Shower pump or power shower?

[Confiteor]

Recently moved house and discovered that the mixer shower has all the force of an asthmatic centenarian.

There is not a great deal of height difference between the water tank and the shower head.

I was thinking about installing a power shower, but the old man suggests we put in a pump to serve the existing shower, which he says is basically a good unit.

Does anyone have any views? My old man likes to save a penny if he can, but I'm happy to spend a few quid more if it means the end result is a shower that claims a layer of skin every morning. Invigorating!

Cheers.

(And thanks in advance to the people who will no doubt drop everything to rush in and tell me which rules this post contravenes.)

MOD






none mate

 

[kevplumb]

There is not a great deal of height difference between the water tank and the shower head.

might need a neg head pump then

 

[Gasman1015]

Seperate pump will give you a superior option to the power shower.

 

[Confiteor]

Thanks very much, gents.

Kev, I don't think it's bad enough to need a neg head pump, but we'll soon find out. There's probably five or six feet of difference just now, and we have the option of raising the tank a few feet if absolutely necessary.

Gasman, looks like the old man was right. Quelle surprise! Not to worry, though, at least I got past the MOD!!

Thanks again, all of you.

 

[AdamW]

5 or 6 feet, should be no problems. If you have a very small amount of positive head then you might find you turn the shower valve on and nothing happens for a few seconds. But, you have plenty of head so shouldn't have such a problem.

A separate shower pump is usually easier to install for an existing bathroom, depending of course on where the pipes run.

Advantages of the shower pump:
1) means you can have your own choice of shower mixer, improved aesthetics (plus the option of "body jets" if you like that sort of thing)
2) Once mounted in your airing cupboard which is loaded with sound-absorbing material (towels) it is significantly quieter than having a pump whirring 2 feet from your ears. I usually can't hear mine above the torrent of water splashing around.
3) any friends who stay over are generally impressed enough to say "Great shower, Adam!" as they realise 2 pounds of impacted dirt has been pressure-washed out of their skin.
4) You can have an amazingly quick shower if you wish, and still be pretty clean afterwards

Disadvantages
1) you'll never want to leave the shower
2) showering at other people's houses leaves you feeling dirty, cheated and confused
3) soap doesn't seem to last as long...

 

[Panjandrum]

AdamW - couldn't agree more. Was persuaded to put in a separate shower pump a few years ago. Total success. I reckon there's something about that total saturation thing that clears your head as well as getting you clean.
Can't hear a thing in the shower, apart from the water, but it's pretty obvious in the kitchen below when the pump is on!

 

[ChrisR]

Not sure what confiteor means by a Power Shower here. If you mean one with an integrated pump (posh one being Aqualisa Aquastream )they're OK, if you mean electric - they're pretty poor.