Need help fitting a shower - from A to Z

[switchphotography]

I wish I had looked for this site a long time ago before carrying out numerous DIY jobs on my photographic studio.

As the subject line says... I am looking for advice on how to fit a shower... in a cost effective, simple and safe way as possible.

There are however, one or two little specifics that may make a difference...

1. The shower is to be fitted in my photographic studio where the ceiling is about 11 feet high, and I would like to be able to vary the water coming out the head(s?) between drops, mist, and a combination of the two.

2. Both the hot and cold water tanks are about 3 to 4 feet higher than the ceiling and around 45 feet away from the studio where I want to install the shower!

The image I have attached (below) is from the Stuart Turner brochure and what I imagine I would need to do is the 'Open Vented Single Shower System'.

Other details about the project:
1. The base the water will fall into is 4m by 5m by 4 inches high.
2. We will be using a puddle pump to extract the water (its only getting it there warm that I am concerned about)
3. There will be models under the water in various states of undress, therefore the water needs to be at a comfortable temperature.
4. The water would need to flow for 10-15 minutes at a time.

Can anyone please give me some straightforward advice on how I can achieve this?

If more details are needed please ask.

(And yes, a photograph of the finished solution can be provided!)

Untitled

• switchphotography
• 10 Jan 2010
• 1

 

[dextrous]

Don't suppose you've considered recycling the water (bit like a pond pump) - then the only problem would be to get the water up to a pleasant temp and keep it there.

 

[Tipper]

Go on, tell us what you are going to use the shower in the 'photographic studio' for? Nudge, nudge!!

 

[Burnerman]

Can you consider a quality 10 kW electric one?
John

 

[dextrous]

Seems to me, for a wet room floor that sze, you'll be looking to using an awful lot of water using several shower heads simultaneously, which will cost a fair bit to heat as well as the amount of wastage.

Seems to me that a simple solution would be a combined tank, an immersion heater and a pump, which would recycle the water back into the tank, perhaps via a filter of some description.

This would allow for coloured dyes to be added to the water, for that added artistic effect

 

[switchphotography]

I am considering all ways to do this and have thought about recycling the water... which as you say, has the problem of how to keep it warm. It would of course have the advantage of keeping the water level fairly continuous.

A 10kW electric shower is a possibility but would the pressure be sufficient?

And yes, on occasion the shower in the photographic studio would have a glamorous female model wearing very little clothing in it. Equally it may have a male model, or be used to simulate rain in a fashion photoshoot with either females, males or children.

 

[dextrous]

In fairness to the contributors on here, have you an approximate budget in mind, so that we've a parameter to work with?

 

[switchphotography]

ah yes.

Sorry, the budget would be about £1000. I would also be carrying out the work by myself for the most part - and while I am pretty competent at DIY, I am by no means a skilled tradesman!

(and I liked the idea about the coloured dyes!!! Though it wouldn't swing the balance over getting a solution that worked for the primary reason)

 

[Burnerman]

Electric showers work off high pressure mains water.
If your gravity supply is ok, you could use a power shower...they look like electric ones but are gravity fed and have a pump inside the unit.
John

 

[dextrous]

Electric showers work off high pressure mains water.
If your gravity supply is ok, you could use a power shower...they look like electric ones but are gravity fed and have a pump inside the unit.
John

Not at all untrue.

However , a powershower running for 15mins wlil use a lot of water, and we do't know what's available, electric one's require professional electrical installations which can be costly - especially since I doubt that a single shower would provide a realistic "rainfall" effect.

At least I've found a solution to the "steam" effect here

 

[Norcon]

I am looking for advice on how to fit a shower... in a cost effective, simple and safe way as possible

As this shower has nothing to do with cleaning the body or having an "invigorating" shower experience then why spend potentially a lot of money on something that is not needed!

I assume the main requirement is to give an "effect" for the camera?

Why not just have a bucket of warm water lashed over the models?

It's a cheap soloution as all you need is a bucket, some warm water and a volounter to do the lashing.

For making mist I find there's nothing quite like my 3000psi power washer.

 

[dextrous]

It's a cheap soloution as all you need is a bucket, some warm water and a volounter to do the lashing.

I take it you're volunteering and would be able to offer a steam effect. Plus you quivering, salivating tongue will no doubt be able to imitate a shower effect.

 

[switchphotography]

I have yet to find a way to throw a bucket of water that would simulate rainfall and still at the same time allow me to run around, pick up a camera, make sure the light is correct and compose the shot...

Thanks dextrous for the smoke machine link... I do already have one in the studio and yes, it would probably work well for a simulation.

An update in terms of details -

Have been out measuring and looking around what I have got.

The cold water tank is on the roof of the building, about 14 feet above what will be the shower head. The hot water tank which is about 4 feet above the shower head. Both are 25 metres away from where we need the shower head to be.

The hot water is scalding hot at the tap in the bathroom directly below the hot water tank.

What I hope will work is to take a hot and cold feed from both tanks, run it across the ceiling and down the wall to the floor where I will have a thermostatic mixing valve going to either a Salamander Single Booster Pump 2.40bar or a Stuart Turner 46420 Monsoon Pump 4.5 bar Single Standard (Positive Head). This will the go up to something like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaRiY5N5qec

Am I crazy? (am I going to blow myself up?)

 

[dextrous]

14 feet above the point of delivery should give a reasonable flow anyway, and you may get away without installing a pump at all. I have reservations about using a pump over such a long period of time (10 to 15 minutes) due to the amount of water it will use. I'm not on about wastage, but more the size of the cold water tank that is supplying the setup- the pump will be "pulling" water from this both directly and indirectly via the hot water cylinder.

You would need a twin impellor by the way - this is installed before the thermo mixer and not after.

Nowt wrong with the greenhouse pipework though.

 

[switchphotography]

hey dextrous!

thanks for the advice. I might try a test without a pump to begin but would I be right in thinking that this would be a twin impellor pump appropriate for the job. (should I still go with the pump approach!)

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/grundfos-watermill-niagara-1656-18702