Mains Fed:
The mains type is a high-pressure operation, using water straight from the main cold water supply. Therefore if you were to isolate the cold-water stop tap it immediately stop the flow of cold-water to the taps. With this system, the mains cold water is used to ‘power’ the hot water. This means it uses the pressure of the cold water to push the hot water from the taps. If you were to isolate the main stop it would remove the hot water pressure and the hot water taps would stop running. The fact you have a cylinder where the hot water is stored doesn’t matter as with no cold water mains pressure to push hot water, it will not reach the taps and will just stay in the hot water cylinder. A Leyton Plumber knows the different types of water storage systems. Lots of homes have both stored and mains fed water. This means that the cold water to the kitchen will come from the mains, then from storage tanks to the bathroom, while all the hot water comes from a stored supply.

Stored System:
This type of system works with low pressure, this means the cold water mains supply comes into the home and fills a large storage vessel that is fitted as high up, normally in your loft. Leyton Plumbers know this system. The water for the taps comes from this vessel. This means if you isolated your cold-water supply the water will not stop flowing straight away, and can take up to half an hour. If there is an emergency it can be a very anxious half hour. Because of this you should find and mark your valves if you use stored water.

Note:
Systems that use high pressure have advantages, the most important one is if you isolate the mains stop tap will stop all hot and cold water in your property at once. A disadvantage is lots of water can leak out while you’re trying to find your mains stop-tap.