Dualstream boosts hot and cold water flow rates at Dorset manor house

(28/08/2007)

Residents and guests at a manor house in Dorset can now enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep and a refreshing shower in the morning, thanks to the installation of a Dualstream system from GAH Heating.

The stately Dorset manor house is part of a project by RJ Pike Carpentry and Joinery, who specialise in the renovation and maintenance of old and listed properties. The manor house has adequate water pressure but flow rate at the mains is poor due to very narrow pipes at the property. Servicing the five bathrooms with equal water supply was particularly tricky, especially if a tap was being used elsewhere in the house.

Roy Pike, project manager at the site, said: “We were going to use a conventional gravity fed system to solve the flow rate problems but noise was a real concern. GAH were very helpful in finding a solution”.

The Dualstream system from GAH takes all the benefits of an unvented system to another level. Using the patented system you can boost hot and cold water flow rates. Pressure is essentially nothing without flow rate, so the Dualstream system is ideal where incoming mains water flow is low like at the country Manor house. Perfect for properties with more than one bathroom, the system means that there’s no need to put up with poor flow rates and a drop in performance when multiple outlets are used simultaneously.

At the heart of the Dualstream system in the stately home are three 450 litre accumulator vessels which store mains water at incoming pressure. This stored water becomes the engine that drives the hot/cold outlets, providing an increase in volume of water that you wouldn’t get from a normal unvented system. When taps are turned on, water in the accumulator vessel enhances the incoming main, which feeds three 500 litre hot water cylinders, and cold supplies to the rest of the property.

Using Dualstream means that there is no cistern filling noise, and also no need for noisy pumps on power showers either as the hot water pressure from the system means that every single tap in the premises can be mains fed. The old feed and expansion tanks at the manor could also be removed from the loft, removing risk of water stagnation and legionella. GAH’s accumulator contains a sealed diaphragm so water is unable to mix with air spores.

With Dualstream, there’s no longer any need to put up with low water pressure and poor shower performance when multiple outlets are used simultaneously. Roy said: “The new system is working fantastically in the manor house and we have used a smaller version of the dualstream for our renovation of the cottage next door. The system is absolutely silent - It is amazing”.

Related categories:  Hot water generation and supply   Pipes - copper and other metal   Residential applications 

Print version | Email to a friend | View other articles