Water Harvester Problem

[Will_C]

Hi all this is my first post so hello first :smilewinkgrin:
I have recently moved into a new build house that has a water harvester installed, it has a storage tank under the garden which then pumps water up to a header tank in the loft which then gravity feeds all the toilets in the house, the problem we are having is that when it fills the header tank from the water harvester it starts making an almighty noise almost sounds like we have a whale in the loft this only happens from the water harvester feed into the tank not the mains feed as this is a different valve.
I have hardly any plumbing experience apart from good old common sense. I've watched the float valve going down and it appears that instead of using water in the tank then filling the float valve goes right down before it triggers the water to start filling so instead of small smooth inputs for water its all of a sudden a massive one or it might even be opening and closing really quickly creating the noise i'm not sure if that can happen.
See the pictures below the water harvester feed is the float on the right hand side, the other one is the mains feed. I'm thinking of trying anther float valve so any recommendations for a valve would be handy.
Thanks for any advice.
And just to add I have had the plumbers who installed it come out twice to look, and both times left it in a worse state and i've had to sort out the mess afterwards so I don't trust there advice or workmanship any more.

 

[Centralheatking]

I am still intrested in helping you - who supplied the harvester ? In Leicester there was an eco house

in which I gave a lecture on domestic Rainwater re-cycling at 9/10 years ago , near or in park by a main road.

if i can find it or u can get in touch then they might have a local expert - but i dont keep correspondance that long.


For this side of our business we operated as Aquarius Rainwater Engineering but now
its just Aquarius Water Eng.

keep us all updated as its good to see a problem run to ground


Bob Foster Aquarius Water aka centralheatking

 

[Will_C]

The harvester was made by a company called WPL, I have informed the builder and i am waiting for a response, i know there are several other properties on the development with similar issues so it looks like they might have a bit of work to do !

I'll keep you updated as to how it all goes. Its so annoyng though as WPL sent me the installation guide and it says how to install it. I am also worried about how the pump in the tank has been installed as i have a suspicion that the pump may be sat on the bottom of the tank.

 

[AWheating]

if you have no luck with the builder then contact your new homes warrantee scheme supplier. Its normally the NHBC or Zurich.

New home warranties from the UK's leading warranty provider - NHBC | Homeowners | NHBC Warranties and Cover | New Home Warranty

 

[Will_C]

Hi again, after a couple of months i have finally got this resovled, i cant speak highly enough about the people at WPL who sent a team round to sort out the harvester, they found quite a few issues, the main one being plumbed in the wrong way round ! A leaking connector on the pump and also the pump was sitting on the bottom of the tank sucking up all the crud.
But and there is always a but, I have another problem now, i have noticed that the torbeck valvle isn't always shutting off all the way so it just drips after filling, problem is this results in the pump in the harvester starting and stopping all the time till it fills that last little bit which normally results in me turning it off. Is this a faulty valve ? I have been considering replacing it with a fluidmaster valve or trying another torbeck. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks

 

[snowhead]

Possibly just a bit of grit in the valve, try stripping and cleaning first.

 

[Will_C]

Right think i sussed it, i think it was filling up to quickly in short bursts, because its a gravity fed system the storage tank is filling alot quicker than the toilet cisterns so when the cisterns finish filling that last little bit it's not enough to kick in the torbeck valve in the storage tank hence it starts dribbling out and the pump keeps kicking in and out. So i have put in the HP restrictor. Does that make sense to you actual professionalplumbers ?