My review of the Jetstream Venturi Shower

[Rog200455]

I have been refurbishing the main bathroom and wanted to incorporate a shower. We already have an electric shower in the en-suite, so another one was out of the question. I don’t want two showers on at the same time – one draws enough current!

I live in one of those strange parts of the country where it is common to have ALL cold taps on mains pressure and ALL hot taps via a cylinder fed from a header tank at the top of the airing cupboard. Not even in the loft, so no virtually no head at shower level.

Massive disparity in pressure between hot and cold – what to do? I surfed around and found out about venturi showers. I plumped for the New Team Jetstream on the basis that it works in negative head situations and some of the competitors seem to have had reliability problems. I managed to obtain a new one from a seller on e-bay for £120 inc postage.

Installation was straightforward. 15mm mains pressure cold and 22mm hot feeds to push-on elbows at the back of the shower. New Team say to use swept bends, if possible, so I plumbed in plastic, which could be bent in an arc around the bottom and up the side of the new bath (through grooves in the wall). Turned on with some trepidation, would it work? I am pleased to say that the temperature and flow rate are excellent. Much more powerful than an electric but not as powerful as a “hotel shower” (my wife says they hurt her nipples!).

What about the aesthetics? It is in white, with an integral semi-circular green tinted glass soap dish (with chrome surround). I would be the first to concede that it might not look right in a limestone bathroom – I think you need chrome in that case. However, in against our blue and white mosaics it looks the business.

So, if you are stuck with high pressure mains and low pressure hot, I would thoroughly recommend the Jetstream.

 

[ChrisR]

Useful post, Rog.

 

[Nige F]

Very useful , but too much info re: hotel showers

 

[chrishutt]

It's good to have feedback on Venturi showers. I believe the Jetstream is currently the only one on the market (sold by Screwfix among others). The Trevi boost appears to have disappeared from the Trevi website. It would be interesting to know if it requires maintenance or repair over the coming years.

 

[Paul Barker]

I fitted a Trevi Boost a few weeks ago, I would be surprised if they don't still make them, I was on the phone to them at that time with a query, they didn't say, oh by the way we aren't making those any longer.

I hope they keep it up. I had excellent backupo from Trevi on a 5 year old one that wouldn't shut off, the cogs were slipping, they sent me all the internals foc, I was able to fix it up like new, there were no moving parts they didn't send. Also very helpful on the phone.

There was a cheap £60 I think it was, plastic venturi shower at bnq I fitted about a year ago, cheap and nasty looking round thing, but it worked great. I believe someone said (might have been you) they had to stop stocking it because people kept putting it on combis and blowing the insides to bits then taking it back for money back.

 

[chrishutt]

You're right Paul, and I was wrong. The Trevi Boost is still on the Trevi website here, although not as accessible as before so perhaps they're not pushing it so much.

 

[Agile]

Sorry about your wife's nipples but although its ambiguous I think you mean thats only in the hotel. I find it quite stimulating.

The venturi shower is really only a solution to an existing problem.

Its poor practice to install a system with unbalanced H/C pressures. The correct solution is to ensure both supplies are at the same pressure.

A further problem can result because the venturi shower requires a proportion of cold water and this can only give acceptable temperatures if the incoming hot water is quite hot.

Tony

 

[chrishutt]

But Tony, you aren't supposed to use Venturi showers with combi boilers.

 

[ollski]

only a solution to an existing problem.

 

[Paul Barker]

Looking at the news, this summer it'll be fill the watering can up at the stand pipe and tie it to a branch of a tree.

 

[Rog200455]

Been away for a few days (hotel did not have high pressure shower, though). Thanks for the replies - I take the point that a Venturi shower is only a solution to an existing problem, however when the alternative is lots of time, money and hassle then it's a good alternative

Forgot to say that I tested the temperature regulation by standing under the shower and turning on the bath taps, in turn. Although the flow rate dropped, I did not freeze or get scalded.

 

[chrishutt]

I tested the temperature regulation by standing under the shower and turning on the bath taps, in turn

Naked presumably? Please, I'm still trying to get the image of your wife's nipples out of my mind.

 

[Rog200455]

[I'm still trying to get the image of your wife's nipples out of my mind.

They are OK. Thanks for your interest.

Just one last point - I think the unreliable venturi showers are called H2O. From what I have seen on the net, they seem to fail after a year.

 

[Softus]

[I'm still trying to get the image of your wife's nipples out of my mind.

They are OK.

Oh great - thanks - now they're on my mind too

Just one last point - I think the unreliable venturi showers are called H2O. From what I have seen on the net, they seem to fail after a year.

The Croydex H2O is, according to Croydex, out of production. They were a bit sh*t, but incredibly cheap.

There was also the Aquadart "Hydroflo" shower - also out of production.

I had previously thought that the NewTeam Jetstream was out of production, but if you've just bought one then they clearly aren't. One major downside was that it looked like it had been designed specifically for an appearance in "A Clockwork Orange".

The Trevi Boost, IMHO, beats the pants off all of the competition.

 

[Rog200455]

For those of you who have one of these and thought you may have to get rid of it because of a change to a combi boiler - think again.

The old boiler was installed 27 years ago and the wife wanted it moved from the kitchen, as part of a kitchen refurb. Our installer from 27 years back was still working and has fitted the latest Glow Worm Ultracom 30 CXi in the bathroom. I was getting geared up to change the shower (a shame, as the whole family loved the Jetstream) but thought I would try it. Amazingly it work fine. As the DHW temp can be set to within 1 degree on the boiler, I found a setting that suits the shower. The hot water is now being forced through in the conventional way, rather than relying on the venturi effect, but it still works and I have not had the cost & hassle of changing the shower.