3 ms·

There are places where the hot water is in an open (!) container in the attic and it could have dead rodents, etc. in it. Ireland, for one - which is part of th

There are places where the hot water is in an open (!) container in the attic and it could have dead rodents, etc. in it. Ireland, for one - which is part of the persistence of separate hot/cold taps in bathrooms.

globular-toast 3y ago
Yes, that's called a header tank. It's common throughout the UK too. It means low water pressure, especially upstairs. The actual hot water is still in an insulated tank within the house. The header tank holds cold water. Most new installations are unvented systems with no header tank, but this comes with its own tradeoffs. The hot/cold tap thing is funny. We were just taught not to drink from the bathroom tap at all. It still seems gross to me when people do or like in hotels where you have to.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  The header tank is to maintain pressurisation in the radiator heating system; modern "combi" boilers don't need a header tank.
Angostura 3y ago
I think you might be thinking of the cold water tank in the attic that was historically used to feed decent cold water pressure to the upstairs taps only. This is why I was told to never drink out of the taps upstairs as a kid. Think these up much rarer these days. Hot water is always stored in an insulated hotwater cylinder in the UK, not open.
rsynnott 3y ago
Hot water is ~never in an open tank. You’re thinking of cold water tanks; historically these were often open, in Ireland and the UK, though this isn’t allowed under modern building regs. However, the water for the hot water tank usually came from the cold water tank, where present, so you have much the same concern. (There are other concerns with hot water tanks, particularly Legionaries Disease, so even if the cold supply is clean the hot may not be.) This is why water from bathroom taps etc isn’t considered drinkable in countries where this is common. > which is part of the persistence of separate hot/cold taps in bathrooms. This was a separate but related issue; for a long time plumbing regs required this due to concerns about the possibility of hot water (considered unsafe due to the above) being forced back into the public cold water system. This isn’t possible with modern mixer taps.
lost_tourist 3y ago
[dead]

globular-toast 3y ago

Yes, that's called a header tank. It's common throughout the UK too. It means low water pressure, especially upstairs. The actual hot water is still in an insulated tank within the house. The header tank holds cold water. Most new installations are unvented systems with no header tank, but this comes with its own tradeoffs. The hot/cold tap thing is funny. We were just taught not to drink from the bathroom tap at all. It still seems gross to me when people do or like in hotels where you have to.

denton-scratch 3y ago
The header tank is to maintain pressurisation in the radiator heating system; modern "combi" boilers don't need a header tank.

Angostura 3y ago

I think you might be thinking of the cold water tank in the attic that was historically used to feed decent cold water pressure to the upstairs taps only. This is why I was told to never drink out of the taps upstairs as a kid. Think these up much rarer these days. Hot water is always stored in an insulated hotwater cylinder in the UK, not open.

rsynnott 3y ago

Hot water is ~never in an open tank. You’re thinking of cold water tanks; historically these were often open, in Ireland and the UK, though this isn’t allowed under modern building regs. However, the water for the hot water tank usually came from the cold water tank, where present, so you have much the same concern. (There are other concerns with hot water tanks, particularly Legionaries Disease, so even if the cold supply is clean the hot may not be.) This is why water from bathroom taps etc isn’t considered drinkable in countries where this is common. > which is part of the persistence of separate hot/cold taps in bathrooms. This was a separate but related issue; for a long time plumbing regs required this due to concerns about the possibility of hot water (considered unsafe due to the above) being forced back into the public cold water system. This isn’t possible with modern mixer taps.

lost_tourist 3y ago

[dead]