Low pressure on electric shower in flat

Agile · 14 Oct 2013

diyplumber1980 said:
The pressure at the sink seemed ok, not great, but not too bad either. The hot water pressure seemed lower but wasnt too bad. I may pop round again with a weir gauge to check flow rates at all taps.

If you every want to be a professional plumber then you will have to learn that you don't assess water pressure by "seems".

There is only one way and that's by measuring the pressure.

At some point you will have to know what dynamic flow rate is too.

The electrically heated showers need a supply pressure of at least 0.5 bar and ideally 1.0 bar. Anything less and they will just not work.

As you will guess I don't think that you should be offering services to the public until you have a lot more ( two year min? ) experience.

Those college courses are meant to be an adjunct to an apprenticeship where you gain your practical experience.

Tony

jarrovian · 15 Oct 2013

You really need to think about this-you've been fiddling around with this problem for about a fortnight now and despite all the advice given by well intentioned and qualified tradesmen you not only are no nearer the solution but are seriously considering installing yet another storage cistern!
Birmingham already has a spaghetti junction-it doesn't need another.
There comes a time when you will have to face facts and admit defeat-the time is now!
I served my time in the 1960's yet I have never come across such a tale of woe.God alone knows what your hourly rate is but to cover your costs on this job you would have to bankrupt your customer just to break even.
Ever considered carpentry?

Agile · 15 Oct 2013

Carpentry can give rise to problems.

But gardening is about the least risky occupation!

Just a bit cold at the moment but they do sell some good thermals!

diyplumber1980 · 16 Oct 2013

steve32 said:
You need to check the shower is connected to a water mains supply.
I suspect the shower may be connected to a low pressure supply fed from the roof tank.
If it is connected to a tank fed supply you could change the shower for one that incorporates a pump.

Thanks Steve for the reply.

At the moment the showrr is connected to the mains. However because the original layout was for a house, not 3 flats, the pressure is too low on the top floor flat. Less thn 0.5 dar. Therefore i am considering fitting a cistern in the loft, and running pipework from that to the shower only, then fitting one of the showers which incorporates a pump. Was just after a bit of advice on which shower make and model is reliable and which i could use, and also what size cistern i shud use.

Hugh Jaleak · 16 Oct 2013

Have a look at the Mira Elite. Will need to make sure the electrical supply is man enough though.

diyplumber1980 · 20 Oct 2013

Guys i've been asked to price up the job and was hoping i could get some feedback from you guys.

I've decided to fit a 25 gallon water tank in loft, need to expand the loft hatch, run pipe up and then back down from tank to shower.

Materials
Triton T90xr pumped shower £230
copper tube x 10 meters plus end feed fittings £30
Stop cock and gate valve 10
25 gallon water tank £80
18mm exterior grade ply for base £20
wooden beams for new loft opening etc £20
labour £400

total £790

would this be a fair price for the job or is this too high?

Agile · 21 Oct 2013

Way too high price and will only give a shower for about 3-4 minutes!

Why not keep the existing shower and just add a Stuart Turner mains booster pump?

They cost about £290 and would take a couple of hours to fit if there is a suitable mains supply available.

Tony

diyplumber1980 · 28 Oct 2013

Hi, in case anyones interested, i got the work done. I installed a 25 gallon poly tank in the loft above bathroom, ran pipework down to shower, swapped shower from a triton madrid to a triton t90 pumped shower and the shower works. Installing the tank with correct shower solved this long running problem. I ran the shower for 10 minutes and the tank had only half emptied, so their was probably enough water to run shower for upto 20 mins. Thanks to all those who helped with advice on this.

diynot

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Low pressure on electric shower in flat

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