Combined shower and bath filler

[stevebamford]

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a combined shower/bath filler. Main criteria are thermostatic and decent shower. Possibly a wall mounted solution

Cheers

Steve

 

[GasMan1965]

Aqualisa & Bristan do a good 1 and fits in the bath tap holes !!

 

[stevebamford]

cheers gasman - its a new bath (so no tapholes so far!)

was thinking of some kind of filler through the overflow hole - but controlled by the same mixer that the shower users - is that kind of thing possible

ta

 

[GasMan1965]

Errr dont think so mate !!

 

[stevebamford]

Sorry I think I was being a bit vague before but I found what i'm looking for this weekend at the Bath Store

http://www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/baths/bath-filling-wastes/

and one of these

http://www.bathstore.com/_applicati...s/shower-valves/shower-bath-valves-concealed/

anyone used them at all - any good ?

cheers

s

 

[GasMan1965]

Hmmm interesting ,,,,, should do the job nicely,,, never seen em b4 as I dont often do basic plumbing !!

 

[Gunslinger]

yes i've seen these before and they make for a very tidy fitment indeed, couple of points

1. be aware of pressure requirements of the valve/filler, and what pressure you have and match items as required
2. the filling of the bath will take longer than normal and on a lower pressure system this may be longer than acceptable, also bear in mind that it is quite possible that a thermostatically controlled shower valve will physically flow less water than a standard bath tap, thus making it slow filling as well.
3. fitting of the concealed water pipes - need to be aware of space requirements and regulations concerning buried pipes.
4. you get what you pay for, those filler things were originally designed by grohe, or hans grohe i think, and are not cheap, if you can get a look at a couple of different ones, quality differences should be obvious, also make sure you get the correct one for your bath, some are for standard baths and some for oversized or baths with centrally mounted drain holes.


for a slightly easier fitment you can get a good quality wall mounted tap, that has a shower hose off it, there are a number of these around from various makers like sirus gummer or grohe and possibly bristan

 

[stevebamford]

cheers gunslinger

1) - thanks will look out for it
2) - we have the worlds worst combi at the moment - and are planning a new Megalo installation so should be ok
3) there's a nice handy airing cupboard behind where they are going to be fitted so lots of nice space
4) Bathstore have a 40% off sale at the moment . think the fillers are around £100 and the valves are £270 (reduced from £400)

cheers for the tips - don't suppose you have any links to the wall mounted taps ? I'll have a sniff around anyway but if you know of any that would be handy !

ta

s

 

[Gunslinger]

gimmie half an hour or so, just about to eat


also forgot to say, although you have picked correctly, get a shower with the diverter built in, the seperate ones are dam expensive

 

[ChrisR]

Good advice from the slinger I reckon.

Idon't fit many but I do have a few experiences.
Try to avoid bathstore.com's nameless Chinese bits. Repairs may be impossible. And their stuff is not necessarily cheap even if the quality is awful.

I'd much rather go to a good plumber's merchant who does a lot of bathroom stuff.

My own combined filler/overflow was much cheaper than those you linked to, about £60, though some of those look like they stick out less.
I have an Grohe Ibox with a thermostat and bath/shower diverter. One problem that can give IF you want a very high flow rate, is the resistance. Separate controls have lower resistance. I removed the one-way valves and put bigger ones in the pipes, which made a big difference. (4 bar pump, and the flow was not good)
Also, the Ibox is deep - you need a rather alarming hole in an outside wall to fit it. If it'a a cavity wall, you'll be through one skin of bricks

I thought Bristan were always OK until I saw one of their wall mounted mixers recently. A horrible arrangement bound to look nasty - be careful!

 

[Gunslinger]

ah yes, the obvious "you get what you pay for" rules apply, and yes, i forgot the no-name warning, some of the stuff the bathstore does is brandless, and crap ! ... eastbrook are a reasonable middle man supplier, and carry a range of makes.

here's the sirrus page for thermostatic bath valves, however i cant find a wall mounted one ... i'm sure they used to do one, maybe no call for it now
[code:1]
http://www.sirrusshowers.com/show_p...submenuPos=26&gId=6&rId=24&pId=69
[/code:1]


i'll search out some other ones for you now and see what i can find.... btw, always good to grab as many of those shiny brochures as you can when you visit bathroom suppliers / shops they are invaluable later when your at home and have more time

EDIT... forgot to add, yes IBoxes are good, big, but a very good idea, not to mention good business sense as there is a 90% chance of a customer returning to your product range when it comes time to replace the shower

 

[stevebamford]

hmmmm - do Bathstore do any good stuff ? The valve we were looking at was £400 so i'd hope that was reasonable? Any way to tell who actually makes them ?

We've already bought the bath from them so if we buy the bits from them as well at least they should fit any other suggestions for a filler/overflow manufacturer ?

cheers folks and thanks for the input

 

[Gunslinger]

HansGrohe Axor Starck 3 hole concealed bath/shower mixer ...

....through their ebay shop !
[code:1]
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hansgrohe-Axo...hZ006QQcategoryZ42347QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
[/code:1]


in actual fact they have a couple of other items in their ebay shop that would be suitable for you, like the ecostat 1001 or 2001 bath/shower mixer, and to be honest, it's easier to give you links to those pages and then let you wade through their website later

here's their page on ebay
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http://stores.ebay.co.uk/hansgrohe-uk
[/code:1]

and the Ecostat 2001 unit
[code:1]
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hansgrohe-Eco...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262
[/code:1]

 

[Gunslinger]

no brand baths are a lot easier to deal with from the consumers point of view, and not as important to be branded (although quality is always important) as you pointed out, no tap holes yet, so as long as the bath is of reasonable build quality, the only thing you might struggle with later is a replacement panel.

showers on the other hand, may need a ceramic valve from time to time, or other bits and pieces, so it's always prudent to get a named brand one.

like i said, grohe and hansgrohe do those fill/waste things, showerlux do a version too i believe, that actually fills from the plug hole (or at least i think it was them... someone does !) ... and yes, grohe and hansgrohe are actually different companies (i think there is a third too, called friedrich grohe unless they are the same as grohe) Villeroy & Boch might make one, but it will be expensive if they do, and have a look over the ideal standard website too

 

[stevebamford]

cheers GS

will have a look tomorrow