Electric shower recommendations

[trevorbayliss]

I am looking to buy an electric shower for the first time.

It will be used in a holiday let property. So all new rewiring going in.

All i am concerned with is getting the best shower for the lowest amount.

I can see showers range from £80 up to £300.

Are they not all just the same, but have different size elements ?

Any brand which is a better option ?

I just want a good shower which has a decent flow rate really.

Not sure what is the minimum size i need to be looking at to get a decent flow rate.

The water pressure is average, so above 1 bar.

 

[flameport]

Are they not all just the same, but have different size elements ?

Pretty much, unless you spend £400+ for the Mira ATL which has some degree of thermostatic control using multiple elements.
Otherwise it's a heating element in a box, and a control which alters the flow of water. More flow = cooler water. Less flow = warmer water. Performance in the winter will be substantially worse than summer due to the temperature of the incoming water.

I just want a good shower which has a decent flow rate really.

In that case, you don't want an electric shower.

Any brand which is a better option ?

No. If you buy an expensive one, you may be compelled to spend money repairing it. Or get a cheap one and just replace the whole thing when it's inevitably destroyed by limescale after a year or three.

 

[trevorbayliss]

Ok thanks for the info.

I have gone all electric on this property so it has to be electric.

So flow is not going to be that good, well i can live with it.

Prob go for something around £100 from screwfix then.

 

[Jackrae]

Get the highest wattage that you can if you want a half-decent shower. Circa 10kW

 

[flameport]

Maximum power depends on the incoming supply and what else is connected to it.
You need to ask the electrician doing the rewiring.

I have gone all electric on this property so it has to be electric.

How is the rest of the hot water provided?

 

[Vicario]

Put a water softener on the pipe feeding the shower. They are supposed to last 10 years before replacement.

 

[trevorbayliss]

The flat is having a full rewire so the new feed will be for this shower. More than likely 10mm cable. The run is also very short. Maybe 2m.

Hot water on the 2 sinks in the flat will be provided by under counter mini heaters. I suppose i could look at going for a storage tank, but this will just remove space which I cant really afford to give up.

Been researching and it seems triton do some 8.5 and 9.5 KW showers which give 8L flow. That is really good. Plus been watching a video by a guy finding out what is classed as BAD flow. Basically if you can get 6L you will be fine. His inlaws shower was 2.8L and that was bad.

Water softener is a good idea.

 

[flameport]

triton do some 8.5 and 9.5 KW showers which give 8L flow. That is really good.

So good that it's impossible.

9.5kW at a temperature rise of 30C is only 4.5 litres/minute. In the summer with incoming cold at 10C, the outlet temperature would be 40C.
8l/min on 9.5kW is a temperature rise of only 17C, which even for summer incoming water at 10C is a rather cool 27C outlet temperature.
In the winter with incoming water at 5C or even less, a 'hot' shower of around 20C would be considered very cold by most.

Any electric shower can have high flow - it just won't be particularly warm.
For a realistic outlet temperature of 40C and an input of 5C, it's a flow rate of between 3 and 4 litres per minute.
That applies to any instant water heater, and the only solution for higher flow is to increase the heating power, but for electricity you can't go above about 10kW due to the capacity of the supply to the building. That's also why gas combination boilers are typically 24kW and above, to provide a higher flow rate.

The flat is having a full rewire so the new feed will be for this shower.

That's all good - but the limiting factor is the capacity of the supply to the flat, not what's installed in it.
If the flat only had a 40A supply, it would be pointless even considering an electric shower. However if it's 80A or even 100A, entirely different.

Stored water would allow far better flow rates, as the water is heated at a lower power but over a much longer time, so you get a lot more of it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Been researching and it seems triton do some 8.5 and 9.5 KW showers which give 8L flow. That is really good. Plus been watching a video by a guy finding out what is classed as BAD flow. Basically if you can get 6L you will be fine. His inlaws shower was 2.8L and that was bad.

Water softener is a good idea.

If the flat is in Yorkshire, much of which has soft water, then limescale may not be a big problem. Our present electric shower has been in eight years, its predecessor lasted 20. It's a £400 Mira, which self adjusts the flow and power input, to meet what ever temperature you set on the dial - so it's always 'just right'. I did manage to repair our 20 year shower, by descaling it with descaler - but we were due a new, better shower anyway.

