Triton Ivory II 9.5kw not heating water in mornings

[getspresso]

Triton Ivory II 9.5kw I think at least 10 years old

On Monday at 7:00am the shower was not heating the water but I waited and at 8:50am was able to have a hot shower. This morning the water was still not heating at 9:00am, housemate said at 11:00am it was working again.

I unscrewed the shower hose in case it was the hose/showerhead that was blocked but the water ran freely out of the bottom of the shower unit and did not heat up. No limescale came out of the unit that I could see.

I think that the water pressure generally was also lower this morning, the flow from our kitchen tap and bath tap seemed less than usual when turned on full.

The flat is on the ground and first floor. There is a second property above us which occupies the third floor and the roof space.

I don't know if there are seperate header tanks for each flat in our terrace or shared header tanks for either groups of flats or the whole block, in fact to be honest, we don't know for certain if there is a header tank at all or where it is.

Our stopcock is on the first floor in the bathroom under the sink and turns off the water to the whole flat.

We don't have a multimeter to check any of the components inside the shower unit.

Can anyone advise on what steps we should take to identify the cause of the problem?

If it is simply water pressure is there anything we can do about it?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Agile]

It does sound like a pressure problem. Most showers have a low pressure switch to protect the heating element.

Electric showers are normally supplied from the mains!

May be little you can do if the head is clean. I would recommend descalling it anyway.

You dont say if its rented but I would guess from your wording that it is.

Tony

 

[getspresso]

It does sound like a pressure problem. Most showers have a low pressure switch to protect the heating element.

Electric showers are normally supplied from the mains!

May be little you can do if the head is clean. I would recommend descalling it anyway.

You dont say if its rented but I would guess from your wording that it is.

Tony

Thanks Tony.

Good to know the electric shower is most likely supplied from the mains. I'm not used to them (they're not common in NZ where I grew up) and UK plumbing seems to have some quirks we don't get at home. I mean our mains stopcock is on the first floor? That makes no sense to me!

Yes I'm a tenant but the landlord lives in so he is aware of the issue. He's promised to look at it tomorrow but he's just not the most practical... I was raised by a tradesman and so as the most qualified person in the house I'm taking matters into my own hands.

If the shower is plumbed direct to the mains and assuming the mains pressure is ok but it's something in our plumbing reducing the pressure in the system, limescale, corrosion what can I do?

I will descale the shower head and hose as you reccomend.

Is it possible to clean the inlet filter or do they have to be replaced? Any suggestions as to how for this model?

What then? Are there other parts in the shower unit I can clean? or is it new shower o'clock?



If it's our mains supply that's too weak to meet demand in the mornings I assume there's nothing I can do? I don't imagine the water company is going to do anything if we complain. So would we need a pump or powershower?

Cheers.

 

[Agile]

Descale the head first.

then try the inlet filter.

But its most likely to be other flats in the house using the water and causing a reduction in pressure when you share the same connection to the road.

Tony