4) This one connects to the bottom of the hot water cylinder on the right hand side.
5) Bottom of hot water cylinder on the left.
6) This connects to a Honeywell diverter valve.
7) Connected to diverter valve.

 

[Last Plumber]

1 / The pipe that leaves the top of the cylinder is the pipe which supplies hot water to draw off points and is also the vent pipe.
The pipe will rise off the top of the cylinder and then split up and down.
The upward section will vent over the tank which supplies the cylinder and the downward will supply the draw off points in the property.
Someone has tee'd into the vent pipe and used it as an additional draw off to something else. More often than not, a shower.
There will be water in that vent pipe at a very close/similar level to that of the tank water level which feeds the cylinder.

Why are you asking what all these things are for?

 

[Rob Foster]

yea why ? chking

 

[rocklobster]

It's just occurred to me if I had a leak in an emergency I wouldn't know how to shut off the hot water. What valves would I need to shut off in an emergency?

 

[Last Plumber]

That would depend on what was leaking and where from.
There is no straight forward answer to the question.
The best advice I think, would be to turn the water mains off and phone a Plumber.

 

[Best]

Good luck using those red headed gate valves!
You might be lucky to turn them fully off and they might turn back on, but they can break.
Lever valves would be best for supply valves from cold water tank to cold taps, hot cylinder feed and supplies to showers

 

[townfanjon]

Good luck using those red headed gate valves!
You might be lucky to turn them fully off and they might turn back on, but they can break.
Lever valves would be best for supply valves from cold water tank to cold taps, hot cylinder feed and supplies to showers

“Gate valves” , so “ last year “

 

[Best]

“Gate valves” , so “ last year “

So true but isn’t it?
Funny how somethings that we used are now so out of date.

 

[townfanjon]

So true but isn’t it?
Funny how somethings that we used are now so out of date.

Just dread turning them back on , lol

 

[Best]

Just dread turning them back on , lol

Russian Roulette.
9 out of 10 times you survive the wheel head spin.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

In emergency turn 2 and if you can 4 off

 

[rocklobster]

Thanks guys. So if this was a new install I assume you would use ball valves? Pegler?

 

[townfanjon]

Thanks guys. So if this was a new install I assume you would use ball valves? Pegler?

Yep , slightly more expensive but worth the extra IMO

 

[Jim Goodenough]

Good luck using those red headed gate valves!

It makes me ill looking at them!

 

[Ric2013]

The Pegler gate valves are fine and I still carry one in my parts box. (The cheap ones I don't fit). But they cost more than lever valves these days.

What is it with all these UKPF people and why do they hate gate valves so much? Some gate valves are cheap and nasty, therefore all gate valves are? It's like saying some people are -rseholes therefore all people are a-rseholes.

Although the OP's gate valves do seem to be the cheap ones.

 

[sammathias]

Almost a dead cert of them snapping if you turn them completely off. Terrible valves. Always leave it pass slightly.

 

[Ric2013]

Almost a dead cert of them snapping if you turn them completely off. Terrible valves. Always leave it pass slightly.

I've seen them (good ones) used as drain-offs!

 

[Welder]

why do they hate gate valves so much?

There is actually a simple answer to that Ric. Gate valves were all one could get 30 years ago. When full bore lever valves came out and did a better and cheaper job people stuck back in days of yore insisted on continuing to install them. To compete the prices and quality plummeted so everyone now hates them.

I agree the Pegler versions are superb, but they simply do not belong in a domestic system when full bore isolators are available. ALL gate valves have quite serious flow resistance whereas FB valves have virtually none. GVs suffer from cavitation FB valves dont.

There is not a single domestic install situation I would even consider using a GV these days.

 

[Best]

There is actually a simple answer to that Ric. Gate valves were all one could get 30 years ago. When full bore lever valves came out and did a better and cheaper job people stuck back in days of yore insisted on continuing to install them. To compete the prices and quality plummeted so everyone now hates them.

I agree the Pegler versions are superb, but they simply do not belong in a domestic system when full bore isolators are available. ALL gate valves have quite serious flow resistance whereas FB valves have virtually none. GVs suffer from cavitation FB valves dont.

There is not a single domestic install situation I would even consider using a GV these days.

Balancing valves on a heating system are okay with gate valves I think.
Not bad also as isolators for pipes to a cylinder coil.
They don’t corrode or seize obviously on heating systems.
Otherwise I won’t use them, except to replace an old broken gate valve to save me bother