 

[trevorbayliss]

That's all good - but the limiting factor is the capacity of the supply to the flat, not what's installed in it.
If the flat only had a 40A supply, it would be pointless even considering an electric shower. However if it's 80A or even 100A, entirely different.

Stored water would allow far better flow rates, as the water is heated at a lower power but over a much longer time, so you get a lot more of it.

I am fitting a new feed from the main cupboard where the electric comes into the building.

So it will be armoured 16mm cable upto the flat. Not sure what amp i will have from the meter, but we are changing over the old master switch. I will ask the sparky about the amp size coming in.

It is an old terrace converted into 3 flats done 1965. Electrics are shocking so all ripped out now ready for new to go in.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It is an old terrace converted into 3 flats done 1965. Electrics are shocking so all ripped out now ready for new to go in.

Not two or three showers, one per flat?

 

[JohnW2]

So good that it's impossible. .... 9.5kW at a temperature rise of 30C is only 4.5 litres/minute. In the summer with incoming cold at 10C, the outlet temperature would be 40C. .... 8l/min on 9.5kW is a temperature rise of only 17C, which even for summer incoming water at 10C is a rather cool 27C outlet temperature. .... In the winter with incoming water at 5C or even less, a 'hot' shower of around 20C would be considered very cold by most. .... Any electric shower can have high flow - it just won't be particularly warm. .... For a realistic outlet temperature of 40C and an input of 5C, it's a flow rate of between 3 and 4 litres per minute.

Quite so - you just beat me to it in making that point. When people see/hear electric shower flow rates being quoted, they really need to ascertain what rise in water temperature they relate to!

The only small caveat I would add is that I think your figures for incoming water temp are rather pessimistic. I know that it has been 'unseasonably warm', but at 1.30am in early January, and with a current outside air temp of 4.2°C, my incoming water temp is currently about 14.1°C, and I can't recall ever having seen it significantly below 10°C (which you are using as the Summer temp). However, that's just a detail and doesn't alter the fact that, even in Summer, 8 L/min through a 9.5 kW shower is not going to result in the sort of shower temp that most people want since one cannot change the Laws of physics!

I was also going to add that, quite apart from the issue of temperature, people's perception of 'good' and 'bad' showers is at least as dependent on the velocity of the spray as it is on flow rate. For a given flow rate one can increase the velocity by choice (or adjustment, if adjustable) of shower head, and many people will then regard it as 'better', even for the same temp and flow rate.

Kind Regards, John

 

[wundaboy]

In my opinion the best value for the experience received (others may disagree) is this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/mira-sport-max-with-airboost-white-10-8kw-manual-electric-shower/87467

This draws 45 amps continuous in use. Make sure your supply is up to it. Your armoured 16mm supply sounds okay as long as it's not too long, you really need an 80 amp supply at least, if everything in the flat is going to be run on electricity. Many variables though, depending on the individual situation, and your electrician will need to advise on that.

 

[Londoner2]

Been in my house for 17 years, in that time i have had to change our triton showers 3 times, range from 9.5kw to 10.5kw and cost of the shower has always been below £100 per shower. I looked at other showers costing well over £200 but i don't think they will last longer than the Triton.

 

[JohnW2]

In my opinion the best value for the experience received (others may disagree) is this:
https://www.screwfix.com/p/mira-sport-max-with-airboost-white-10-8kw-manual-electric-shower/87467

As has been said, given that the Laws of Physics are the same for any electric shower, there cannot be any significant difference in 'performance' (flow rate for a given temp) in the cheaopest and mot expensive ones - and I also doubt that the expensive ones offer much advantage, if any, in terms of reliability or life expectancy. I therefore personally would always go for the bottom end of the (price) market.

The model you mention includes the 'feature' (gimmick?) of injecting air bubbles into the spray. Some may regard that feature as beneficial. I'm not sure that I necessarily do, and I certainly would not pay an extra ~£100 for it.

A lot is down to 'personal choice', particularly in relation to aesthetics, so one has to decide how much extra one is prepared to pay for things other than 'performance'.

Kind Regards, John