Why do I have water tanks in my attic? How does my immersion heater work and feed into the system? Is it true that the cold water from downstairs comes from the mains, and is therefore clean, while cold water from upstairs taps comes from the tank in the attic and probably has bits of pigeon or bat in it?
Thanks very much!
In: Engineering
Water tanks fill from the mains and provide pressure (“head”) to the rest of the system. They are generally cold-water.
The immersion heater is a giant kettle. You turn it on to heat it up, it heats the water and then it stays warm for a long time and that supplies your hot water. If you have an immersion tank, your hot water is probably just as clean as your incoming mains.
And depending on how it’s plumbed, yes, it could be that the cold water is fed from a tank in the attic, that should be covered and things shouldn’t be able to get into it. This is literally a “have a look, remove anything that shouldn’t be in there, and cover it” job, not a huge inconvenience or even a regular occurrence. Just keep it sealed to keep your water clean.
That said, both are on their way out – immersion heaters are being replaced by instant hot water heaters, water tanks aren’t necessary if you have pressurised hot water heaters, and power showers / boilers are taking over from any need to have to have a lot of water stored above your house or heat water for a shower.
Generally the system you describe is the 1960’s/1970’s system for powering a house entirely with electric. This is archaic, yes, but still present in many houses. And now that gas boilers will soon be banned, it actually works to your advantage and can be modernised quite easily.
<– Someone who bought a 1960’s house with this exact setup and intends to replace it all with a small instant boiler, a power shower, and solar power for whatever I can manage to do.
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