Gainsborough Electric Shower no heat!

[Tc7]

Hi
I have had a Gainsborough 10.5 Delux Electric Shower working in my bathroom for 18 months.

Suddenly it just stopped heating the water. I turned it on, the pressure was there but no heat.

The switch lamp is on and there is 240v going in. The voltage appears to stop at the 'Pressure Switch'.

Do you think the 'pressure switch' is at fault?
What governs the 'Pressure Switch' and can it be replaced.

Any Gainsborough experts out there?
Help!!

Tc

 

[dal5band]

Not an expert but the pressure switch only comes on when the water is on.

Dodgy businesss testing an electric shower "live" with water on etc. don't do it !!

With the electrics off, can you test the heating element with a test meter ? if that's OK, try a new pressure switch.
You may be able to also test the pressure switch for continuity with a meter whilst the water is running but with the electrics off - but with some showers you can't turn the water on without power.

If the element's gone, get a new shower.

 

[JonD]

There is an excellent site relating to showers in the UK, unfortunately i can't remember it.

Bit of digging and here goes:

www.shower-spares.co.uk

www.showerspares.co.uk

www.showerdoc.co.uk

One of them will definitely be able to help diagnose and supply the parts.

Jon.

 

[Tc7]

Thanx for your replies.
Is it possible to metre the element? Continuety test should give contenuety and a resistance, right?


Tc

 

[dal5band]

The element is quite a low resistance so it will show up as almost no resistance on the multi-meter - may even buzz as a direct connection.

 

[baldelectrician]

gainsborough!

put in in the bin and down to experience.

wired 5 in last 3 years and 4 were faulty.

triton have good customer service at the moment.

 

[hairyjon]

gainsborough!

put in in the bin and down to experience.

wired 5 in last 3 years and 4 were faulty.

triton have good customer service at the moment.

Had 2 of this make in the last 18 months!
Binned both!
Now got Creda = happy missus

 

[Tc7]

I could get a Creda or Triton but mean a re-fit. How easy are they to install. I didnt install the Gainsborough but it obviously already has wiring and plumbing there.
Argos are doing the Triton Caselona 9.5kW Electric Shower for £67-00!! Or a Creda 8.5kW electric shower for £50. What do you guys reckon?
Tc

 

[hairyjon]

I could get a Creda or Triton but mean a re-fit. How easy are they to install. I didnt install the Gainsborough but it obviously already has wiring and plumbing there.
Argos are doing the Triton Caselona 9.5kW Electric Shower for £67-00!! Or a Creda 8.5kW electric shower for £50. What do you guys reckon?
Tc

I got a creda florida plus 8.5KW from one of my missus's club books' cos thats all the circuit would handle. It was a tad on the expensive side (£130 I think) and it wasn't the easiest to install as the original mounting holes, cold water entry, cable entry where in different places. Fortunately I left a small amount extra cable length when I installed the original circuit. 13mm copper pipe is easier to bend/alter connections than 10mm electric shower cable! Check that your circuit can cope with a 9.5 KW- if you didn't install the electrics it may only be cabable of handling 7.5KW. There is a big current difference between the two. I think going for one of the cheaper models may be false economy. Hairyjon

 

[mottsy]

Firstly, I’m not an electrician or a plumber.

I had an electric shower in my old house that about every year to 18 months started going cold. The problem was scale. I don’t know if the restricted flow caused some safety device to cut out or what, but all I did was:

1. Turn of the electric supply.
2. Undo the screws holding the front cover of the shower, (hidden behind slide off plastic bits.) and remove the cover.
3. Inside was a small copper container. This was also removed, can’t remember how but it was obvious. (O rings at either end connected to the water inlet and outlet.
4. Once removed, get some kettle de-scaler, mix some up and pour into the cylinder for however long the instructions on the packet say. (I had to use a very small funnel to get it in.)
5. Rinse cylinder and replace.

This kept my shower working for some eleven years before I moved house. It was very easy to do, did not take long, and saved buying spares and paying plumbers etc. I don’t know if it will work with yours but if you are going to scrap it anyway it might be worth a try.

As I said, I am not qualified in any way at all and if what I have suggested is in any way dangerous, I’m sure someone will mention it.

Mottsy.

 

[hairyjon]

If it's a Gainsboro' it's not worth the cost of the descaler! HaIryjon

 

[Tc7]

I could get a Creda or Triton but mean a re-fit. How easy are they to install. I didnt install the Gainsborough but it obviously already has wiring and plumbing there.
Argos are doing the Triton Caselona 9.5kW Electric Shower for £67-00!! Or a Creda 8.5kW electric shower for £50. What do you guys reckon?
Tc

I got a creda florida plus 8.5KW from one of my missus's club books' cos thats all the circuit would handle. It was a tad on the expensive side (£130 I think) and it wasn't the easiest to install as the original mounting holes, cold water entry, cable entry where in different places. Fortunately I left a small amount extra cable length when I installed the original circuit. 13mm copper pipe is easier to bend/alter connections than 10mm electric shower cable! Check that your circuit can cope with a 9.5 KW- if you didn't install the electrics it may only be cabable of handling 7.5KW. There is a big current difference between the two. I think going for one of the cheaper models may be false economy. Hairyjon

The current shower is a 10.5W so it should handle anything under that value. Im hopeless at DIY so a bit worried about swapping the units! An eay option would be to go for the same shower unit but...it a Gainsborough.

As for the scale issue. Would it cause the shower to 'suddenly' stop being hot? Surely scale would be a progressive problem?

Tc

 

[hairyjon]

I could get a Creda or Triton but mean a re-fit. How easy are they to install. I didnt install the Gainsborough but it obviously already has wiring and plumbing there.
Argos are doing the Triton Caselona 9.5kW Electric Shower for £67-00!! Or a Creda 8.5kW electric shower for £50. What do you guys reckon?
Tc

I got a creda florida plus 8.5KW from one of my missus's club books' cos thats all the circuit would handle. It was a tad on the expensive side (£130 I think) and it wasn't the easiest to install as the original mounting holes, cold water entry, cable entry where in different places. Fortunately I left a small amount extra cable length when I installed the original circuit. 13mm copper pipe is easier to bend/alter connections than 10mm electric shower cable! Check that your circuit can cope with a 9.5 KW- if you didn't install the electrics it may only be cabable of handling 7.5KW. There is a big current difference between the two. I think going for one of the cheaper models may be false economy. Hairyjon

The current shower is a 10.5W so it should handle anything under that value. Im hopeless at DIY so a bit worried about swapping the units! An eay option would be to go for the same shower unit but...it a Gainsborough.

As for the scale issue. Would it cause the shower to 'suddenly' stop being hot? Surely scale would be a progressive problem?

Tc

Hi Tc7 Sorry for delay.Suspect heating element faulty. Correct-scale more likely to be progressive but can premature failure of element because of overheating due to the buid-up of scale stopping the heat from reaching the water and therefore not allowing the thermostat to sense temerature. I'm not a proffesional but having had 2 Gainsborough's in 18 months would suggest that they are cr*p! Appreciate you not being very good at DIY I wasn't until I started having a go and made some horrendous c*ck-ups! part of the fun of life! I hasten to add that I have NEVER taken any chances with electricity.
if in doubt-get a Sparky out! Hairyjon