Dura Pump installs new booster-set system for high-end residential apartments Baynards

Baynard Green manages high-end residential apartments in London, and called in Dura Pump to assist with an issue caused by their booster systems in the building.  

Water pressure was maintained for the residents by a triple booster set and accompanying jockey pump, running against a pressure-reducing valve to feed into the building’s plumbing system. A relatively old-fashioned system, this had proven adequate until a suspected failure in the pressure-reducing valve began to cause problems with spikes in water pressure causing a water hammer effect, resulting in leaks into some homes.

Dura Pump were initially called in as an emergency measure to stop the leaks, which was achieved through the temporary installation of a hydrovar inverter onto the existing pump system, alongside accompanying pressure transducers. This controlled the output pressure of the pumps, limiting it to prevent any further leaks. 

However, this was only a temporary solution, and the Dura Pump team designed a new booster pump system, which we also installed and configured. For part of the installation process, we utilised a pipe-freezing technique, creating an ice-plug in the pipe and allowing us to swap the old valve for the new. This method saves considerable time and expense, as otherwise the whole system throughout the building would have to be drained, then refilled and the resulting air pockets manually bled.

The new system consists of a triple booster with 3 variable speed pumps, each controlled by their own inverter. This rendered the pressure-reducing valve redundant, and it was removed, with the pipework modified to accommodate the changes.

The most immediate benefit was ending the leaks into the homes of the residents, preventing any further costly damage.  

In the long-term the new system is considerably more energy efficient, reducing running costs for the system as a whole. The new pumps also gave improvements in reliability and reductions in servicing costs, with more readily available spare parts.  

Although the circumstances began as the result of unfortunate problems with their plumbing system, Baynard Green were able to conclude the situation with a much better system than they had in place before, one which will give them better service for years to come.