Shower problem

[airdriem]

I have a Mira advance shower, im not sure of the rating but it keeps cutting out and going to 'service' light. It's probably way more than 6 years old as I picked it up 2nd hand. I live on a first floor flat and my water has always had low pressure, it's gravity fed from 2 tanks which are no more than 6feet above the shower. If I bought a new electric shower would that also suffer from the low pressure? a plumber recently advised against a power shower which is what I thought I should get for such poor pressure. Any advice will be great.

 

[flameport]

Electric showers need a mains pressure water supply, unless it is one of the rare types which are specially designed to work on a low pressure system.

 

[cantaloup63]

(a) Why did the plumber advise against a power shower?
(b) What is the mains pressure like?

 

[seco services]

You sure this shower is fed from the tanks above as it would never work with a 6ft head of water.
Check it's not connected to the mains pipe that supplies the all valve in the tanks.

 

[airdriem]

The whole flat is tank fed, the mains water comes in to one of the two tanks and they supply the whole flat, iv had loads of plumbers in to look at it and they are all equally bemused with it, I can't even get 1bar of pressure on my boiler (which is also on the blink but the guy is coming to fix that tomorrow), the other plumber said power showers aren't very popular.
I once stayed in a remote country cottage which had an Aqualisa pump which gave pressure to the whole house and not just the shower so would I be able to get something like this?

 

[seco services]

Is your boiler a combi boiler ?

 

[airdriem]

I've been told it's not, I'm not sure. It heats the water and the radiators. There is a separate hot water tank in the utility room but that's fed from the loft tanks as well.

 

[seco services]

I've been told it's not, I'm not sure. It heats the water and the radiators. There is a separate hot water tank in the utility room but that's fed from the loft tanks as well.

So if it's not a combi where do you get this statement from ?

(I can't even get 1bar of pressure on my boiler )

 

[xr4x4]

Your drinking water must be mains fed, so you must have mains water to a tap somewhere. I.e kitchen Tap.

 

[airdriem]

I've been told it's not, I'm not sure. It heats the water and the radiators. There is a separate hot water tank in the utility room but that's fed from the loft tanks as well.

So if it's not a combi where do you get this statement from ?

(I can't even get 1bar of pressure on my boiler )

Rem, u got me on that one, the boiler has a pressure bar and never goes beyond 1 but I've no idea what that means.

 

[airdriem]

Your drinking water must be mains fed, so you must have mains water to a tap somewhere. I.e kitchen Tap.

No, the kitchen is not mains fed either, it takes approx. 25secs to fill a 1.8ltr kettle

 

[seco services]

So it is a combi boiler.
what make/model is it ?

 

[airdriem]

So it is a combi boiler.
what make/model is it ?

It's a vokera mynute 20se

 

[cantaloup63]

No, the kitchen is not mains fed either

Just because the flow rate is slow doesn't mean that it isn't mains fed. If it isn't then something is seriously awry!

 

[airdriem]

No, the kitchen is not mains fed either

Just because the flow rate is slow doesn't mean that it isn't mains fed. If it isn't then something is seriously awry!

The guys who fitted the kitchen said it wasn't mains fed, they couldn't find a cut off valve anywhere in the house and it turns out it can only be shut off either from the main Toby or from inside an unused shop below my flat.