Pressure is the force that pushes water through pipes. Water pressure determines the flow of water from the tap. The amount of pressure at your tap can depend on how high the service reservoir or water tower is above your home, or on how much water other customers are using. The height of your property can also affect your water pressure – properties at the top of a hill may receive lower pressure than properties which are at the bottom of the hill. You should not notice any difference in your water pressure after having a water meter installed.

Low pressure can reduce water flow to a trickle and it will take a long time to fill a kettle or a cistern.  Some modern heating appliances and showers will not work below certain pressure levels. You should seek your water company’s advice before installing this type of equipment to check whether the pressure in your water company’s area is sufficient for these systems to operate efficiently.

Low pressure can have a number of causes. For example, when demand for water is high (such as in the morning or early evenings) pressure can be lower than during the rest of the day. There can also be problems during dry spells when people use hosepipes or sprinklers to water their gardens.

Other causes of low pressure can include:

• inadequate pumping facilities
• water mains that are too small
• reduced pressure from the water main as a result of leakage, equipment failures or blocked service pipes

Due to regulation, you cannot pump directly onto a mains water line for the whole property, without storing water and creating an overflow. To achieve this we supply the boosters systems with break tanks, as they are commonly known, to compliantly store the water to act as a reservoir and which the pump draws from.

Water pressure is mostly determined by two things: gravity and distance. For example, if the water has to travel a long way uphill to your home, then your water pressure may not be as good as a house that’s closer to the supply down the hill. Low pressure can also be a problem for people who live on the top floor of a tall building, such as a block of flats.

To address this, you could have a booster pump installed. A pump works by repressurising the water before it enters your home. You must make sure that, if you choose to install a booster, it adheres to Water Regulations and that the pump is approved by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme. The pump mustn’t over pressurise the water and the pressure shouldn’t exceed 12 litres of water per minute from any cold tap. There must be safeguards in place to prevent the pressure from going over this threshold.

Pumps can be expensive, but in most cases they will solve your water pressure issues. It’s a worthwhile investment for any property type.

At NT Cloke Pumps & Water we can both supply your pump and install it too.

ABSOLUTELY. At NT Cloke Pumps & Water we can do this for you. We can install a booster pump can be fitted to the mains cold water supply. If you live in a residential property, there are guidelines to follow.

In compliance with water fitting regulations, this is up to 12 litres per minute. Generally, a mains booster pump can improve the performance of all the water appliances and fixtures in your home.

The technical answer to this question is that it is a multi-pump skid-mounted system comprising:

• Normally two or more pumps, commonly with variable speed drives.
• Manifolds, valves and expansion vessels.
• Control gear, sensors and BMS interface system.

The less technical answer is: a pump with pressure control, which automatically maintains a constant pressure in the system.

The main use for a booster set is to pressurise drinking water within the built environment or the mains water network, but booster sets are also used for irrigation, car washes, water treatment systems, industrial processes and fire suppression systems.

We have a vast range of booster pump sets available to purchase from us direct. We can also come to your property to complete a full installation.

Break tanks are used to help boost pressure within a water system, where the current water pressure is not strong enough to supply the requirements of the building. Typically, break tanks are fitted with an air gap between the inlet and maximum water level to prevent backflow into the mains water supply.

To determine the size of the break tank required, there are a few things to consider.

Occupancy of the building

This is a big factor, as you need to understand how much water is required within the property. For example a hotel requires more water storage per bed space than a hostel.

Below are some examples of recommended minimum storage levels for each type of premises.

Hotel – 200 Litres per bed space

Office without Canteen – 40 Litres per employee

Office with Canteen – 45 Litres per employee

Restaurant – 7 litres per meal

Primary School – 15 litres per pupil

Secondary School – 20 Litres per pupil

Nursing Home – 120 Litres per bed space

(Source: BS EN 806 Part 2)

Please consider when using this calculation, the peak occupancy of the building. 

When sizing for a domestic building, a rough guide of 90 litres per bed space should be sufficient, however high-end properties may require additional storage. 

Another consideration would be the expected peak flow of the premises. This is calculated when sizing a booster set. In determining the peak flow rate, we must consider how much water storage must be provided to facilitate this flow rate.

Tanks Direct recommend that a minimum of 15 minutes’ storage, according to the peak flow rate of the booster set, should be provided in a booster set break tank within a commercial installation. For example, a booster set with a peak design flow rate of 1.1 litres/second, or 66 litres/minute, requires a break tank with a capacity of at least 990 litres. 

Other factors such as the tank inlet flow rate and the usage patterns of the building should also be taken into account – buildings with a poor rate of mains water supply will require greater storage. This will also be influenced by the siting of the break tank – a tank on the ground floor of a building will fill at a higher rate than a tank on an upper floor or in the roof space. Siting a tank in the roof space of a building is likely to necessitate a larger storage volume.

In short you will need to talk to one of our engineers first.  We would require a breakdown of the cold water outlet for the whole property, i.e. 2 W/C’s, 4 Wash hand basins and a shower. Once we have calculated the building water demand, we can then specify the right storage tank, this is an industry standard of a capacity to cope with a 10-minute run time at full demand, most 3-4 bedroom properties for example work out at around 250L.

For most single property installation, pressure isn’t a huge concern, as low head booster systems that run up to 3 bar will produce more than sufficient pressure for a 2-story property.

We would recommend having a quick chat with our engineer as there are a couple of factors that this depend on.

These include; the demand of the building if you want it sharing across 2 pumps, but also the importance of the water supply, for example, manufacturing facilities who need wash down cannot afford the downtime of a single pump etc. With a twin pump system, you can share the duty across 2 pumps, which both pumps would run at 50% of total duty, or on duty standby, where each pump would be capable of 100% of total duty.

Yes we can. In fact we find bespoke solutions for all of our clients. 

This is a common issue, which is why we offer a compact solution as the Flyvar Booster system which is a compact system where the pump(s) are in the tank to save space, these can also be installed externally with the addition of an inverter housing cover, to protect it from the elements.

Of course we do. And with bespoke builds we will come out to measure up.

To be honest, with the use of modern technically, we only require the standard set of information, and then just basic measurements of the space it is going into, widths of doors and room space etc, all of this we can now do with the use of online video calls and pictures.

We ALWAYS recommend commissioning any new pump and this is a service our trained engineers can perform to make sure they are working at optimum levels.

These are specialist systems and without a commissioning visit, there is no peace of mind with the end user that the warranty as not been affected due to incorrect installation. Incorrect operation is  easily done if the system is not correctly commissioning, so this is a service we offer ourselves, so there is a clear line of liability if something was to go wrong with the set, this protects everyone.

YES. We are one of the very few companies in the UK that offer a full 360 service. You can buy direct from us.

We can advise the right type of pump to purchase for your property.

We can come out to install this.

Service it annually to make sure it’s working to it’s maximum capacity. This also helps reduce the risk of any unwanted problems.

Finally, we have service contracts we offer to our clients meaning, should there be an issue, we can be on hand 24/7 to help find a solution, quickly and efficently.