BigDutch wrote:
Do WPS pumps not have a "intelligent" switch that will realise there is no electricity present and open the valve to allow water to flow at gravities pace ? I hadn't realised no electrics means no water - that would be a nightmare !
...
I get your drift, but I don't think that'll work.
...Because the piping is not continuous - there's the tank and ball-cock (on the ground floor, I presume). The mains pressure/gravity would fill the tank, but bypassing the pump with a valve would merely allow water in the house's pipes to flow back into the tank.
However, if you had a valved pipe bypassing both the pump and tank (with valve normally closed), that should give you your gravity feed (the community water tank will always be high enough). You'd be advised to have an automatic reverse-flow check valve in the pipe, too.
But I have no idea if that would contravene any plumbing regs.
Edit: how cute/weird - a few lines above I wrote 'ball-c-o-c-k' without the last three hyphens, and the forum system changed it to 'ball-rooster'