Showermate Eco Pump Issues

[Matt007a]

Hi everyone,

I’m after some advice on a problem I’ve been having with my shower and my Showermate pump.

I’ve got a gravity fed system so the pressure is low on the shower. I’ve got a Showermate eco 2.0 single to boost the hot water pressure.

Now ever since we got it installed, turning the shower on does not activate the pump, no matter what temperature is set. I have to turn on a hot tap either in the bathroom sink or the bath first to make the pump kick in. Once the hot tap in the sink is on and the shower is on, I can then turn off the tap and the shower keeps pumping the hot water out.

It’s always been a minor inconvenience but one I’ve put up with for a couple of years. However over time it’s become more and more unreliable. Sometimes when I turn the tap off the pump just cuts out and the shower goes back to freezing cold. I’ve also got to have the shower at an uncomfortably hot temperature to keep the pump going. It’s now got to the point where it’s a problem rather than an inconvenience.

I know nothing about plumbing really but I’ve tried to do some research online and it seems like maybe the pressure into my pump is too low to make it kick in and perhaps a negative pump rather than a positive would fix this issue?

I need to fix two problems really, firstly the pump cutting out when I have just the shower running without the sink tap being on and secondly the inability to have anything but a scolding hot or freezing cold shower.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Exedon]

Clear pictures of pump and it's position would be useful.
Sounds like a universal pump was maybe required.

 

[Matt007a]

Location is with the water tank on the same floor as the bathroom. Water comes down from the loft tank.

 

[Exedon]

As you have only boosted hot I take it your shower has a mains cold feed?
What distance do you have from bottom of tank in loft to shower head?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Was this a diy install?

Andy

 

[Matt007a]

The cold water is mains fed I believe yes.

Not a DIY job, I wouldn’t know what I was doing! We had our bathroom refitted and it was installed then. We wanted the large waterfall style shower head rather than a power shower and he suggested we needed a pump to boost the hot water pressure to do that. He installed the pump himself.

The shower head is pretty close to the ceiling and the loft tank isn’t raised or anything in the loft. I’d say around 500-600mm which I understand is quite a small clearance?

 

[Madrab]

If the pump isn't on and you turn on the shower @ hot, is there any flow? Chances are that's your issue, not enough gravity flow to sustain the pump flow switch, turning on the hot tap increases the flow so triggers the switch. Given the distance the shower head is from the the cold water cistern then it really should have been a negative head (universal) pump.

Is the cold mains? TBH it sounds like the system hasn't been set up very well. ideally it would be a dual pump and you pump both hot and cold, keeps things simple and properly balanced, that and a negative head (universal) pump would probably have been a better idea to start with

 

[Matt007a]

Yes the cold is mains fed. If I run cold water anywhere in the house, including the shower the pump does not kick in but the pressure is fine. What I have to do is:

Turn the shower temp to max.
Turn the shower on (only cold comes out)
Turn the hot tap on in the sink or bath. (Now the pump kicks in, the pressure increases slightly and the water heats up in the shower)
Turn off the sink/bath tap and the pump stays on.

Now the shower is running but it’s too hot. If I turn the temperature down even a tiny bit the pump stops and the water goes cold again. I can leave the tap on for the duration of my shower but then most of the hot water is going there and the shower gets chilly.

When I’m not using the shower if I run the hot tap in the sink or bath below about 40% the pump kicks in and out every second until I open it up to about 60% or more and it stays on. That’s never been an issue for me really though.

My thoughts before asking here for advice was to get a negative pump. Do you think a universal one would be better than a negative? The pump I have is pretty loud so I’d rather not have it kick in every time I run both hot or cold water if possible.

 

[Madrab]

You're possible up against 2 problems here -

1 - not enough head of HW water to keep the pump running
2- Thermostatic valve in the shower is showing its age and starting to act up or the flow switch in the pump is.

A Universal pump is the new name for a negative head pump, basically it can be used in both positive and negative scenario's

It really needs someone experienced in gravity pumped showers to take a look and sort it out TBH.