Bristan chilly shower (with combi) (Ed.)

[pmm1]

hi just wanted some info,

our bristan shower seems to not get hot enough when showering around this time of year (winter) we have the dial all the way round to red and its nowhere near as hot as it should be, in the last 2 years we have had a new boiler fitted, a combi boiler, with the hot water taps and heating works perfect and is red hot, apart from the shower.

anyone got any info that may be of help please. Thanks!

 

[JohnD]

Yes, it's because you've got a combi.

It can heat (say) 12 litres of water per minute by X degrees

In winter the incoming water supply is colder by, say, 10 degrees

So after warming it by X, it will be 10 degrees colder than it was in summer.

This is a characteristic of instant water heaters.

Electric showers do the same, but as they have less power they are even worse.

If you turn down the water flow it will be warmer.

 

[fixitflav]

If you turn down the water flow it will be warmer.

I would guess he's tried that

 

[pmm1]

I would guess he's tried that

Nah sound dumb here but how do you turn down the water supply? I actually havnt tired it

 

[fixitflav]

Nah sound dumb here but how do you turn down the water supply? I actually havnt tired it

If that's a serious question, turn it down at the shower control. I assume it has just one inlet pipe if it's fed from a combi.

 

[oilhead]

If it's a mixer, which I assume it is from the 'turned up to the red' quote, then that probably would not work. You could try turning down any isolation valve on the hot inlet, but that may need balancing with the cold supply.

 

[JohnD]

Show us a picture of the mixer.

You could also try a flow reducer or a smaller shower head. Some water companies offer them as water saving aids.

 

[pmm1]

this is the shower.

 

[JohnD]

It appears to be an electric shower, not a mixer.

It will always be worse in winter.

...In winter the incoming water supply is colder by, say, 10 degrees

So after warming it by X, it will be 10 degrees colder than it was in summer.

This is a characteristic of instant water heaters.

Electric showers do the same, but as they have less power they are even worse....

 

[pmm1]

It appears to be an electric shower, not a mixer.

It will always be worse in winter.

So that's it? only thing would be to replace it as its an electric shower>?

 

[JohnD]

If you already have a combi boiler, it will typically have around three times the power of an electric shower (around 30kW compared to around 10kW) so it will give a better shower.

You could have a mixer shower plumbed into the bathroom hot and cold pipes.

Test the flow and temperature at the bath taps. Fill a bucket, time it, calculate litres per minute of fully hot water. It is likely to be a lot more than your electric shower delivers.

It can be useful to have an electric shower as a standby in case your boiler breaks down.

 

[fixitflav]

View attachment 370276

this is the shower.

The combi boiler has nothing to do with it