The Way an Indirect Cold Water System Works

The draw-off point in an indirect system is fed indirectly from the cold water storage cistern, one outlet being fed directly from the supply pipe. The system is designed to be used in low pressure water areas where the mains supply pipework is not capable of supplying the full requirement of the system. This type of system also has a reserve of store water in the event of mains failure.

Water company stopcock – this can cut off all the water to the premises and is the point where the responsibility for the water pipe changes; up to, and including, this stopcock is the responsibility of the water supply company (even if the stopcock is on your land); from here to the house, is the house owners responsibility.

Make sure you know where this stopcock is located and, periodically, check that it’s working – if you have a disaster in the house, you may want to turn the water off at this stopcock quickly.

Householders stopcock – this normally can cut off all the water within the house but the householder is responsible for it. It’s usually located where the rising mains enters the house, often under the kitchen sink.

Draincock – this allows the rising main within the house to be drained down at the lowest point.

Stopcock – this stopcock can be used to isolate the rising main from the storage tank to allow maintenance without having to cut off all the water from the property.

Storage tank with a ballcock float valve to control the water stored. The tank will typically hold from 230 to 360 litres (50 to 80 gallons) of water at the highest part of the building – the higher it is, the better the gravity feed pressure at the taps etc.

From 1991, the tank should be fitted with a close fitting lid; the expansion pipe from the hot water tank should pass through a grommet in the lid to keep out contaminations.

Gate valve which can isolate the cold water feed to the hot water tank.

Gate valve which can isolate the cold water to the WC and taps etc.

Hot water cylinder.

Gate valve which can isolate the hot water to the taps.

NOTE: Without the valves 6, 7 and 9, any maintenance on the taps or hot water cylinder etc would require the storage tanks to be drained down – by using the appropriate valve to isolate the part being worked on, the amount of water wasted is minimised.

Storage tank overflow pipe – this takes any overflow of water from the storage tank out of harms way and deposits it outside of the building. It needs to be positioned so that any water flow is immediately noticed as it would indicate a problem.

Since 1991, the entry to the overflow inside the tank should include a filter to prevent even a small insect from entering the tank.

WC overflow pipe – this takes any overflow from the WC cistern out of harms way and deposits it outside of the building. It needs to be positioned so that any water flow is immediately noticed as it would indicate a problem.

Inline valves to isolate water feeds to washing machine or dishwasher etc.